Molluscs at Tepecik-Çiftlik

Tepecik-Çiftlik (7000-5800 BC) in the Central Anatolia was inhabited from the pottery oriented Neolithic to the end of the Early Chalcolithic. In this study titled "Molluscs at Tepecik-Çiftlik", the main focus was on mollusk shells which were discovered at Tepecik-Çiftlik and investigating which species they belonged to. The habitats of the species identified by their morphological characteristics were determined and the possible relationships between the inhabitants and their environment and the source of the shells which were brought to the settlement were tried to be understood. Another purpose of this study is to determine the purpose of mollusk shells used by Tepecik-Çiftlik inhabitants. The basic shell information of mollusk shells are defined in the thesis and the details on the shell surface are recorded. There are holes on a some of the shells. Whether these holes were caused by human intervention or not was tried to be understood. The archaeological elements to which the shells are related have been discussed in spatial context and time distribution has been made to determine the changes in the shell rates during the settlement process. Due to the limited number of studies carried out in the contemporary settlements of Tepecik-Çiftlik in the region, a general evaluation was made by comparing only some selected settlements. The aim of this study is to evaluate the mollusc shells found in Tepecik-Çiftlik together with other archaeological findings and to reach a meaningful result.