.
The Beginnings of Metallurgy
Mehmet Ozdogan I Ash Ozdogan
Archaeological evidence on the early
metallurgy at Qayonu Tepesi
Introduction: History of research
Excavations at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Qayonu
Tepesi, in southeastern Turkey, mark a turning point in
the history of metallurgy. Even though there were some
reports on metal objects being occasionally recovered
from some neolithic sites in the Near East prior to the
beginning of Qayonu excavations, they were rather
considered as odd cases, or as accidentally recovered
metal pieces, either shaped by cold beating or by grind-
ing like other stones. Certainly, by that time the Ne-
olithic period was considered as being too early to
speculate on metallurgical practices.
The presence of metal objects at Qayonu was evident
even by the first excavation campaign of 1964, when
one of the most significant metal objects of the site, a
reamer (for earlier publications of the reamer see Qam-
bel & Braidwood 1970: Fig. on page 51; Qambel &
Braidwood 1980: Fig. 46: 14), which later will be the
subject of much controversy, was already recovered.
Nevertheless, by that time, the presence of metal ob-
jects prior to the .,invention" of pottery, in a cultural
stage in the .,incipiency of food producing" was ab-
solutely inconceivable. However, as it was evident that
the reamer was not the only metal object to be recov-
ered at Qayonu, the principal excavators of the site felt
obliged to rationalize their presence in a pre-pottery
context. Thus, the metal finds were justified by the
presence of a major metal bearing geological formation
in the close vicinity of the site, and it was conceived
that the accidentally recovered lumps of metal were
treated like any other rock. In one of the earliest reports
on Qayonu, Braidwood and Qambel, the primary exca-
vators commented (Braidwood & Qambel 1969: 1275)
..... and the use of hammered native copper in a context
before the appearance of pottery" ... .,The hammered
bits of native copper of Qayonu are hardly true metal-
lurgy, in a pyrotechnological sense, but they presage
mankind's general use of metals".
However, it soon became evident that the Qayonu met-
al objects accounted for a much more intricate expla-
nation, and Qambel and Braidwood, after the second
excavation campaign, for the first time gave a hint for
Der Anschnitt, Beiheft 9, 1999
the possibility of a more advanced technology, though
with apparent bewilderment (Qambel & Braidwood
1970: 56) .,A combination of geological propinquity and
archaeological good fortune, has made the site even
more significant. We have found here what is so far the
earliest evidence of man's intentional use of metal" ...
.,Metallurgy, of course, involves the hot-working of met-
als ... We are making no assertion that any kind of met-
allurgy, however primitive, existed at Qayonu Tepesi;
there is not even any unanimity of opinion among the
experts about whether the reamer, the only article that
had certainly been hammered, was worked cold or
hot."... .,What we suggest is that the Qayonu Tepesi
copper reveals the moment in man's material progress
when he may have first begun to sense the properties
of metal as metal, rather than as some peculiar kind of
stone."
Actually, in spite of their apparent bewilderment on the
recovery of metal objects in a pre-pottery assemblage,
Braidwood and Qambel should be praised for even
avowing their finds (for brief account on other early
finds, see especially Esin 1976; Neuninger et al. 1964;
for more up-to-date information see also Schoop 1995).
Almost simultaneously it became evident that Qayonu
was not the only Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of the Near
East to yield metal finds. Now, the occasional presence
of some metal objects in Near Eastern Neolithic assem-
blages is no more to be distraction to the excavators.
However, Qayonu still endures as the unique case; here
metal finds do not only exist in great abundance, com-
prising a large typological variety, but more significant-
ly it is the only site where development of metallurgy,
from simple cold hammering to incipient pyrotechnolo-
gy can be followed through millennia. Moreover, the en-
tire process of their manufacturing have been attested
in a number of working areas recovered at the site.
Thus, it would be just to say that, in spite of increasing
evidence from other contemporaneous sites, the main
source of our knowledge on the earliest beginnings of
metallurgy is still dependent on the evidence of
Qayonu.
Metallurgical and analytical study on the metal finds
from Qayonu has undergone a number of stages (for a
13
M. Ozdogan/A. Ozdogan

