Can Hasan I

Türkiye · Karaman

SettlementExcavation ongoing
Approximate period6,000 BCE — 3,000 BCELate Neolithic; Chalcolithic; use as a cemetery during the Ottoman period See on the map ↓

In brief

Can Hasan I near Alaçatı village is one of the three Canhasan mounds in the surrounding area. David French's excavations documented Neolithic and Chalcolithic layers here; research at Canhasan resumed in 2021 under the leadership of Ankara University.

What was found?

  • 1Clay human figurines

    Seated or crouching figures and stylized heads were found inside buildings in layer 2B. The documentation of their findspots allows the figures to be assessed within the context of settlement life.

  • 2Two-story mudbrick buildings

    Mudbrick buildings belonging to the Chalcolithic period have been documented as having two stories. They provide tangible information about the period's building techniques and spatial organization.

  • 3Seven-layer settlement sequence

    Seven separate layers were identified during the excavations. The Neolithic and Chalcolithic remains allow different periods of the settlement to be compared.

  • 4Halaf-like pottery fragments

    David French noted that some fragments resembled pottery of the Halaf culture. According to researchers, these similarities raise the possibility of cultural interaction beyond the region.

What does it point to?

Canhasan I shows the place of mudbrick architecture and human imagery in settlement life. The existence of the figurines is tangible; they cannot establish a particular goddess belief with certainty.

What did it teach us?

  1. It documented the use of two-story mudbrick buildings in the Chalcolithic settlement.
  2. It contributed to establishing the regional chronology of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods.
  3. It enabled the investigation of possible connections with distant regions through pottery similarities.

Record

Culture
Neolithic and Chalcolithic communities of Central Anatolia
First modern dig
1961
Team / historical
Adnan Baysal / Ankara University
Coordinates
37.2630°, 33.3313°

Sources

  1. dergipark.org.tr
  2. dergipark.org.tr
  3. en.wikipedia.org
  4. digitalrepository.biaa.ac.uk
  5. Anatolia — Adnan Baysal'ın makalesinin tam metni
  6. British Institute at Ankara — Canhasan I küçük buluntu yayını

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12.000

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