Observation of “Traditional” Agriculture in Kastamonu, Turkey In Relation to the Evidence of Crop Husbandry at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Central Anatolia

Abstract

In order to better understand how plants were procured and consumed at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, the site’s archaeobotany team examined some of the existing ethnographic examples of “traditional” (non-mechanised) farming in Turkey. The Kastamonu region of the north Turkey is an area where some ’ancient’ wheats (einkorn and emmer) are cultivated in a more or less traditional way and on a small-scale. Fieldwork in this part of Turkey provided first-hand knowledge of some off- and on-site agricultural activities which could have been part of prehistoric village life, but also of ways in which modern technologies challenge non-mechanised farming*. Of particular interest were a) information gathered from field-owners on traditional techniques used to grow crops, b) observation of storage facilities and other ways of storing food in einkorn/emmer-growing villages, and c) observations of mills and other buildings/constructions/items relating to crop processing and food preparation (e.g. oil production); the paper presents obtained information relevant to these three key objectives.   * The work would not have been possible without the professional guidance and tremendous help from Dr Füsun Ertuğ of Istanbul University and her colleagues and friends in Kastamonu, as well as municipal authorities of Kastamonu, Ihsangazi and Küre; their help and hospitality is greatly appreciated. The team is grateful to all the interviewed families for their patience and understanding, and the interest in our study.