Excavations on the north-central plateau: The Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age occupation at Çadır Höyük

Abstract

Abstract The last decade of excavations at Çadır Höyük, in the north-central region of the Anatolian plateau, has revealed a well-established Late Chalcolithic community with continuous occupation into the Early Bronze I period (mid fourth to early third millennium BC). While the Late Chalcolithic town was prosperous, with well-made houses and objects, and even monumental construction, the stability of the settlement had slipped by the Early Bronze I phase. We summarise here the results from ten seasons of work at the site and profile how the findings contribute to our understanding of Çadır's role in a larger regional context. We also offer possible explanations for the changing nature of the Çadır occupation during the periods detailed here.