more detailed description on the earlier history of met- preliminary reports have already been published (see
allurgical studies at <;ayonu, see <;ambel 1986), which especially Muhly 1989; Stech 1990; Maddin et al. 1991)
in some respect, developed simultaneously with the ad- and the final reports are almost ready for editing. Ac-
vancements in archaeometallurgy. As to be expected, cordingly, here we will restrict ourselves to the presen-
the reamer - the first obvious item to display traces of tation of archaeological aspects.
hammering - was the main focus of interest in the ear-
lier years; next were the , hooks" {yam bel & Braidwood
1970: Fig. on page 51). Later, other single items fol- The archaeological sequence at <;:ayonil
lowed, though still being considered as ,unique" cases.
lt should be noted that the <;ayonu excavations, lasting
lt was only after the field season of 1984 that the metal
17 field seasons in total, had spanned over 30 years. In
finds of <;ayonu were considered as an assemblage,
the course of this time, not only our understanding of
and subject to systematic research. lt would be just to
the site and of the cultural horizon it represents has un-
say that while in the initial years, only some selected
dergone significant changes, but there has been con-
items of the <;ayonu metals were considered, only after
siderable innovation in the methodology of archaeolog-
1984 it became possible to diagnose them as an as-
ical research. Thus, it should be taken as normal that in
semblage.
the course of these years, there have been a number of
The initial efforts on the study of <;ayonu metals was contradictions in the preliminary reports of the excava-
more or less oriented to source determination. Even tion. Moreover, it should also be considered that the
though uttermost care was taken to use non-destructive area exposure at <;ayonu has now reached seven thou-
techniques of analysis, as the , metal problem" of sand square meters, being one of the most extensively
<;ayonu was still perceived as specific cases and not as excavated neolithic sites of the Near East. As more ar-
a synoptic problem, the help of all available scientists eas have been exposed, our perception of the site has
was asked, not only in Turkey and the United States, but undergone considerable changes, thus necessitating
also in Germany and in the Soviet Union. The main con- revisions in the stratigraphic sequence. As this has
cern of these analysis was to determine the chemical been somewhat confusing, we consider it necessary to
composition of the finds, mainly through quantitative present a summary of the sequence as it is relevant to
spectral analysis, so as to see whether or not it originat- the distribution of metal finds at <;ayonu.
ed from the copper bearing zone of Ergani. lt seems that
at that time there was some concern whether the cop-
per implements found at <;ayonu were of local origin or Phase and dominant number of cultural Approx.B.P.
whether they were imports from elsewhere. Particularly, architectural type architectural affiliation date accor·
the level of arsenic in one of the yayonu implements, layers ding to 14C
mainly in the , reamer" being much higher than the at- 1 · Round Buildings 4 PPNA 10000·9200
tested values of Ergani copper mines, seems to have 2 · Grill Buildings 9200
provoked this discussion. The preliminary resu lts of this proto-type 2 PPNA
study had been reported by Esin (1969: 130). open type 2 PPNA
meandering type 1 PPNA /PPNB
The systematic approach to the study of yayonu metal closed type 2 PPNB
objects began in 1984, when the work was undertaken 3 · Channeled Buildings 3 PPNB 9000
by T. Stech with the cooperation of J . Muhly, A. Maddin 4 · Cobble-Paved Buildings 3 PPNB 8600 (?)
5 · Cell-Plan Buildings 3 PPNB 8600·8300
and U. Esin. Later, as it became evident that the prob-
6 · Large-Room Buildings 6 PPNC 8200
lem was much more complicated than ever envisaged,
7 • Pottery Neolithic 7 PN 8000·7500
the working team was expanded to include 6 . 6ztunah,
A. Hauptmann, E. Pernicka, S. Schmitt-Strecker and F.
Begemann. Meanwhile, archaeological aspects, includ-
ing typology and special distribution of the metal finds As we have briefly mentioned above, for a proper ap-
was undertaken by A. Ozdogan. Two workshops, an ex- prehension of the use of metal at <;ayonu, looking upon
tended one at Schloss Ringberg near Munich in 1990 single objects and not considering the overall composi-
and the other, more restricted one at Istanbul in 1994 tion of the assemblage would be completely mislead-
were organized as to provide the basis for interaction ing. Accordingly, here we consider it necessary to de-
among all interested. In the course of these meetings a fine some aspects of the culture as represented at
consensus was reached on the schedule of the final <;ayonu.
publication of the <;ayonu metal finds.
A synoptic view of the <;ayonu evidence clearly indi-
lt is not the intention of this paper to describe the geo- cates (for more recent work at yayonu see A. Ozdogan
logical or metallurgical problems that are relevant to the 1995; M. Ozdogan 1995; Ozdogan & Ozdogan 1990,
study of <;ayonu tools that have been undertaken in the 1993; Ozdogan et al. 1993) that the sequence at the site
course of this new generation of research; a number of follows the basic trends of the Levantine-Mesopotami-

