Voluminous Evidence for an Elusive Period: Storage Pits and Surplus from Middle Chalcolithic Anatolia

Abstract

Pit clusters have not received systematic attention from archaeologists working in Anatolia and the Near East, in contrast to many other parts of the world. This paper presents a case study of Middle Chalcolithic pits from the prehistoric site of Barcın Höyük in northwestern Anatolia to show how pit clusters, interpreted as underground grain silos, can inform us about ancient food economies, social organization, and inhabited landscapes. It is argued that the silos at Barcın Höyük were used by small family-sized groups to store surplus grain. Dated to the first quarter of the 5th millennium b.c., the silos present evidence for agricultural productivity during a period that has largely eluded archaeological investigation in western Anatolia.