A TERMINAL NATUFIAN TECHNOCOMPLEX ON THE BOUNDARY OF THE MIDDLE TAURUS MOUNTAIN RANGE AND PAZARCIK PLAIN: FIRST RESULTS FROM YUSUFUN KAYASI CAVE IN KAHRAMANMARAŞ

• DOI: 10.58488/collan.1138789
• Publication Date: 2023-11-16T23:17:26Z
• Authors: Cevdet Merih EREK

Yusufun Kayası Cave is located 45 km east of Kahramanmaraş city center. The cave was discovered as part of the “Prehistoric Survey in Kahramanmaraş Province Project” carried out by a team, directed by Cevdet Merih Erek between 2006 and 2012. We suggest that the elements of the lithic material culture from the cave, including lunates, backed bladelets, end scrapers, perforators, sickle elements (on fragments of blade and flakes), denticulated and notched tools, have parallels with those of “Harifian” culture defined from the Negev and Sinai regions. At the same time, there are also traces of technological innovations associated with plant processing and agriculture, including grinding stone and pulverizing tools recovered from the cave deposits. This study aims to describe this new cultural tradition in Anatolia and describes its similarities and differences within the Near Eastern region.