In recent decades archaeological research in the Near East has shifted from the lowlands of Mesopotamia and south-western Iran to Syria, the Levant and Anatolia (in the book under review this is taken to be equivalent to the territory of modern Turkey, without further discussion). This change in research direction can be attributed to political as well as scientific reasons, and has led to an enormous build-up of knowledge and material concerning all periods of human existence in Asia Minor; it is extremely difficult to form an overview of this period of human history. This attempt to present a coherent and substantiated outline is therefore more than welcome, not just to the core community of scientists but especially to those whose interests relate to Anatolia more generally. Steadman and McMahon's edited volume fully meets these expectations and efforts: they have brought together some of the most experienced scholars, each contributing on his or her specialism. This approach allows an in-depth and up-to-date account and discussion which could not be accomplished by a single scholar. Thus this volume is a major advance on other recent publications (e.g. A. Sagona and P. Zimansky, Ancient Turkey, London: Routledge, 2009).
The book is divided into five main parts: the first formulates the background, the second deals with the geographical sub-regions in chronological order, the third covers the rich philological and linguistic heritage and summarizes its historical implications, the fourth focuses on major topics which connect Anatolia with the surrounding regions, and the fifth part offers a description of some of the major archaeological sites. Each chapter consists of several independent articles. Since a thorough discussion of every part, let alone each article, is impossible, I will try to make some observations on what could have been added, not demanding completeness or evenhandedness.
The coverage aims to be comprehensive, and in general it succeeds. Only a few sites and phenomena are missing or under-represented: a chapter covering the Palaeolithic cultures of Anatolia would have supported understanding of the question of where the early Neolithic people came from, and provided some background to one of the most important developments in human history. In this book one has the impression that culture grew out of nothing in the Neolithic period, although recent studies have shown that the Palaeolithic background of Eastern Anatolia is important to the development of early Neolithic cultures. A second and, in my view, most important achievement of modern archaeological research, neglected in this work, is the general field of environmental studies (i.e. geography, archaeobotany, archaeozoology, climate studies, etc.). The formative impact of the natural setting on any pre-modern culture is well documented in countless studies. Despite that, in some chapters, where the relationship between the development of human cultures and the natural setting has been touched upon, a more general appraisal would have been necessary, especially against the background of groundbreaking research that took place in Asia Minor. An evaluation of the development of the fauna and flora under anthropogenic influence would have been a most important contribution to our understanding of the cultures of Anatolia.
Although it is appreciated that different specialists were recruited for each chapter, for this reviewer the lack of integration of individual topics into an overall framework is a major shortcoming. Perhaps the theme of the natural background might have served as such a binding frame. Such an approach would have avoided much repetition and, more importantly, it would have allowed an explanation of the differences in the appearances of material cultures in different regions.
Moreover, the impact of the natural setting leads to a cultural phenomenon which unfortunately remains almost completely unexplored in this book. Anatolia, especially north of the Taurus Range, is rich in cultural and religious monuments connected to nature, for example open-air sanctuaries, rock carvings and paintings, rock reliefs and built installations connected to nature in one way or another. Unfortunately this important and formative aspect of Anatolian cultures is to a large degree absent here, although a discussion in connection with the settled cultures which form the focus of the book would have added a much welcomed facet. In the same way a more detailed discussion of the heritage of the arts would have facilitated an understanding of this rich and important part of the cultural legacy of Ancient Anatolia, and its social functions in particular.
The selection of which topics or sites are of key importance to the cultural history of Anatolia is without doubt a difficult task, and will probably never meet everybody's ideals. But a site such as Norşuntepe should have taken a more prominent part, since this is the only place in Eastern Anatolia where the transformation of a small village into a palatial early urban centre has been described. Thus this site, also inadequately published, offers the key to understanding the social changes of the third millennium bc, culminating in the development of a local kingship. A site of similar importance for the cultural development of south-east Turkey, likewise missing here, is Lidar Höyük, where a well-preserved settlement of the Middle Bronze Age has been widely unearthed. In the chapter dealing with the Iron Age in Central Anatolia the completely excavated site of Kuşaklı is unfortunately missing as well, even though it offers a unique opportunity to study a late Iron Age fortified settlement at the border between Central and Eastern Anatolia (K. Powroznik, Die Eisenzeit in Kuşaklı, Rahden, 2010).
The book is technically well edited and each article is accompanied by ample illustrations. Unfortunately the quality of the photographs is not as one would have wished in a publication of a handbook character. A significant improvement would have been to gather the bibliographical notes following each chapter into an overall bibliography, thus saving space in which to explore important topics in more detail.
Without doubt this book is major and most welcome summary of the present state of knowledge and it will become one of the major references for the study of the cultures and history of pre-classical Anatolia.
