YORTAN CULTURE POTTERY JUGLET,
from Yortan, Anatolia, (modern Turkey), c. 2700 - 2500 B.C.,
black clay with incrustation, intact, h. 9 cm.

… from the very large cemetery site of Yortan in western Turkey. The cemetery was in use over a long time. Many examples of Yortan pottery are housed in archaeological museums in Istanbul, Oxford, Paris, Brussels and Berlin, as well as in the British Museum.
This type of black one handle juglet from western Anatolia in the mid-third millennium B.C. was used as a burial offering. Many of them have white painted motifs or raised knobs around the body, and sometimes a combination of the two. It is not clear whether the vessels themselves or their contents were considered important.
The mid-third millennium BC was a period of great activity in ancient Anatolia, with the appearance of several fortified towns. Metal artefacts now replace types that were formerly made in stone, such as axe heads and knives. The highly burnished pottery may be based on metal prototypes.
Around 2300 BC dramatic changes took place. Most towns were overcome by massive and violent destructions. The reasons for this are unclear, but subsequently the cultures of Anatolia took on new forms.