14
...
an Neolithic; accordingly it is clear that at least the
southeastern part of Turkey, for the most of the Ne-
olithic period, was within the interaction sphere of the
Near East. However still, there is also a marked differ-
ence between the assemblages of the southern regions
and of <;ayoni.i. As distinctive elements of the <;ayoni.i
assemblage are shared by the other excavated sites of
southeastern and eastern Anatolia, with justification we
can name the neolithic cultures of this region as the
.. <;ayoni.i culture" after the type-site.
The most eminent difference between the <;ayoni.i cul-
ture and the contemporaneous sites further to the south
is in the subsistence pattern. <;ayoni.i, like other early
neolithic sites of southeastern Turkey, was less depen-
dent of farming than the Syro-Levantine ones. The re-
cent evidence of the earliest sub-phase of <;ayoni.i (see
also Van Zeist & de Roller 1994) clearly indicates that
here the subsistence pattern depended mainly on hunt-
ing (like Hallan <;emi, in early phases of <;ayoni.i there is
a marked predominance of pigs; but whether or not they
were domesticated is still not very clear (personal com-
munication H. Hongo)) and gathering. The first cultivat-
ed plants to appear at <;ayoni.i, during the Grill sub-
phase, were pulses and lentils, vetches seemingly being
more dominant. Soon after, by the latest stages of the
Grill sub-phase cultivated einkorn wheat was introduced
to <;ayoni.i. Still, gathering of a wide variety of wild cere-
als, plants and fruits was extensively practiced, and the
amount of wild animal bones recovered strongly sug-
gests that hunting was the primary source of subsis-
tence. The rich variety of wild species collected or hunt-
ed at <;ayoni.i indicates a varied and prosperous envi-
ronment; among the gathered and hunted species wild
emmer wheat, lentils, legumes, flax, fibrous plants,
sheep, goat, boar, red deer, fallow deer, equids and
beavers are worth mentioning. Later in the sequence a
marked increase in cultivated plants, mainly in the puls-
es is apparent, but as indicated by the masses of wild
animal bones, hunting and presumably gathering sus-
tained to be important up to the latest stage of PPNB,
when there was a sudden introduction of domestic
sheep and goat in herds.
Compared to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) sites of
Syro-Levantine regions, particularly at <;ayoni.i there is
a considerable abundance in the use of ornaments,
mainly of beads, bracelets etc. (see particularly A.
Ozdogan 1995). A similar tendency can also be ob-
served in other contemporary neolithic sites of south-
eastern Turkey, where there is an overwhelming
amount of cult and/or status objects. At the present
status of our knowledge it is possible to surmise that
the social system in the neolithic communities of south-
eastern Anatolia was organized in a different mode than
the southern cultures; we assume that, besides being
located near copper bearing zones, in the development
of metallurgy the impact of this social system should
also be considered.
Early metallurgy at <;ayonOTepesi
Archaeology of metal objects at <;ayonu: The se-
quential distribution
The preliminary reports on the description and analysis
of the native copper and malachite artifacts from
<;ayoni.i have intrigued metallurgists. However, as the
study of this interesting group of material was delayed
until recently, even the basic archaeological data, nei-
ther on the sequential and spacial distribution nor on
their typology and context, was available. lt is only very
recently that the archaeological assessment of <;ayoni.i
metal artifacts have been finally concluded; this paper
will be the initial presentation of the archaeological ev-
idence, which can be summarized as such:
During the earliest sub-phase of <;ayoni.i, in the Round
Buildings, with the exception of a few unworked lumps
of malachite no artifacts of copper or malachite have
been recovered. lt is of interest to note here that at Hal-
lan <;emi, at layers preceeding the beginning of <;ayoni.i,
unworked lumps of malachite also occurred (personal
communication M. Rosenberg). Hallan <;emi, compared
to <;ayoni.i, is rather distant from copper bearing zones.
Thus it seems that malachite was intentionally collect-
ed and distributed at least by the proto-neolithic stage
in southeastern Turkey.
lt was only during the next sub-phase of the Grill Build-
ings and the so called .,basal pits" that artifacts of na-
tive copper and worked malachite make their first clear
appearance. By the end of this sub-phase there is a
considerable increase both in copper and malachite
pieces, the former being slightly more common.
Here it is of interest to note that by the Grill Buildings
sub-phase, native copper objects were shaped by
hammering chunks of metal into sheets and then rolled
to form the artifact (for a brief description see Stech
1990: 56; Maddin et al. 1991 : 378). The first indications
of annealing are also present (Stech 1990: 57). Consid-
ering that the native copper objects of this sub-phase
are the .,earliest known metal objects" (Maddin et al.
1991: 375), the rather sudden implication of this, what
can be termed as .,a complex technology" or .,the pris-
tine stage of pyrotechnology" sets forth a number of
questions to consider. The primary problem is, of
course, whether or not this technology developed at
<;ayoni.i, or was imported from elsewhere. Even though
the rather sudden appearance of this technology sug-
gests the latter solution, it should also be considered
that the free-standing working areas of the Grill sub-
phase, like the ones in the Channeled Building sub-
phase, have not yet been recovered. So far excavated,
