From bowls to pots: the dairying revolution in Northwest Turkey, a view from Barcın Höyük, 6600 to 6000 BCE

Research has identified Northwest Turkey as a key region for the development of dairying inthe seventh millennium BCE, yet little is known about how this practice began or evolvedthere. This research studies Barcın Ho¨yu¨ k, a site located in Bursa’s Yenişehir Valley, whichranges chronologically from 6600 BCE, when the first evidence of settled life appears in theMarmara Region, to 6000 BCE, when Neolithic habitation at the site ceases. Using potterysherds diagnostic by vessel category and type, this paper aims at identifying which onesmay have been primarily used to store, process, or consume dairy products. Organic residueanalysis of selected samples helped address the process of adoption and intensificationof milk processing in this region over time. The lipid residue data discussed in this paperderive from 143 isotopic results subsampled from 173 organic residues obtained from 805Neolithic potsherds and suggest that bowls and four-lugged pots may have been preferredcontainers for processing milk. The discovery of abundant milk residues even among theearliest ceramics indicates that the pioneer farmers arrived in the region already with theknowhow of dairying and milk processing. In fact, these skills and the reliance on secondaryproducts may have given them one of the necessary tools to successfully venture into theunfarmed lands of Northwest Anatolia in the first place.