Abstract:

The excavations at Tilmen Höyük were carried out by U. Bahadir Alkım between 1959-64 and 1969-72. These excavations revealed an uninterrupted settlement at Tilmen Höyük from the 4th millennium BC to the end of the 2nd millennium BC. A group of wheel-made, well-fired pottery belonging to the Early Bronze Age recovered during these excavations has been named Açık Renkli Yalın Keramik (ARYK) by us. This ceramic group was first introduced to the archaeological literature as Plain Simple Ware by Braidwood. This light-colored, wheel-made, well-purified, and well-fired ceramic group is found extensively in Southeastern Anatolia and Northern Syria during the Early Bronze Age. In international terminology, the Middle Euphrates Region is defined as the part of the Euphrates River in Southeastern Anatolia and Northern Syria. This region can be considered as the main region of the ARYK group. ARYK, which has found a very wide distribution area, is seen as an imported material in Eastern and Central Anatolia. The ceramic group in question continued its development from the Late Chalcolithic Age and continued to be seen throughout the 2nd millennium BC. It shows technological developments, especially since the EBA. ARYK begins to be produced on wheels at the beginning of the EBA, and rapid wheel production continues as a ceramic group towards the end of the EBA. We can say that this ceramic group was mass-produced in accordance with certain standards at the end of the EBA. Some forms seen in the ARYK group are important for dating. The "S" shaped bowls known as cyma-recta are dated to EBA I-II, while the bell-shaped cups known as caliciform are dated to the late EBA. The pottery from Tilmen Höyük analysed in this article dates from EBA I to the EBA/MBA transition phase.