there is convincing evidence that most of the domestic
activities took place within the Grill Buildings, and that
the corridor-like spaces in between the grills served as
dumping areas.
The other question is the conceptual relation between
malac hite and copper, or in other words, whether or not
15
M. OzdoQan/A. OzdoQan
...
the people of Qayonu considered these two as related bone tools used in manufacturing is still in process for
or not. While the fact that different technologies were statistical and use-wear patterns.
employed in the manufacturing of these materials sug-
The last two sub-phases of Pre-Pottery Neolithic
gests that they were considered as distinct raw materi-
Qayonu indicates a decline of this industry. Even
als, the common source of them might suggest an al-
though there is the introduction of some new types of
ternative explanation. The presence of malachite in ear-
artifacts, and the abundance of unworked lumps of
lier sub-phases surmises the latter explanation.
malachite, no ateliers have yet been recovered. lt is sig-
During the succeeding sub-phases of Channeled Build- nificant that the latest occupation of Qayonu, belonging
ings and Cobble-Paved Buildings there is a noticeable to the Early Pottery Neolithic horizon, in spite of the
increase both in number and in typological variety of large area that has been excavated revealed very few
metal finds. At the present stage of our knowledge, metal artifacts. What this implies needs further evi-
these sub-phases indicate the climax of dealing with dence from contemporary sites.
metals at Qayonu. Even though there is the possibility
that future excavations might reveal more metal objects Below is an abridged presentation of the distribution
in the Cell Building sub-phase, we believe that the ten- pattern of metal finds by sub-phases:
dency of a decline of metal usage will not be altered.
However, this does not imply a decline in technology worked Cu worked malachite unworked
malachite
but only in their consumption. What this implies is of in- sub-phase quant. wt In gm quant. wt In gm quant wt In gm
terest. The Channeled Buildings and especially the
surface (si) 2 2.67 6 3.75+ 49 116.92
Cobble-Paved Buildings, both representing the older
Large-Room (lr1-6) 3 12.45+ 6 5.75 64 75.61
phase and the formative phase of the PPNB tradition, CeiVLarge-Room (c/lr) 2 0.30+ 3 1.92 42 48.82
were the time of considerable innovations. lt was dur- Cell (c) 10 18.40
ing this period that the entire settlement had gone (c3) 6 4.30 16 9.38+ 193 108.70
through a process of re-modelling, not only architec- (c2) 4 5.95 2 1.90 41 33.18
(et) 6 2.50+ 7 4.30+ 129 67.32
turally but also in the social organization (for social im-
Cobble-Paved/Cell (epic) 2 2.30 2 ? 56 47.15
plications of this period at Qayonu, and in southeast Cobble-Paved (cp) 4 10.05 10 10.45 25+ 67.94
Anatolian Neolithic, see especially A. Ozdogan 1995). lt (cp3) 1 0.10 14 14.18 104 497.59
seems justified that the southeastern Neolithic during (cp2) 2 4.00 51 .53+ 287 145.26
this horizon lived through a time of prosperity; this is (cpt ) 4 6.55 21 21 .81+ 176 412.67
(ctVcp) 5 2.75 15 12.75 98+ 125.34
also evidenced at sites such as Nevali Qori, Gobekli
Channeled (eh) 7 20.30 2 2.1 0 101 55.46
Tepe etc. Accordingly, the intensive consumption of (ch3) 23 22.52 303 281 .48 1614 1561.80
metal objects at this time stage does seem as the re- (ch2·3) 11 11 .28 8 7.84
flection of the social achievements in the more inten- (ch2) 4 6.80 39 48.50 197 159.33
sive exploitation of the environment, than as an acci- (ch1) 5 6.76 40 36.13 173 109.64
GriiV Channeled (g/ch) 2 2.70 2 2 2 0.50
dental happening.
Grill (g) 22 13.90 12 22.50 47 175.28
One of the most significant features recovered in these Basal Pits (bp) 5 7.85 3 2.85 29+ 104.55
Round Buildings (rH) 17 33.80
sub-phases are the .,workshops" (Fig. 1). Such working
undefined 2 3.65 5 10.40 31 35.32
places or ateliers are recognized as a number of rather unstratified (x) 2 0.81 22 19.93 1n 172.55
.,flimsy" hut-like structures, found in association with TOTAL 113 139.21+ 545 535.62 3670 4181 .0
the domestic buildings located in the western sector of
the settlement, in the large open areas in between the + weight of one or two pieces are missing.
buildings. lt seems evident that each atelier is special-
ized on a certain type of production, though most of
them are evidently for the manufacturing of ornaments.
These .,ornament producing ateliers" were, regardless
of the type of raw material, specialized on manufactur-
Typological seriation of the c;ayonu metal finds
ing of certain types, such as beads, bracelets and in-
(Figs. 2-3)
lays. The most significant of such production areas is
the one just to the south of Building Dl here numerous lt is not the intention of this paper either to present a
ornaments, malachite, copper, stone, bone, teeth and detailed typology of the metal finds of Qayonu, or to
shell (A. Ozdogan 1995) have been recovered, revealing deal with similar finds from other contemporaneous
all stages of production ranging from blanks to finished sites. Here we will restrict ourselves to the presenta-
ones. The tool sets of the ateliers always yield different tion of basic types and their distribution according to
sized flint drills and various obsidian scrapers, bone sub-phases just to familiarize with the basics. The to-
spatulas, borers and needles accompanied by small- or tal number of the worked pieces of malachite and cop-
middle-sized stone spheres, and occasionally grooved per is 658. Among them are 492 beads of which 464
stones. A more detailed study of the flint, obsidian and are malachite and 28 are of copper. Even though most

