Chalcolithic and EBA Pottery from Southwest Anatolia

Chance discoveries made in the hinterland of Fethiye draw attention to our ignorance not only of the coastal zones during the Chalcolithic and EBA periods but also of the patterns of occupation and economic activity in the region. Excavations and surveys in the highland zone of Golhisar (Burdur) and Seki and Elmali (Antalya) have indicated seemingly year-round occupation in these areas in the Early Chalcolithic period (Hacilar phase). The recent discoveries in the Esen Cay valley leading down to Xanthus indicate possible connections between the highland and the lowland zones. What sort of connection? Further discoveries of Late Chalcolithic and EBA material in the coastal zone of Fethiye allow the possibility of comparison and contrast between the early and the late prehistoric phases and also between the prehistoric and classical phases in this area. Transhumance, both in the second millennium BC and in later periods (extending to our own), has unquestionably played an important role in the economic and social relations between highland and lowland zones: did it also play a role in the early prehistoric period?