Çatalhöyük 1998 Archive Report

ÇATALHÖYÜK 1998 ARCHIVE REPORT

Obsidian Microdebitage at Çatalhöyük

Heidi Underbjerg

Until recently very few specialised studies on lithic microdebitage have been carried out. It is usually recorded as one of many subcategories in general refuse studies. Small soil samples are collected by excvators which are sent through flotation and the heavy residue obtained are then analysed as one heterogeneous sample. The samples are able to show the distribution of microrefuse across the house floors, which provides important clues to past cultural activities. Due to its small size, the microrefuse on a floor is not easily swept away, causing it to accumulate in corners and small irregularities in the floor. It is also likely to be trodden into the floor surface.

Overall densities, fractions, and ratios of components in the microdebitage can be found and help to identify an area such as a workshop, where the distance from the primary flaking source would be indicated.

Lithic microdebitage from Çatalhöyük has been collected since the beginning in 1993, but it has not been studied until 1998. The microdebitage (less than 4mm) was categorized into the four classes which consist of blades, flakes, chips, and shatter components. After the flotation and heavy fraction processes the debitage is placed in bags, each displaying an area, unit number, fraction and year. Sieve sizes of 4mm, 2mm, 1mm, and 0.5mm were used to separate the heavy residue. It is the separation techniques alone that define the difference between micro and macrodebitage at Çatalhöyük, heavy residue from flotation provides the microdebitage and dry sieving leads to the macrodebitage.

The small size of microdebitage necessitates the use of a microscope. The average size of the microdebitage sorted by 2mm fraction sieves falls between 3.1mm and 8mm, while 1mm fraction sieves obtain sizes between 1.8mm and 3mm. The total of all unit numbers from every year was counted and divided into four categories. It was decided that the microdebitage recorded according to year, area, unit, counts, category and fraction. A total of 1249 unit bags were examined. The main focus this year was agreed upon as the North and the Mellaart area.

The microdebitage is made up of small obsidian and occasional flint pieces. Soils samples from every unit excavated at Çatalhöyük are initially separated by flotation. In general the microdebitage will give a clearer picture of where work areas and dumps are situated both inside and outside the houses. The larger pieces are usually found individually or as two pieces in the fill or on the floors.

Distribution plots

Illustration not yet available due to technical difficulties

North Area

Building 1 - There is a clear correlation between the 2mm and 1mm debitage in this building. Beginning with the main room (space 71) in the North-western corner the 1mm debitage shows a wide distribution where the 2mm debitage seems to be a bit more limited a specific area. In the Northeast corner and near the eastern wall there is a higher density of 1mm debitage, but there occurs a wider distribution of the 2mm debitage. This could be caused by the difficulties of cleaning the floor or indicate a small lightly densed work area. The Northwest corner has a high proportion of microflakes and microdebris in general. The Northeast corner does not have the same high counts of microflakes as the number of microdebris.

The rectangular room (space 70) to the west has a marked density of both 1mm and 2mm debitage in the southern end, the 2mm as the clearest concentration of the debitage. In this south-western corner is an oven, so the debitage could have been discarded in and around the oven. It is possible some of the 1mm debitage could have been caught in the small irregularities around the oven during the cleaning procedure of the floor. The microflakes in this area are mostly concentrated near the southern wall in front of the oven where the microdebris in general are situated in and around the area of the oven.

Mellaart Area

There is a wide distribution of sample concentration most of them though comes from the midden (space 115). In general the highest density is against the south wall in the space 115. It was here two small clusters of discarded debitage was discovered. Even though most of the debitage was found in the midden, it seems to be concentrated at a certain area and not widely distributed as one would usually think. The 2mm debitage is primarily located near the south wall in the midden. Only few occasions of the 2mm debitage occurs in space 112, space 109, and space 116. The debitage from 1mm fraction was divided into three different categories; 2.171/litre, 0.793/litre, and 0.755/ litre, all these shows different distributions.

The first category shows the largest correspondance to the 2mm debitage distribution in space 115. In space 113 the distribution is small and dense up against the southern wall or actually in the wall. The second category has a totally different in distribution pattern. Very few plots corresponds to the previous ones. Here only few and very limited areas occur in space 115. At this mean density the distribution occurs within space 113 in the southern wall closest to the midden, even some of the debitage is found inside this double wall. This is also the place where the most obvious occurrence of microflakes and microdebris occur. The two highly red plots in space 115 on the comparison map shows the density of both microflakes and microdebris, this is where the clusters of discard was discovered.

The blue areas are definitely not activity areas connected to any knapping procedures of obsidian or flint. The red areas are interpreted as refuse as in space 115, but it is possible that it could be some kind of small scale retouch work, especially in the case of the microflakes which usually are results of the final stages of the retouching procedure.