16
.~
Early metallurgy at <;ayonO Tepesi

19 20 21

.:·.. :.: HoyOk Bat1 Kesimi, KOI(Iik buluntu Dag1hm1

···:·i!J Western Section, Distribution of Small Finds

l~l enmi ~ malahit o

Worked malachite o

l slenm emi~ malahlt

Unworked malachite

Yamk alanlar
Burned areas

l'llk alan•
Knapplng area
CA '.
<;:urOmu' aga~h alan ?
Wooden concentration , .. )

Malahit konsantrasyonu
Malachite concentration

~ H

:· •
t
.. lm ~
f
Fig. 1: The workshop and distribution of copper and malachite in Channeled Building sub-phase.

of the malachite beads are disc-shaped, barrel-
shaped, spheroid, oval and cylinderical shaped ones
are also to be found. Incipient and finished ones occur
almost in equal numbers, 278 to 214 respectively.
Malachite beads are shaped and drilled by using the
same technique as the stone beads: grinding, scrap-
ing and drilled by flint borers. Besides the ones in the
ateliers, partially finished malachite beads are found
scattered in various parts of the site. A total of 28 cop-
per b eads was found (Fig. 4), 21 of them are earlier
than the Cell Building sub-phase. The pendants (Fig.
3.36, 37, Fig. 5) are the typical shapes of the Grill
Buildi ng subphase.
Another type of the ornaments are the inlays (Fig. 6).
Thick flat sheet s of malachite, rectangular or square, or
much thicker ones with an even surface and a rough
backsurface, and small conical shaped malachite are
the recognizable inlays. Similar forms especially the dif-
ferent sized rectangular pieces made of stone were also
found in great numbers together with the malachite
ones (Fig. 2.16, 20, 30, 31 ). 26 malac hite pieces can be
named as ,inlays", but many irregular pieces some-
times having traces of wear, cannot be categorized.
Two sea shells have the remnants of malachite inlays.
Inlays are also the typical ornamental elements of the
Cobble-Paved and Channeled Building subphases. Es-

