The volume presents a study of local landscape histories in the Kahramanmaraş valley--a previously understudied, but pivotal, crossroads along the Syro-Anatolian frontier. The Holocene vegetation history is presented in relation to climatic changes and human impact through the pollen analytical results of a deep core obtained from a former Sağlık (Gavur) lakebed. Extensive surface surveys carried out in the region between 1993 and 2000 form the basis of the settlement pattern studies beginning with the first permanent settlement of the valley in the Neolithic and ending with the Islamic era. The results of an intensive full coverage and transect surveys around Domuztepe are found in Chapter 10. The analysis of a long historical record, diverse physical environment, and a significant number of archaeological sites are used to outline the myriad ways the ancient residents of this region between Syria and Anatolia made it their home for over seven thousand years.



edited by Elizabeth Carter



Chapter 1: The Kahramanmaraş Valley-A Crossroads at the Foot of the Mountains Elizabeth Carter Chapter 2 Part I: Holocene Environmental Change in the Kahramanmaraş Valley: The Palynological Evidence of the Saglik Ovasi Hendrik Woldring, Harm Jan Streurman, Johannes van der Plicht, Elsa Kleine, and Ceran Sekeryapan Part II: Climate Change in the Kahramanmaraş Valley during the Late Glacial and Early Holocene Ceran Sekeryapan, Mehmet Yesiltas, and Hendrik Woldring Chapter 3: The Neolithic: The First Settlers in the Kahramanmaraş Valley Cigdem Atakuman Chapter 4: The Local Late Chalcolithic: The Expansion of Settlement in the Kahramanmaraş Valley Elizabeth Carter Chapter 5: The Early Bronze Age: Fragmentation within the Kahrmamanmaraş Valley Elizabeth Carter Chapter 6: The Middle and Late Bronze Ages in the Kahramanmaraş Valley: From the Kingdom of Mamma to the Rise of Gurgum Elizabeth Carter Chapter 7: The Iron Age in Gurgum and Assyria Elizabeth Carter Chapter 8: The Hellenistic-Late Roman Period in Maras and Commagene Elizabeth Carter and Peter Stone Chapter 9: 'Amq al-Mar'ash: Settlement and Land Use on the Frontier in the Islamic Periods Alexander Asa Eger Chapter 10: Model Building and the Identification of Settlement Change in the Kahramanmaraş Valley Elizabeth Mullane Steadman Chapter 11: Summary and Prospects for Future Research Elizabeth Carter ii Appendix 1: Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic Traces Jeffrey Brantingham and Elizabeth Healey Appendix 2: Site Gazetteer, online at the Alexandrian Archive Institute: Elizabeth Carter et al