Preliminary Evaluations of the Bilecik Bahcelievler Neolithic Chipped Stone Assemblage

Abstract

This paper details the preliminary results of the chipped stone artifacts from the Bahcelievler settlement, uncovered during the 2019 and 2020 excavation seasons, which were directed by the Bilecik Archaeology Museum. The first evaluations of the lithic assemblage from Bahcelievler, one of the earliest sites in Northwest Anatolia, which was settled during the 7th millennium BC, show that local flint was used in the settlement to a greater extent than obsidian that was imported from Central Anatolia. At Bahcelievler, where the knapping was mostly carried out in courtyards, the lithic chipped stone assemblage is based on the production of blades and bladelets. Among the main tool types recovered from the buildings, sickle blades and bladelets are common, which indicates that agriculture had an important place in the life and economy of the settlement. This preliminary study of the Bahcelievler Neolithic chipped stone assemblage reveals the presence of bullet -shaped cores and transverse arrowheads and the use of a pressure technique, suggesting that the communities living in Northwest Anatolia, especially Mentese and Barcin Hoyuk, used similar technologies in the 7th Millennium BC.