In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

  • From the Guest Editors
  • Sharon R. Steadman, Gregory McMahon, and T. Emre Şerifoğlu

This theme issue on the site of Çadır Höyük, in the Yozgat province of the north central Anatolian plateau, came out of a discussion with Ann Killebrew, co-editor of JEMAHS. When it was decided that Ann would welcome a proposal for the issue, the challenge to the guest editors was what we should cover, given that Çadır was occupied for over 5,000 years! After a team meeting in the field in 2018, we had an outline of articles, described in more detail below, which we presented to Ann and co-editor Sandra Scham; the result of that meeting can be found in the succeeding pages. Our excavation team has worked on a multitude of collaborative publications and grants over the years. This issue, however, is the first time that the research carried out by members of the entire team, whose expertise spans the many periods represented at Çadır, can be found between the pages of one publication. We are indeed grateful to JEMAHS for providing the opportunity to present the breadth of occupation of this small but very dynamic settlement.

The special issue starts with an article about the late Chalcolithic and Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age transitional occupation levels of Çadır Höyük, which correspond to the Uruk period in Mesopotamia. The architectural traditions and evolving material culture of the fourth millennium BCE are introduced, and the economic and cultural connections of this settlement with the wider region are discussed. This is followed by a similarly structured article, this time evaluating how the inhabitants of Çadır Höyük adapted to the changing sociopolitical and economic systems in the region during the Late Bronze Age and following Iron Age, when north central Anatolia was under the control of regional political powers like the Hittite and Phrygian kingdoms. This chronological series of evaluations of sociopolitical and economic adaptation of Çadır Höyük populations through the ages ends with the Late Roman and Byzantine period, when the region was a rural province of these eastern Mediterranean empires. It should be noted that these evaluations and interpretations are based not only on architectural remains and cultural material, but also on well-stratified archaeozoological and archaeobotanical remains.

The focus shifts to more recent cultural changes and socioeconomic adaptation processes with the following two articles. The first of these is about the modern local culture at and around Peyniryemez, which is the closest village to Çadır Höyük, partially based on the personal observations of the project directors. Starting with the post-medieval demographic and cultural changes in Yozgat province, the article provides a narration of, and evaluates changes in, lifestyle, as observed since the initiation of the Çadır Höyük excavation project in the early 1990s. The next article informs us about the value of old maps and aerial photographs for studying the evolution of settlement patterns and land use, also providing hints about demographic and cultural changes. The importance of these documents for examining the architectural traditions at the site and for better understanding Çadır Höyük in its wider archaeological context is also discussed.

The sixth article is about a number of Late Chalcolithic human remains unearthed at Çadır Höyük. These remains, and more particularly the skulls, display some observable modifications, which are believed to be intentional. The possible cultural connotations of these are discussed in comparison with ancient examples from all [End Page v] across the globe. The final article offers commentary on the challenges and joys of carrying out conservation on artifacts that derive from a variety of ages and materials. This variety and richness of subjects very well reflects the multi- and interdisciplinary research approach adopted by the Çadır Höyük project since its beginning.

The codirectors, Gregory McMahon and Sharon Steadman, of the Çadır Höyük Excavation are also the only two survivors from the very first season of work in 1993. We were at the beginnings of our careers a quarter of a century ago and had...

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