Early Bronze Age, 3000-2000 BC

The black pottery is typical of the Yortan Culture (2700-2300 BC).

Yortan is situated in the valley of the Bakırçay River (the antique Kaikos), some 70 km north of Izmir.
The site was used for burials and was excavated by the Frenchman Paul Gaudin in 1900-1901. Many examples of Yortan pottery are housed in archaeological museums in Istanbul, Oxford, Paris, Brussels and Berlin, as well as in the British Museum.

This type of black-slipped and burnished beak-spouted jug is found in almost every grave in western Anatolia in the mid-third millennium BC as a burial offering. Many of them have white painted motifs or raised knobs around the body, and sometimes a combination of the two. It is not clear whether the vessels themselves or their contents were considered important. The mid-third millennium BC was a period of great activity in ancient Anatolia, with the appearance of several fortified towns. Metal artefacts now replace types that were formerly made in stone, such as axe heads and knives. The highly burnished pottery may be based on metal prototypes.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Source: Website of ‘britishmuseum.org’ .