| Popis: |
This paper chronologically describes the ar- chitectural development in the region defined as Central Western Anatolia, lying between the Aegean coast and Central Anatolia, from the Neolithic Period to the Iron Age. To the best of our knowledge, the first permanent open-air settlement in the region is the Bilecik Bahçelievler settlement from ca. 7000 BC. Besides Bahçelievler, a small number of other settlements provide information about the architecture of the period. While the architectural development in the region can be traced in the Early Chalcolithic, the architecture of the region experiences a regression phase in the second half of the period. During this period, safe shelters in caves or on natural heights replaced the lowland settlements from previous periods. The few known architectural elements demonstrate a poorer quality. The regression in this period is explained by climate change as well. The region seems to have been densely resettled for the first time at the end of the Chalcolithic; especially the end of the 4th and the 3rd millennia BC provide strong evidence of architectural remains. The middle of the 3rd millennium BC saw a population explosion. This period also reveals the presence of a ruling elite, suggested by the first administrative buildings that appear in the region. The settlements in the region are typically smaller than 4-5 ha in size. All settlements from the region are formed by adjacent buildings surrounding a court at the centre. These sites were designed as self-enclosed settlements housing a limited number of residents. The second half of the 3rd millennium BC is characterized by a transition in the region. In this era of centralisation, small settlements have been mostly abandoned, whereas central settlements of larger sizes have been established. This phenomenon isalso essentially explained by climate change. The following 2nd millennium BC defines the first real urbanisation in this region with the appearance of the earliest monumental palaces. The low number of excavations related to this era, however, prevents a clear picture of the region. Around 1200 BC, which coincides with the end of the Bronze Age, the number of settlements in this region dropped dramatically. The few surviving settlements represent the character of small villages. |
