Excavation and Research
Field studies
The field studies may be summarized as first unearthing the immovable and movable remains and finds, protecting them at the site as much as possible, and then identifying, documenting, and assessing them. The finds are documented using various types of scaled drawings (architectural plans, surveying, profile, section, detail, sketch etc.) Aerial and terrestrial photography, video, written records, forms, and lists, as well the small finds, which are separated by material, are all taken to the dig house.
Workshop and laboratory studies
Studies of the small finds continue in the workshop and laboratories. The archaeological material which is found in the excavation area is first prepared for examination (cleaned, sorted, the records completed, and stored). Next, the finds are archived and documented by preparing drawings and photographs of the material, and labelling, inventorying, and conserving the finds. At the final stage, each group of material is delivered to the specialists who examine the materials using appropriate methods and techniques.
During the excavation, the workshop and laboratory studies take place at the Tepecik-Çiftlik dig house which is located close to the Çiftlik district centre. All the researchers are accommodated in the dig house where, in addition to the other daily studies, lectures are given by experts on various areas of archaeological research.
Research
In addition to the excavation research, ethnographic studies of activities such as agriculture, animal husbandry, and domestic activities have been carried out in order to understand local examples of architecture and the life of the local people in the region. In order to understand the paleo-environmental conditions of the settlement, geomorphologic research is being conducted as well.
Human remains obtained from the graves of the Tepecik-Çiftlik people have been studied by biological anthropologists from Department of Anthropology at Hacettepe University. In studies conducted at the Biological Anthropology Laboratory, the relationship between the life styles of the people and their biological structures has been examined from a bio-archaeological perspective. Demography, nutrition, and the health structure of the community are studied in a holistic manner along with other archaeological data, using both morphological and isotopic methods. In a joint research project, an ancient DNA study has been carried out with researchers from METU Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics to examine the hereditary structure of the community.
