Ulucak Höyük: The pottery emergence in Western Anatolia

Abstract

It has been increasingly clear that pottery was adopted as a continuous technology during the first quarter of the 7th millennium BC in a wide region, from Upper Mesopotamia through Central Anatolia and the Lakes District region. However, the absence of pottery in the basal level at Ulucak Höyük shows the presence of a pre-ceramic sequence in western Anatolia, before c. 6600/ 6500 cal BC. This article discusses the earliest pottery assemblage from Ulucak (6600/6500-6200 cal BC) and compares it with the later ceramic sequences at the site. Ultimately, the functional and typological developmental sequence of Neolithic pottery at Ulucak Höyük and its temporo-spatial relations with other Neolithic sites in Anatolia will be assessed.