Revising the chronology established by Sir Leonard Woolley between 1936 and 1949 with a fine-tuned chronology based on new finds and understanding the changing social and political character of the settlement throughout its occupation are the primary aims of renewed research at Tell Atchana. Evaluating finds from renewed excavations in the light of the recent perceptions of the Bronze Age politics of the Anatolian-Syrian realm, as well as the current understanding of the palaeoenvironments of the Amuq Plain is a key component of this research. The archaeozoological study of the settlement has been shaped in accordance to this research agenda.
A chief goal of the archaeozoological studies at Tell Atchana is to understand how local economy at the settlement adapted to the dynamic socio-political changes during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. Another aim is to identify the economic and social character of different settlement sectors. New and substantial excavations at the site since 2004 have been distributed throughout different areas of the settlement, unlike Woolley excavations, including household and workshop areas.

Fig 1: Triumphant Scavenger-Archaeozoologist.

A third concern of the archaeozoological research at Atchana is the reconstruction of environmental conditions in the Amuq Plain during the 2nd millennium BC. This will contribute to the understanding of the “natural” setting of Alalakh’s occupational history, thereby adding to the scarce information of the region’s natural history. The Amuq Plain is situated at a rich transitional zone between the Palaearctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental zoogeographical regions. But the poor state of animal populations (both in terms of population size and species diversity) in the region has put serious limitations on using extant wild life to understand long-term ecological relationships and thereby hamper conservation efforts. A broader ecological understanding of the region largely depends on reconstruction based on archaeobiological studies of sites dating to the Holocene.

Fig 2: Collecting Road Kill

The identified portion of the assemblage clearly demonstrates the dominant role of animal husbandry in the animal economy and protein diet. Most of the sheep, goat and cattle specimens belong to adult individuals; while a very small amount of specimens ascribed to these species represent infant and juvenile individuals. Such an age profile in domestic animal populations are usually observed in assemblages representing urban settlements of complex societies. High representation of adult individuals probably reflects animal husbandry practices targeting secondary products to be redistributed in a market economy.

Fig 3: Baby charcharhinid acquired from the Local market

So far, archaeozoological research at Atchana shows that cattle was the primary meat provider at the settlement, followed by sheep and goats (based on weight of identified specimens –WIS- calculations), both during the MBA and the LBA. The LBA I deposits (ca. Woolley Level VI) in the palace area, however, poses a striking contrast with this general pattern, by containing an overwhelming percentage of wild cattle, Mesopotamian fallow deer and wild boar, whereas the household/workshop deposits of the LBA I settlement yielded an insignificant amount of wild animals. 

Fig4: Butchered Gazelle Horn (left)

Fig 5: Otis-Tarda Humerus (right)

Wild carnivores are represented by brown bear, striped hyena, golden jackal, lion, fox and Egyptian mongoose at Tell Atchana. While the status of the striped hyena is not well-known in Turkey, recent research shows that populations are distributed from the Marmara Region in the west to the Hatay area. In this region, the last recorded sighting of an Egyptian mongoose occurred in Adana in 1997.

The root of a large tooth uncovered in the mixed topsoil of the site represents an elephant molar. Ivory remains and unworked elephant teeth are known from previous excavations at the site. Post-cranial elephant remains come from the LBA phases of the administrative district.

Fig 6: Sifting heavy residue

In addition to the specimens discussed above, a substantial amount of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine mollusks have been found during the excavation. While it is obvious that some of the freshwater bivalves (Unionidae) from Atchana have been used as tools, the frequency and ubiquity of small accumulations of unmodified freshwater bivalves at the site may imply that these were consumed as food. Mollusk shells were also used in pottery temper at Atchana.  Catfish (Clarias gariepinus) dominates the fish assemblages, which have been mostly attained from sieved deposits and heavy fraction from floatation samples.

For a more detailed discussion on the current results of archaeozoological investigations at Atchana, see
Aççana Höyüğü’nde arkeozooloji çalışmaları 2007 raporu. Arkeometri Sonuçları Toplantısı 24: 253-266.
The results of further archaeozoological research at the site will be presented in greater detail in the nearest future.