Lecture on Neolithic Cultures of the Eastern Anatolia at MIA today

By Anand HollaMarked by the harshest winters and the highest peaks of Turkey, Eastern Anatolia occupies the mountainous east of the nation. It’s in this region that the Neolithic era of human civilisation, which saw the birth of agriculture, leaving behind a treasure trove of archaeological insight.In an interesting lecture titled Neolithic Cultures of the Eastern Anatolia, Professor Dr Mehmet ?zdoan of Istanbul University will take you through a fascinating journey into the prehistoric cultures of Anatolia at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) auditorium at 6pm today. The entry is free.The event is the second in a six-part lecture series on Archaeology and Heritage Conservation organised by Qatar Museums and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey in partnership with UCL Qatar (UCL-Q) as part of Qatar Turkey 2015 Year of Culture. The series introduces to Doha “the work of key Turkish experts in the fields of Archaeology and Heritage Conservation.”Aimed at students, faculty staff and general audiences, the informal lectures and talks are scheduled for October and November at the MIA auditorium and in the UCL Qatar Auditorium in Education City. The first of the six lectures was on Phrygian Civilisation and the Ancient Site of Gordion by Halil Demirdelen, Vice Director, Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, Ankara, last month.Monday’s lecture will have Professor ?zdoan, who is one of world’s leading archaeologists and currently teaches at the Istanbul University as emeritus professor, discuss his award-winning work at more than 25 key Neolithic excavation sites in Turkey over the past 50 years. Given its important location at the point where the continents of Asia and Europe meet, Anatolia, from the beginnings of civilisation, has been a crossroads for numerous peoples migrating or conquering from either continent.In ?zdoan’s book on the subject, he along with Nezih Basgelen points out how fieldwork in Anatolia during the past two decades has brought to light abundant and exceptionally rich Neolithic remains, demonstrating that the region played a principal role in the formation of the early village communities.?zdoan’s main focus of interest is the emergence and expansion of early village farming economies, working both in the formation zone of Neolithic cultures as well as in its contact zone with South-Eastern Europe. Geo-archaeology, history of archaeology and management of cultural heritage are among his other fields of interest.As for the other lectures, there’s Underwater Archaeology in Turkey by Professor Dr Vasif aholu, Ankara University, Director of the Research Center for Maritime Archaeology, on October 13 at 6pm at UCL-Q. This will be followed by Preventive and rescue archaeology strategies in Turkey in the light of Marmaray project by Zeynep K?z?ltan, Director of Istanbul Archaeological Museums – her speech will be in Turkish – on October 26 at the MIA auditorium at 6pm.Professor Dr Neslihan Dostolu, stanbul Kültür University site manager, will talk on Bursa and Cumal?k?z?k UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Challenges of recording and preserving Heritage Architecture on November 17 at UCL-Q at 6pm. Professor Dr Edhem Eldem, Boaziçi University, will talk on Osman Hamdi Bey: An Ottoman Archaeologist, on November 23 at MIA Auditorium at 6pm.