Yumuktepe (Yümüktepe Höyük) is a Neolithic mound site active from c. 6300 BCE to Byzantine times. On the turquoise Turkish Mediterranean, in the Stone Age and later Yumuktepe is a vital trade and manufacturing center.
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The Yumuktepe Höyük has been home to many civilizations. Skulls of the Hittite period and seals from the Neolithic period are unearthed. Originally the town is called Elipru.
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Within the city limits of Mersin, Turkey, Yumuktepe is like many tell or mound sites, similar in construction, each with unique features and history decreed by culture and environment. Other amazing Neolithic centers are Çayönü Tepesi (Cayonu Tepe) and Kültepe (Kanesh).
In a mound or tell site, each generation literally builds upon the previous. At Yumuktepe 23 levels are found so far. One of the most famous Neolithic mound sites is Çatalhöyük, about 280 km (174 mi) to the northwest, with 18 levels of habitation uncovered and still digging.
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Levels of occupation of Yumuktepe date from c. 6300 BCE through to the medieval world. According to archaeologist John Garstang, earliest tools unearthed in excavations are of stone or ceramic. Bone and antler tools are also found at Neolithic sites.
Flint and obsidian are favorite Neolithic materials for knives, daggers and arrowheads. Flint is well suited for hand axes and hide scrapers. Flint tools carve immense blocks of limestone from a quarry to be used at Gobekli Tepe.
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While obsidian is popular in ritual use, it's also incorporated into weapons, causing savage damage. Early Mesoamericans use obsidian as sacrificial knives. Both obsidian and flint fracture to a sharp edge and are valuable trade items in the Stone Age.
Both agriculture and animal husbandry are economic activities in Yumuktepe. The people keep and herd sheep, goats, pigs and cattle. The mound habitation layer dating to c. 4500 BCE yields remains of one of the earliest fortifications, indicating an ancient fortress.
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According to Italian archaeologist Isabella Caneva, during the Chalcolithic or Copper Age (c. 5000 - 3500 BCE) a copper blast furnace is used in Yumuktepe. Copper is an important industry. Cyprus is a prolific source, and native copper is also found in the Taurus Mountains.
The earliest record of a sailing ship is on a c. 3500 Egyptian vase. Seafaring cultures row or paddle watercraft even after the sail is developed. Trade is among the first forms of human interaction. Neolithic trade routes clear the way for later merchants and travelers.
Neolithic trade and production centers include Mount Nemrut (obsidian) and Solnitsata off the Black Sea (salt) in today's Bulgaria. Baltic amber appears in Spain by the 4th millennium BCE. Other trade route items are olives, oil, metals, beads, pottery, baskets, fabrics and dye.
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"Storage objects represent some of the principle attributes of the Neolithic period. The Yumuktepe site is well known thanks to these remnants of massive surface storage structures made of burnt clay." - Isabella Caneva
According to Caneva, a pottery find at the site has significant meaning. She explains,
“There were many potteries inside the building. These pieces belonged to one type of product. These bowls are all the same, mass-produced. There were around 700 bowls in this building. This is a big place for a standard family or restaurant. We think that this is a place where public or ceremonial meals are held or food is distributed to the public.”
In this case it could be a sacrificial area, where the sacrificed animal, such as goat, boar or bull, is eaten by the inhabitants in a feast. These are the early festivals.
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Methods of extracting copper from ore sources are well known by the 4th millennium BCE and vital to the growing use and development of copper and copper alloys. Lake Van, in today's Armenia, is an important ancient source of copper ore.
In pre-Bronze Age Mesopotamia and Anatolia, metallurgists hone their skills to produce pots, trays, saucers, weapons and drinking vessels. Anatolian smiths are the first to extract iron from ore, and know the secret of making steel from c. 1800 BCE.
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Like many Hittite holdings, Yumuktepe comes under attack by Sea Peoples c. 1200 BCE. The Assyrians of Upper Mesopotamia take advantage of weakness caused by marauding Sea Peoples, along with complications of extended drought and recent seismic activity.
Assyria is one of the few nations almost unaffected by the late Bronze Age military and rogue attacks, and subsequent collapse of empires. Sworn enemies of the Hittites, they are quick to invade Hittite holdings as power dramatically shifts.
During the Roman Empire, the town Zephyrium to the south of Yumuktepe is founded. Emperor Hadrian (r. 117–138) renames the city Hadrianapolis. In the early Byzantine Empire, the nearby settlement of Soli, 10 km (6.2 mi) to the west, increases its influence.
Yumuktepe subsequently experiences a decline in its former status. Today Yumuktepe has moved inland. Although Yumuktepe is once a coastal settlement, the silt carried by the nearby Efrenk River builds upon the coast at the mouth of the river.
At first the river runs from the Taurus Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea at Yumuktepe. The mound is now 2.5 km (1.6 mi) north of the Mediterranean shore.
This natural phenomenon also appears in the city of Ur, Mesopotamia, as the city gradually moves inland from prehistoric times. Founded on the coast of the Persian Gulf in c. 3800 BCE, it's about 313 km (c. 195 mi) inshore today.
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