Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences, cilt.34, sa.SI-1, ss.299-326, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)
Twenty-nine Neolithic polished stone axes from various archaeological sites in Eastern Thrace and İstanbul were analyzed in this study using petrographic and geochemical methods to identify their lithologies and locate their source rocks. We found that variable rock types, including diabase, siltstone, lava, granite, and serpentinite, were used to produce these stone tools in workshops. The same techniques were applied to samples of potential source rocks from a large area in NW Türkiye to determine the locations of the source rocks used to produce the stone axes. Diabase dykes of Şarköy ophiolite were identified as the source rock for the diabase polished stone axes, the Upper Cretaceous basaltic/andesitic lavas of İğneada and dykes cutting the Paleozoic of İstanbul as the source for the volcanic axes, and the Late Paleozoic granites in the Kırklareli region as the source rock for the polished granite stone axes. Two different source rocks were used to produce the siltstone axes. One of these source rocks was Upper Cretaceous volcaniclastic sediment from İğneada, but the second could not be identified. The polished stone axes, found in various settlements far from their source rocks, reveal the existence of a significant trade network in the Neolithic period. An excellent example is offered by the diabase axes found in the settlements of Aşağı Pınar and Kanlıgeçit in Kırklareli and Hoca Çeşme in Enez/Edirne, which are >100 km and 70 km away from the known workshops of Şarköy, respectively. Siltstone tools were also distributed throughout the settlements. The granite and lava axes were made from nearby sources, indicating a more localized trade network.