In this paper, one of the most frequently used terms in Neolithic studies, e.g. the so-called “Neolithic package”, will be discussed. Apart from providing a brief historical background of the term and how it was used since the 80’s, the text will concentrate on a plausible definition and the possible contents of the package which can be observed as a common set of objects in Southwest Asia, Anatolia and Southeast Europe. It will be argued that the use of this concept has both advantages and disadvantages. Although the term provides a macro level look to the large geography mentioned above, that was obviously closely interconnected in the course of 7th and 6th millennia BC, the term should be implemented cautiously at regions where the elements of the package do not seem to be fully integrated into the life of the groups.

Increasing field work in the ̇Izmir region has produced much sought tangible evidence about the ways in which food-producing communities emerged in the Aegean. Focusing on the archaeological and zooarchaeological data from Ulucak and neighboring sites, the authors discuss the possible mechanisms of initial farmer-herder dispersals into the region. The authors stress that the lack of pre-Neolithic strata in the eastern Aegean impedes a full understanding of forager-farmer interactions in the early Holocene.

This study discusses the function(s) of Neolithic stamps and their designs by using two different lines of evidence. The function of the artifact itself is considered by using contextual information from the Neolithic site of Ulucak Höyük, located in the vicinity of I?zmir in western Turkey. It will be argued that the co-occurrence of stamps with objects related to textilemanufacturing—e.g. bone needles, spindle whorls and loom weights—at Ulucak allows us to interpret their function as stamps to make patterns, among other cultural media, on woven fabrics. Secondly, the role of images on stamps is discussed in terms of what they might have signified to the communities who reproduced them over a vast time and area. The intention is to demonstrate that geometrical and floral images observed on Neolithic stamps were not simply decorative but also symbolic, referring to central themes and stories of—and for—early farming communities.

The Epipalaeolithic and Mesolithic periods of Turkey are poorly understood. The discovery of two sites (Kocaman and Kayadibi) in the Karaburun Peninsula in coastal western Turkey opens a whole new window into our understanding of these periods in Turkey and beyond by providing the first solid evidence for pre-Neolithic foragers. This article presents typological and technological properties of the lithics from these two open-air sites in terms of raw material selection, tool types, and technological preferences and discusses the results in relation to contemporary Anatolian, Aegean, southwest Asian, and southeast European industries. Typological and technological analyses suggest that Kocaman lithics were part of the eastern Mediterranean and northern Aegean Epipalaeolithic traditions; the Kayadibi lithics, on the other hand, correspond well with the Aegean Mesolithic assemblages. The lack of any affinity between the Kayadibi and Initial Neolithic lithic assemblages from western Turkey has important implications about the Neolithization process of western Turkey and the Aegean.

Despite ongoing fieldwork focusing on the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods of the Aegean, the eastern part of this region, especially western Turkey, remains almost entirely unexplored in terms of early prehistory. There is virtually no evidence from this area that can contribute to broader research themes such as the dispersal of early hominins, the distribution of Early Holocene foragers and early forager-farmer interactions. The primary aim of the Karaburun Archaeological Survey Project is to address this situation by collecting data from the eastern side of the Aegean Sea, thereby contributing to the currently debated issues of Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean prehistory.