Monitoring the demographic structure of Tepecik-Çiftlik people through life-table data, we can say that the community has a young population structure in general. Living conditions seriously limited the number of individuals who could reach the age of 45 (life expectancy beyond this age is limited to a few years, together with the fact that half of the individuals born die before the age of five. Although life expectancy, which reaches its peak at the age of five, displays a stagnation in the early stages of young adulthood, an individual who has reached this age may survive for another twenty years. In this sense, it would not be wrong to say that the community has a growing population structure. However, such a demographic structure also causes an average age of death that is incomparably lower than today. However, the average age of death (about 35 years) for the Tepecik-Çiftlik community adults is not surprising since this is common in both Anatolia and non-Anatolian Neolithic communities. The mean age of death for adults; 32 in Çatalhöyük, 36.0 in Aşıklı, 35 in Çayönü, and 30.8 in Kfar HaHoresh, each of which was the communities of the early Neolithic period.

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* For further information, see: Büyükkarakaya, A.M. (2017) Tepecik-Çiftlik Neolitik Topluluğunun Demografik Özellikleri. Folklor ve Edebiyat Cilt 23, Sayı 92: 79-98.

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WEANING PROCESS IN TEPECIK-ÇIFTLIK NEOLITHIC                                        COMMUNITY

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   The weaning process is one of the significant stages of infancy and has been the subject of anthropological research with different dimensions. Understanding how the process took place in archaeological communities is essential to be aware of the various practices in this field. The Tepecik-Çiftlik community was examined in terms of the weaning process. Trace element analyzes were carried out for 32 individuals ranging from newborns to 14 years, and the weaning process was examined by determining the amount of strontium (Sr) and calcium (Ca) elements in their bones and diet. The examination indicated that the weaning process started approximately at the age of one in the Tepecik-Çiftlik Neolithic community. Tepecik-Çiftlik was among the Central Anatolian ones in the comparison made with other Neolithic communities of Anatolia in terms of weaning practice. The evaluation, together with other archaeological and anthropological information, showed that the weaning period in the community was associated with infant mortality and burial practices.

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*For further information see: Büyükkarakaya, A.M., Akyol, A.A., Özdemir, K. (2017). Tepecik-Çiftlik topluluğunda sütten kesme sürecinin incelenmesi. Hitit Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, Yıl 10, Sayı 1: 169-196