TOPRAKHISAR HÖYÜK EXCAVATIONS: POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL RELATIONS BETWEEN AMUQ VALLEY CENTERS AND ALTINÖZÜ HINTERLAND SITES FROM 6TH TO 1TH MILLENNIUM BC

This article presents the preliminary results obtained from the rescue excavations conducted by Hatay Archaeological Museum at Toprakhisar Höyük (Altınözü) through a comparative study with the Amuq Valley sites. The Chalcolithic, Early Bronze and Iron Age of Toprakhisar Höyük is evaluated through the ceramics and small finds collected during the intensive survey conducted in and around the site. The Middle Bronze Age is explored through architectural and material evidence acquired from the rescue excavations. The comparative architectural and material assemblage study with the regional center Alalakh (Tell Atchana) has shown that an administrative structure existed at Toprakhisar Höyük in the Middle Bronze Age. The results testify the textual evidence acquired from Level VII palace archives of Alalakh, where local administrators or administrators from Alalakh were resided in smaller scale towns. This allowed a better understanding of the often theoretically discussed center and periphery relations through obtained archaeological evidence.