K. Aslihan Yener
Encyclopedia
K. Aslihan Yener is an archaeologist of Turkish
descent whose work on Bronze Age
tin
mine
s in Anatolia
revealed a new possible source of the important metal
.
to Turkish parents, and moved to the United States
, in New Rochelle, New York
at the age of six months. In 1964, she entered Adelphi University
in Garden City, New York
planning to study chemistry. Soon she visited her native Turkey and subsequently transferred to Robert College
in Istanbul in 1966, where she studied the humanities. While studying a course in Roman
ruins in Turkey
, she noticed and became interested in the earlier prehistoric periods at those sites. After graduating from Robert College in 1969 she continued graduate school and majored in archaeology
. She received her PhD
from Columbia University
in New York in 1980, and was an associate professor
of history
at Bosphorus University from 1980 to 1988.
objects. She found that a lot of silver had come out of mines in the Taurus Mountains
in Anatolia (Modern Turkey) in prehistoric times, and showed that mining
in this region was more extensive than previously thought.
is today in the Bronze Age. It was a vital ingredient of bronze
, used with copper
to make the alloy
. In 1982, she found traces of tin in the Taurus Mountains. This was somewhat surprising because old Assyria
n records indicated that they imported tin into Anatolia, suggesting that the area did not have a supply of its own. In turn, the Assyria
ns imported large quantities of tin from the east possibly Afghanistan
.
Working with the Turkish Geological Research and Survey Directorate (MTA), she directed archaeometallurgy surveys in the Taurus Mountains as well as the Pontic Mountains sampling ore
s for lead isotope analysis. In 1987 cassiterite
(tin ore) crystal
s in a stream
in the Taurus foothills
were found by the MTA geologists. Together with these teams she researched an Early Bronze Age mine called Kestel
that proved to hold a tin mine. Additionally, fragments of Bronze Age pottery
, charcoal for radiocarbon dating were found in and near the mine. Inside, there were vein
s of bright purple tin ore.
The Kestel mine has two miles (3 km) of tunnel
s, many of which are only about two feet wide, just large enough to allow children to do the mining work. In one abandoned shaft, a burial
of twelve to fifteen children was found, presumably killed while working in the mine.
In 1989, on a hill
opposite the mine, Bronze Age pottery, an estimated 50,000 ground stone tool
s, and evidence that this site had been continuously occupied from 3290 BC-1840 BC. A great deal of the city was semi subterranean. The pottery at the site, named Göltepe, provided the final proof of the tin industry in the Bronze Age. Many thick crucibles, lined with slag
were found at the site and tests revealed the slag to have very high concentrations of tin, 30% to almost 100%. It is likely that after the ore nuggets were washed, stone tools were used to grind
them to a powder
, and then the powder was smelted to obtain the tin metal. All of this can be accomplished with Bronze Age tools and methods.
In 1993, Yener had found enough evidence to state that tin mining in Anatolia was, "a fully developed industry with specialization of work" by 2870 BC, around the beginning of the Bronze Age. This meant that trade in the Bronze Age was probably more complicated than had been thought, as competition for tin existed.
at the University of Chicago
and remains there as the Associate Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology. Currently she is the director of the Amuq Valley Regional Projects in southern Turkey and is researching the site of Tell Atchana (ancient Alalakh), the capital city of the Kingdom of Mukish (the Amuq) during the Hittite
period (Late Bronze Age c. 2000-1200 BC) and is teaching at Koç University
since 2009.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
descent whose work on Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
s in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
revealed a new possible source of the important metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
.
Education and early years
Aslıhan was born in IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
to Turkish parents, and moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...
at the age of six months. In 1964, she entered Adelphi University
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...
in Garden City, New York
Garden City, New York
Garden City is a village in the town of Hempstead in central Nassau County, New York, in the United States. It was founded by multi-millionaire Alexander Turney Stewart in 1869, and is located on Long Island, to the east of New York City, from mid-town Manhattan, and just south of the town of...
planning to study chemistry. Soon she visited her native Turkey and subsequently transferred to Robert College
Robert College
Robert College of Istanbul , is one of the most selective independent private high schools in Turkey. Robert College is a co-educational, boarding school with a wooded campus on the European side of Istanbul between the two bridges on the Bosphorus, with the Arnavutköy district to the east, and...
in Istanbul in 1966, where she studied the humanities. While studying a course in Roman
Roman architecture
Ancient Roman architecture adopted certain aspects of Ancient Greek architecture, creating a new architectural style. The Romans were indebted to their Etruscan neighbors and forefathers who supplied them with a wealth of knowledge essential for future architectural solutions, such as hydraulics...
ruins in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, she noticed and became interested in the earlier prehistoric periods at those sites. After graduating from Robert College in 1969 she continued graduate school and majored in archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
. She received her PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York in 1980, and was an associate professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
at Bosphorus University from 1980 to 1988.
