BURIAL CUSTOMS OF THE CHAMBER TOMBS IN SOUTHEAST ANATOLIA DURING THE EARLY BRONZE AGE

Abstract

This study concerns the burial customs of the chamber tombs discovered in the Southeast Anato- lian Region. In the Early Bronze Age the Southeast Anatolian Region commenced the urbanization process like other places in the Near East, owing to the effects of the economic and social devel- opments which were shaped by the impact of neighbouring cultures such as Syria and Mesopota- mia. While intramural burial customs were practiced until the end of the period, there was a consid- erable increase in the number of extramural burials due to the urbanization in the region. This new social order brought the tradition of chamber tombs during the Early Bronze Age. The chamber tombs of the Southeast Anatolian Region are amongst the earliest examples found in Anatolia. Chamber tombs which are usually used for collective burials are found both in extramural and intramural cemeteries as a separate group. Regardless of their location, there is no difference be- tween their burial customs. Chamber tombs must have been the burial structures used by social groups which reached a certain economical level due to the urbanization. The grave goods, which were brought from long distances such as depas, tankard and Cycladic idols, and the abundant metal artifacts indicate that these people had power and position within the society. Based on the information gathered from recent research in the region, it can be said that the cham- ber tomb tradition was widely used throughout the Early Bronze Age as in Northern Syria.