EARLY BRONZE AGE DAGGERS IN CENTRAL ... - Bilkent University

Similarly, there are cultural connections suggested by the dagger typologies
present in Central Anatolia. This metallurgical cohesion is supported by other cultural
evidence, such as pottery types and burial practices. There are three tiers of cultural
connections in Central Anatolia: (1) within Central Anatolia; (2) with its immediate
neighbors; (3) and with the greater region in the sense of E.N. Chernykh’s “Cultural
Province”. Naturally, evidence of interaction is stronger in tier 1 and lessens towards
the tier 3 interaction sphere. In addition, these interactions are not always at the same
intensity throughout time.
It should be also remembered that we do not find a completely uniform cultural
material in EBA Central Anatolia. These EBA settlements enough common cultural
characteristics to form a cultural group but some local variations. This is the reason
that there are statements such as “Alaca Höyük type burial”. These graves have
possess some similar characteristics, such as the size of the graves, the inclusion of
sun-disks, bull standards, remnants of sacrificed animals (Legs and the heads), metal
cups, orientation of the body, dressing of the corpse in clothes and accessorizing the
body with jewelry and weapons. The graves in Horoztepe and Alaca Höyük have
similar grave style and material such as bull standards and rich offerings but there is
no evidence of animal sacrifice in Horoztepe graves. In Resuloğlu the bodies are
buried in a similar fashion as Alaca, including the evidence of sacrificial remains, but
the graves are either composed of pithos, cist and pit type. All the graves in Central
Anatolia, however, have some common characteristics to show cultural coherence.
The chronology of the daggers in Central Anatolia, naturally, depends on their
context. The result of the ongoing chronological arguments will clarify the dates
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