Animal exploitation at Iron Age Kinet Höyük (Turkey) between 700-550 BC

Abstract

Kinet Hoyuk was a small Mediterranean harbor located on the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean. The advanced maritime activity and rapid acculturation of the settlement between 700-550 BC are manifest in a significant increase in pottery types originating from the Aegean realm. In regional chronology, this period is the Late Iron Age. The assemblage dating to this period reflects an animal economy that depended on animal husbandry, hunting, and aquatic resources. Fish, shellfish and turtle exploitation intensified during the period in question, assuming a commercial nature, as best attested by the abundance of the so-called murex remains used in dye production. The assemblage suggests the presence of both Dama dama dama (the Anatolian fallow deer) and D. dama mesopotamica (the Mesopotamian fallow deer), just north of the Amanus Mountains, adding information on the complex biogeographical history of the region. Biometric and ageing data are provided in Appendices 1 and 2.