Haçilar

Haçilar is an important prehistoric settlement located in Western Anatolia, near the modern-day Gölhisar district of Burdur province, dating back to the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. This mound, bearing traces of continuous settlement from the mid-6th millennium BCE onwards, holds great scientific value for understanding the lifestyles, artistic expressions, and cultural development of the region's early agricultural communities. It is particularly known for its distinctive painted pottery.

History

The settlement of Haçilar was first established in the mid-6th millennium BCE, during the Early Neolithic period. Excavations conducted by the British archaeologist James Mellaart between 1957 and 1960 revealed nine distinct settlement layers on the mound. The earliest layers indicate rectangular mud-brick dwellings, showing similarities with other important centers of the period, such as Çatalhöyük. Throughout the Neolithic period, Haçilar hosted a community that subsisted on agriculture and animal husbandry, possessing advanced pottery production. It particularly distinguished itself during the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic periods, dating to the 5th millennium BCE, with its painted pottery adorned with red and cream-colored geometric patterns. These ceramics became one of the defining characteristics of the Haçilar culture and provided important insights into cultural interactions with other settlements in the region. The settlement continued to exist until the early 4th millennium BCE, after which it was abandoned for unknown reasons. Haçilar's long-term and continuous settlement offers a unique laboratory for studying the cultural evolution of Western Anatolia during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods.

Geographic Location

The ancient settlement of Haçilar is located in southwestern modern-day Turkey, approximately 25 kilometers southwest of Gölhisar district in Burdur province, within the Gölhisar Plain. Its coordinates are specified as 37.6 latitude and 30.1 longitude. This strategic location, situated west of Lake Burdur, offered a living environment with fertile agricultural lands, abundant water resources, and hunting potential for people of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. The region's richness in natural resources was instrumental in Haçilar's selection as a long-term settlement. Its geographical proximity to other prehistoric settlements in the vicinity (e.g., Kuruçay Höyük) indicates the existence of cultural and commercial interactions among the communities of the period. The plain where Haçilar is located, being at the foothills of the Taurus Mountains, allowed access to both the resources offered by mountainous regions and the agricultural advantages provided by the plain's climate.

Significance in Antiquity

Haçilar was one of the culturally and economically significant centers of Western Anatolia during the prehistoric period. Economically, the inhabitants of the settlement possessed a developed agricultural economy; they cultivated cereals such as wheat and barley, and met their nutritional needs by domesticating animals like sheep, goats, and cattle. Furthermore, the high-quality and aesthetically pleasing painted ceramics they produced transformed Haçilar into a regional production and perhaps trade center. These ceramics are important cultural indicators reflecting the artistic understanding and technological skills of the period. Politically, Haçilar is considered to have been an influential community center on a regional scale, possessing the complex social structures of Neolithic village communities, rather than a 'city-state' in the modern sense. Evidence for religious beliefs emerges through the stylized mother goddess figurines found on the mound and the custom of intramural burials. These findings indicate that beliefs related to fertility and the cycle of life played a central role in the cultural life of the Haçilar community. In these respects, Haçilar holds a key position for understanding the social, economic, and cultural dynamics of Western Anatolia during the prehistoric period.

Coinage

Haçilar is a prehistoric settlement that reached its peak on the stage of history during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. The tradition of coinage, however, emerged much later in Anatolia and the Mediterranean world, during the Iron Age, specifically in the 7th century BCE during the Lydian Kingdom. Therefore, the concept of coinage had not yet been invented during the period when Haçilar was active. No coins from this settlement are recorded in the NumisTR database. Haçilar's economy was based on pre-monetary systems such as barter and commodity exchange.

Archaeological Remains

As a result of archaeological excavations at Haçilar, numerous significant remains from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods have been unearthed on the mound. Today, the most prominent remains visible to visitors on the mound are the foundational traces of mud-brick architecture and the stratigraphic sections of different settlement layers. The structures uncovered during excavations generally consist of single-room or adjoining-room, rectangular-plan mud-brick dwellings. The floors of these dwellings were typically plastered and painted. Among the most striking finds are the distinctive Haçilar-style painted ceramics with glossy surfaces adorned with geometric patterns, terracotta mother goddess figurines, stone tools, bone tools, and obsidian fragments. These objects provide invaluable data for understanding the daily lives, craftsmanship, and belief systems of the people of that period. A large portion of the artifacts recovered from the excavations is exhibited at the Burdur Archaeology Museum, offering visitors the opportunity to directly experience the richness of the Haçilar culture.

Today

The ancient settlement of Haçilar is currently located within the borders of Gölhisar district in Burdur province, near a modern village. The mound is approximately 25-30 kilometers from Burdur city center and is easily accessible by road. Visitors can explore the mound area to experience the remains of a prehistoric settlement and its geographical location. However, the most valuable finds and detailed information about the site are housed in the Burdur Archaeology Museum. The museum possesses a rich collection including ceramics, figurines, and other artifacts from Haçilar, making it a must-see destination for those interested in the region's prehistoric past.