Abstract
Canhasan is a complex of sites spanning the Aceramic Neolithic to Classical period near Karaman in the southern area of Türkiye’s Konya Plain. Excavated by David French from 1961-1970, the excavation at Canhasan III, an Aceramic Neolithic site, saw the first application of flotation recovery and provided new evidence for the complexity and antiquity of early agriculture in central Anatolia, while Chalcolithic Canhasan I provided new insights into the complexity of the 6th and 5th millennia. While often overshadowed by the findings of nearby Catalhoyuk East, it remains an essential source for understanding the development and spread of farming beyond the Fertile Crescent and the development of the first village societies. A new phase of excavation led by Dr. Adnan Baysal of Ankara University has provided a new opportunity for archaeobotanical enquiry which the speaker will lead in collaboration with the Turkish team. In this talk, the archaeobotany of Canhasan III will be reviewed, including mostly unpublished work and the potential of a new project explored. Of particular interest is the potential for the project to establish a teaching laboratory to support the longer-term development of archaeobotany and archaeological science in Türkiye by a new generation of Turkish scholars.
About the Presenter
Andrew (Andy) Fairbairn is an archaeobotanist and archaeologist interested in ancient agriculture, foraging practice and past anthropogenic landscape change. He has worked in Türkiye since 1999, publishing research on past farming practice and economic change in a range of sites including Neolithic Çatalhöyük East, Pınarbaşı and Canhasan III and Boncuklu, where he is the project co-director, as well as Bronze Age, Iron Age and Medieval occupation at Kaman Kalehöyük, Büklükale, Yassihöyük, Kültepe and Kinet Höyük. Andy studied at the Institute of Archaeology in London before working at The Museum of London, Cambridge University, The Australian National University and, since 2006, at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where he is Professor of Archaeology. He has ongoing research testing the Dark Emu hypothesis on Mithaka Country, QLD and has published research on sites in the UK, central Europe, Jordan, Papua New Guinea, China and Australia. He is Associate Editor for the journal Vegetation History and Archaeobotany.
About Archaeology Working Papers
The Working Papers in Archaeology seminar series provides a forum for dissemination of archaeological research and ideas amongst UQ archaeology students and staff. All students are invited to attend the series and postgraduate students, from honours upwards, are invited to present their research. The aim is to provide opportunities for students, staff and those from outside UQ, to present and discuss their work in an informal environment. It is hoped that anyone interested in current archaeological directions, both within and outside the School and University, will be able to attend and contribute to the series.
