DEPAS AND TANKARD TYPE VESSELS IN THE LIGHT OF THE CULTURAL RELATIONS OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL ANATOLIA IN EARLY BRONZE AGE

Pottery is one of the most important components of a culture. With easy imitation and transport potential, it is also the best indicator of cultural relations. Throughout the Early Bronze Age various ceramic cultures are developed both in Western and Central Anatolia. As a result of trade and cultural relations, the local characteristic ceramics such as depas and tankard begin to be seen in a wider geographical area than their original distribution. This article investigates depas and tankard type of vessels in regard to Western and Central Anatolian cultural relations in the Early Bronze Age. These pottery forms appear in a wide geography of the Aegean world, the Balkans, Anatolia and Syria. Depas and tankard type of vessels, which are known to be of Western Anatolian origin, divide into various types according to their regional characteristics. The vessels show a common drinking culture in Western and Central Anatolia. In this article four main types of depa and two main types for tankards are analyzed. There are two known main production centers, Pisidia in South Western Anatolia, and Northwest Anatolia. As a result, local or imported depa and tankards that are found in Western and Central Anatolia show the cultural connections with their production centers. South Central Anatolia was greatly influenced by the production center of Pisidia in South Western Anatolia, whereas North Central Anatolia was influenced by the production center in Northwest Anatolia. These cultural connections are also evident from architecture and small finds in South Central Anatolia, whereas in North Central Anatolia, it is observed only in the small finds. Throughout the EBA II and III periods, depa and tankards must have spread due to their easy transport for trade activities or through the connections between local workshops.