Early research
Her first project was using chemical techniques to trace the origins of prehistoric silverSilver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
objects. She found that a lot of silver had come out of mines in the Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
in Anatolia (Modern Turkey) in prehistoric times, and showed that mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
in this region was more extensive than previously thought.
Bronze Age tin discoveries
Next, she turned to studying the origins of Bronze Age tin because of high trace levels of tin in the polymetallic ores of Turkey. Tin was as scarce and valuable as petroleumPetroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
is today in the Bronze Age. It was a vital ingredient of bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
, used with copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
to make the alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
. In 1982, she found traces of tin in the Taurus Mountains. This was somewhat surprising because old Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n records indicated that they imported tin into Anatolia, suggesting that the area did not have a supply of its own. In turn, the Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
ns imported large quantities of tin from the east possibly Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
.
Working with the Turkish Geological Research and Survey Directorate (MTA), she directed archaeometallurgy surveys in the Taurus Mountains as well as the Pontic Mountains sampling ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
s for lead isotope analysis. In 1987 cassiterite
Cassiterite
Cassiterite is a tin oxide mineral, SnO2. It is generally opaque, but it is translucent in thin crystals. Its luster and multiple crystal faces produce a desirable gem...
(tin ore) crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
s in a stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
in the Taurus foothills
Foothills
Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...
were found by the MTA geologists. Together with these teams she researched an Early Bronze Age mine called Kestel
Kestel
-Archaeology:Kestel is a probable site of Bronze Age tin mining in the Taurus Mountains in ancient Anatolia . Tin was as scarce and valuable as petroleum is today in the Bronze Age. It was a vital ingredient of bronze, used with copper to make the alloy.K...
that proved to hold a tin mine. Additionally, fragments of Bronze Age pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
, charcoal for radiocarbon dating were found in and near the mine. Inside, there were vein
Vein (geology)
In geology, a vein is a distinct sheetlike body of crystallized minerals within a rock. Veins form when mineral constituents carried by an aqueous solution within the rock mass are deposited through precipitation...
s of bright purple tin ore.
The Kestel mine has two miles (3 km) of tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
s, many of which are only about two feet wide, just large enough to allow children to do the mining work. In one abandoned shaft, a burial
Burial
Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...
of twelve to fifteen children was found, presumably killed while working in the mine.
In 1989, on a hill
Hill
A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit, although in areas with scarp/dip topography a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills...
opposite the mine, Bronze Age pottery, an estimated 50,000 ground stone tool
Tool
A tool is a device that can be used to produce an item or achieve a task, but that is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such...
s, and evidence that this site had been continuously occupied from 3290 BC-1840 BC. A great deal of the city was semi subterranean. The pottery at the site, named Göltepe, provided the final proof of the tin industry in the Bronze Age. Many thick crucibles, lined with slag
Slag
Slag is a partially vitreous by-product of smelting ore to separate the metal fraction from the unwanted fraction. It can usually be considered to be a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. However, slags can contain metal sulfides and metal atoms in the elemental form...
were found at the site and tests revealed the slag to have very high concentrations of tin, 30% to almost 100%. It is likely that after the ore nuggets were washed, stone tools were used to grind
Mill (grinding)
A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
them to a powder
Granular material
A granular material is a conglomeration of discrete solid, macroscopic particles characterized by a loss of energy whenever the particles interact . The constituents that compose granular material must be large enough such that they are not subject to thermal motion fluctuations...
, and then the powder was smelted to obtain the tin metal. All of this can be accomplished with Bronze Age tools and methods.
In 1993, Yener had found enough evidence to state that tin mining in Anatolia was, "a fully developed industry with specialization of work" by 2870 BC, around the beginning of the Bronze Age. This meant that trade in the Bronze Age was probably more complicated than had been thought, as competition for tin existed.
Current position and research
In 1993, Yener joined the Oriental InstituteOriental Institute, Chicago
The Oriental Institute , established in 1919, is the University of Chicago's archeology museum and research center for ancient Near Eastern studies.- History and purpose:James Henry Breasted built up the collection of the Haskell Oriental Museum...
at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and remains there as the Associate Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology. Currently she is the director of the Amuq Valley Regional Projects in southern Turkey and is researching the site of Tell Atchana (ancient Alalakh), the capital city of the Kingdom of Mukish (the Amuq) during the Hittite
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
period (Late Bronze Age c. 2000-1200 BC) and is teaching at Koç University
Koç University
Koç University is a private, non-profit institution, founded in 1993 and located in Istanbul, Turkey. One of the top universities in Turkey, it is supported by the financial resources of the Vehbi Koç Foundation, set up by Vehbi Koç, a leading Turkish businessman, “to serve humanity by increasing...
since 2009.