17
M. Czdo~an/A. Czdo~an

c h + cp

e 'Q). I

·-L f}J
0

{ :·
-0- .-(
L
(/)- - -~- -o-
3 7
D 2 I
- 1 5 6 eyp 9 9

A _0
ld V r7TlYl7T7"ml 1 0
_0 ~ I 11
-e- @])
12

-(],-
.-·
4Z<llJ
21 <q;(7 22
-0-
((lJJ 2L

-fJ- -~u ­
~
-0-
qm
32
30

25
_f7;\ _ -
V u - 0
- .,, -
'alP

33 35

® (i)

0
-Q-
36 38 .
37 . 45

0 (]
-·l
<. .~ -~
{'}o,
__ , -
C\
- ~- ~
I
~ - @- -@ - ~
-~ -
- - _ :
... ~ -
'~~
....: ~ ,·
0'2) Vl0 49 ·~ . t:l!V 00
46 (l{;P L1 L8 50 51 52 SJ
@]>
~
V7

-uA -
55 57

0 2 3 cm.

Fig. 2: Main types of finds from Channeled Buildings and Cobble-Paved Buildings sub-phases.

18
 Early metallurgy at c;;ayonu Tepesi
.. ....
X +S f
0

-0-
-

rn .

7
-
@
ID.:::: 9 010 @ -
0. - 8

------Lr+c ------------------------------------------------------
-@- av
-~- -r::;-
. - G) - -0-
--
- \f) - . fo:\~
\;.J -~-
(l7J
12 ~1L
,.

8 15
.
~ raillJ =:z:o ~

16 17 18 19

-®-
a:o 20
Q&
I

.
'
21
(
<tll>_
'
.

22
-®-
tCl) 23
-16\-
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u
'

.
-

@lb 27
-@-
e:rtl
29 029

QiP

.. ·:}:,.;
j ;E
-
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36
\~t. .:;·
,,
"

-8-~
ab 38
0 3cm.

Fig. 3: Main types of finds from several sub-phases and some unstratified samples.
Abbrevation: x - unstratified finds; sf - surface finds; lr - finds from Large Room Buildings; c - finds from Cell -Plan Buildings; g
- find from Grill Buildings; bp - finds from basal pits; r - finds from Round Buildings.

19
M. Ozdogan/A. Ozdogan
...

,... ......-, . ., ,a..

r : r , • ,
,·( .• ~~
~ '
l,.. -- ..

0 1 2
0 1 2
Fig. 4: Copper bead made by rolling a beaten flat sheet. Fig. 7: Copper awl.

0 1 2 3
a__ll:,==:::::::~2--3 cm
Fig. 5: Typical forms of the Grill Buildings sub-phase: Incipient Fig. 8: Copper hook.
and finished copper pendants.

0 1

Fig. 6: Malachite inlays.

2 3cm.
---======---
0 1 2 3cm .

Fig. 9: Copper bead found in the Skull Building (BM).

