ABSTRACT
The term Neolithic, is one of convenience, more than it is of precision. The long period of the Neolithic in Anatolia is divided into two broad phases on the basis of ceramic technology. Archaeological terminology can potentially mislead, however summarily, certain key definitions and concepts. Within the Fertile Crescent, three zones have attracted particular attention: Southeastern Anatolia, the Levantine Corridor, and the Zagros Mountains. The three concentrations of Neolithic occupation noted earlier can be reduced even further to two, using the Taurus Mountains as the boundary, which effectively separate different economic subsistence strategies and environmental conditions. In western Anatolia, the occurrence of a pre-pottery phase is rather vague. In the southeast the secondary treatment of skeletal remains and the use of communal burial sites were the norm, whereas in central Anatolia families preferred to bury their dead beneath the floors of their houses.
