Environmental Archaeology Training Program (ENVARCH)

Date: 29-30-31 May 2020

Place: Kaymakçı Archaeological Settlement, Manisa

Application Deadline: 9 March 2020

Because of the global pandemic, 2020 Environmental Archaeology Training Program revised as an online course. 

The second ANAMED Environmental Archaeology Training Program will be held in collaboration with the Kaymakçı Archaeology Project (KAP), located overlooking Lake Marmara of the Gediz Valley in Manisa. An integral part of Gygaia Projects, KAP conducts excavations and related research at and around the largest known Late Bronze Age (1650–1200 BCE) citadel in western Türkiye, employing a holistic approach to understanding its past communities and regional environments.

The program is designed to introduce participants to environmental archaeology broadly, including a survey of research questions and methods, and to explore in-depth two important subfields: archaeobotany and zooarchaeology. It will comprise lectures, hands-on practical instruction and a site tour/visits.

The first Environmental Archaeology training program was held at ANAMED in Istabul in September, 2019. Gamze Durdu, one of the participants, wrote about her experience for the ANAMED Blog.

The program will be conducted in English. For more information about the program and how to apply please see down below.

1. Requirements

• Intermediate proficiency in English is recommended. Participants with only a beginner level of English are, however, still encouraged to apply. Teaching Assistants will be present throughout the program to facilitate participant comprehension.
• Participants at all education levels, from undergraduates to established researchers, are encouraged to apply.

2. Classes & Activities

Classes will include both theoretical discussions and practical applications (see: Preliminary Schedule).
Participants will attend a guided tour of the site of Kaymakçı.
The program will also feature Dr. Canan Çakırlar as guest lecturer.

Canan Çakırlar is the zooarchaeologist working with the Kaymakçı Archaeological Project.  Dr. Çakırlar is senior lecturer in zooarchaeology at the Department of Archaeology of the University of Groningen. She is also the scientific coordinator of the sub-division Zooarchaeology at the Groningen Institute of Archaeology. Before Groningen she studied and worked in Türkiye, Lebanon, Germany, the US, and Belgium. Her research interests include the Neolithic and the spread of animal husbandry across western Anatolia and into Europe, marine resource exploitation in the ancient Mediterranean, human-animal interactions in early state societies in Southwest Asia, and the Anthropocene. She serves in the International Committee of the International Council of Archaeozoology and the Managing Committee of the Association for Environmental Archaeology.

3. Materials

All readings will be provided electronically. Study collections will be accessible during the course periods.

4. Instructors

Müge Ergun (Koç University, ANAMED Fellow)

Müge Ergun is an archaeologist and archaeobotanist who holds a Ph.D. from Istanbul University’s Department of Prehistory and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University Doctoral School of Archaeology (co-tutelle, 2016), and an M.A. from Istanbul University’s Department of Prehistory (2009). Her research focuses on people-plant interactions, plant-based activities in daily and seasonal routines, and their effects on the economic and socio-cultural lives of communities, with a special interest in the beginnings of agriculture and the domestication process in Southwest Asia. She has recently been working on projects focusing on early Neolithic communities from Central Anatolia (Aşıklı Höyük and Balıklı) and North Cyprus (Tatlısu- Çiftlikdüzü (Akanthou-Arkosykos)).

Hannah Lau (Koç University, ANAMED Fellow)

Hannah Lau is an anthropological archaeologist whose research uses zooarchaeological data to examine the relationship between ancient peoples’ animal management practices, the environment, and sociopolitical complexity. She received her Ph.D. in Archaeology from the University of California, Los Angeles (2016) where her work documented social and economic cooperation and coordination in agropastoral production among inhabitants at the Halaf period site of Domuztepe (ca. 6000–5450 BCE) in southeastern Türkiye. Dr. Lau has fieldwork experience at a number of sites in the Near East and South Caucasus. In addition to her work in Türkiye, she has worked in Azerbaijan since 2009 in the southeastern province of Lerik and in the Autonomous Republic of Naxçıvan.

Teaching Assistants:
Nami Shin (PhD candidate, Koç University)
Şengül Fındıklar (MA candidate, Koç University)

5. Certificates and transcripts

ANAMED will issue participation certificates to all students who successfully complete the program.

6. Accommodation and Transportation

• Participants are expected to stay in 4-person dorm rooms located at Kaymakçı’s research facility. The classes also take place in the same area.
• All meals are included. 

7. Arrangements 

• Visa arrangements and all presonal expenses are the responsibility of each participant.
  
• All participants are responsible for arranging their transportation to the site. However, in order to facilitate the access of participants to the area, at least one bus service will be organized by ANAMED before the program from the Izmir Airport to the Manisa Bus Station and to Kaymakçı. At the end of the program one service from Kaymakçı to the Manisa Bus Station and lastly to the Izmir airport will be offered.
• Travel insurance and health insurance are mandatory for all students. ANAMED is not responsible for any insurance costs.

8. Fees

There are no fees for participation in this program. Each participant will receive a program scholarship.

9. Scholarships 

Scholarships are provided by Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED).

• Program Scholarship ANAMED will offer program scholarships to each admitted participant, who will be selected by the program instructors based on merit. The scholarship includes full tuition, accommodation at Kaymakçı’s research facility (in 4-person dorm rooms), and all meals given during the program. Participants will be required to pay only for airfare and personal expenses.

• Travel Scholarship Domestic flights for 10 participants will be covered by a travel scholarship. In order to be considered for a travel scholarship, please indicate your interest by including an additional paragraph describing your needs in your Statement of Purpose.

10. How to Apply

Before you apply, please do not forget to review “1. Requirements” section and make sure that you are eligible to apply by checking the Requirements section. The entire application should be written in English.

To complete your application, please fill in the Application Form and ask from your recommender to submit your recommendation letter in English directly via e-mail to envarch@ku.edu.tr before the deadline. ANAMED does not contact recommenders. It is each applicant’s responsibility to request letters from her/his recommenders.

It is important to note that, owing to the constrains of the online form, the application must be completed and submitted in one session without closing the browser window. For a list of information required in the application form click here.

Please kindly get in contact with envarch@ku.edu.tr for further inquiry.