20

0
pecially the rectangular forms continued to be used
through the end of the PPNB period of the settlement.
The number of the copper artifacts is less than the or-
namental type of finds. Most of them are awls and bor-
ers, and a few , hooks" (Fig. 2.1 , 2, 4, 5, 6, Fig. 3.35, Fig.
7 and 8). They were shaped by rolling the well beaten
flat sheets around themselves. Although we have no in
situ examples, probably they have been hafted in a
wood to use for leatherwork as Stech suggested (Stech
1990). What is interesting is that all of the awls and bor-
ers (total is 5) as well as one of the hooks, the other is
from the western sector, were found in the eastern sec-
tor of the settlement where no significant workshop is
defined in the sub-phases of Grill, Channeled and Cob-
bled-Paved Buildings. As a speculation, the western
sector of the settlement specialized in ornament pro-
duction, whereas the eastern sector on leatherwork. In
the Large-Room Buildings sub-phase several different
sized chipped-discs which were thought to be used in
leatherwork, also concentrated in that part of the set-
tlement. An ,arrowhead" and a perforator were found in
the deposits of Channeled Buildings sub-phase in the
western sector. Copper needles without eyes, total 14,
are the tool types of the earlier subphases except the
Round Buildings.
As it is evident from the above abridged presentation of
the basic pattern of the typology, the most common ob-
jects are simple beads of malachite and simple sheets
- presumed to be inlays - of copper and malachite.
True artifacts such as borers and hooks are rare. The
presence of more developed beads is also rare and
confined to cult practices.
Some comments on spatial distribution of metal
finds
The spatial distribution of all artifacts have finally been
worked. Here we will present some aspects that we
consider as outstanding or relevant to the use of metal
objects. Unworked malachite pieces seem to have a
random distribution throughout the site; however still,
they were found in quantities at the ateliers. This possi-
bly indicates that in no part of the site- so far excavat-
ed - there is an apparent storage of raw material.
The most significant copper implements were recov-
ered in the eastern section of the settlement, that is, at
or by the status/cult area (Ozdog an 1996). The metal
finds of the Skull Building, also in the same area, are
worth noting, here a total of two copper and nine mala-
chite finds have been recovered, relevant to the number
of the human remains within that building, conspicu-
ously small amount. But the most beautiful copper
bead was found lying in between the scattered bone
fragments in the eastern room of the Skull Building (BM
2c) (Fig. 9). A malachite and a copper bead were also
among the rows of arranged skulls in the western room
Early metallurgy at c;ayonO Tepesi
of the same building. Burial gift is a common practice,
especially during the Cell Building sub-phase, but only
in a single burial pit some malachite lumps were found.
Malachite or copper beads had never been found to-
gether with skeletons.
The simple beads indicate a random pattern throughout
the site. We surmise this distribution to indicate that na-
tive copper ornaments had status values, whereas
malachite was a common item.
Some conclusive remarks
The Pre-Pottery Neolithic assemblage of Qayonu, with
its metal finds, addresses to a number of questions;
most of which have more farfetched implications than
can be explained by simplistic explanations such as the
proximity of the site to a metal bearing zone. Here,
more than any other category, the answers are related
to how we perceive , Neolithic" communities. Until
about a few decades ago, the early beginnings of the
Neolithic period was considered as a simple transition-
al or interim stage between hunter-gatherers and agri-
cultural village communities. Man's first encounter with
cereals was considered, almost unanimously - not only
by the archaeologists but also by the cultural historians
- as the result of some sort of environmental pressure.
All theories on how and why food producing began, re-
quired a period of environmental stress, either because
of diminishing game and other edible plant resources or
because of desiccation. This inevitably implied a period
of struggle to survive with commun ities being in con-
stant search for food and living in small, rather simple
villages. However now, this picture is totally revised. As
had been quoted by Rosenberg a few years ago for the
Early Neolithic of Hallan Qemi (1994: 131 ), ,a hitherto
unsuspected degree of socio-cultural complexity for
the people of this time and place".
The recent evidence from sites like Qayonu, Nevali Qori,
Gobeklitepe etc. indicates that the , Neolithic forma-
tion" was much more complex and sophisticated than
previously thought. Issues such as .,social stratifica-
tion", , social organization", , intensive interaction be-
tween distinct areas", ,craft specialization", the devel-
opment of complex technologies such as , pyrotechnol-
ogy", , lime processing" and ,metallurgy", , monumental
architecture", ,public buildings", etc.- all of which pre-
viously would have been unthinkable for this early hori-
zon - have became real and based on concrete facts.
Likewise, it was during this period that there was al-
most an outburst in the use and extensive trade of sta-
tus or , luxury" items. Among these, for example the
fabulous bead industry of Qayonu, the terrazzo flooring ,
monumental cult buildings of Qayonu and of Nevali
Qori, the fantasy in the statues of Nevali Qori and
Gobekli are all highly suggestive of the emergence of a
social group, controlling not only the cult practices, but
21
M. Ozdo~an/A. Ozdo~an
also the social and economic life (see especially
Ozdogan & Ozdogan 1998). Within this context, the use
of copper and the associated implementation of a com-
plex technology in its manufacture, is yet another ele-
ment of the assemblage of status objects. The decline
in its use, in spite of the survival of the technology em-
ployed, seems to be associated with the collapse of the
Neolithic culture by the end of the PPNB.
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