Anatolian Civilizations Museum – Ankara

Where is the Anatolian Civilizations Museum?

 

The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations consists of two Ottoman buildings arranged with a new function on the southeast side of the outer wall of the Ankara Castle, in the district called Atpazarı in Ankara Ulus. One of these structures is Mahmut Pasha Bedesten and the other is Kurşunlu Han.

It is estimated that Mahmut Pasha Bedesten was built by Mahmut Pasha, one of the chief viziers of the Fatih period, between 1464-1471. Kurşunlu Han, on the other hand, was built as a foundation for Mehmet Pasha, one of the chief viziers of the Fatih period, as a foundation for the soup kitchen in Üsküdar district of Istanbul. Both buildings, which were abandoned after the fire in 1881, were later renovated as a result of many years of renovation works in order to exhibit the works collected from Anatolia at Atatürk’s request. has been converted into a museum.

After the repair of most of the domed space in the middle part of the covered bazaar was completed in 1940, the works began to be placed. In 1943, while the buildings were being repaired, the middle section was opened to visitors. The museum structure took its final shape in 1968. In Kurşunlu Han, which is used as an administrative building today, there are researcher rooms, a library, a conference hall, laboratory and work workshops, while the Mahmut Paşa Bedesteni is used as a showroom.

The Anatolian Civilizations Museum, which has come to this day with its historical buildings and deep-rooted history, was selected as the first among 68 museums in Lausanne, Switzerland on April 19, 1997, and received the title of “Museum of the Year in Europe”.

Anatolian archaeological artifacts are exhibited in chronological order starting from the Paleolithic Age to the present day in the Anatolian Civilizations Museum, which is among the few museums in the world with its unique collections today.

Paleolithic Age Section (Time to Visit: 10 min.)

The Paleolithic Age, which started 1,000,000 years ago in Anatolia and ended 11,000 years ago; It is divided into four periods: Lower, Middle, Upper and Epipalaeolithic.

The people of the Paleolithic Age, who did not know about production yet, were fed by consuming wild vegetables, fruits and roots and the animals they hunted. They used stone tools to hunt animals and collect plant roots.

The Epi-paleolithic Period, which takes place in the transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic, is characterized by microlithic tools. Tiny stone tools, called microliths, were used as weapons. You can see chipped stone tools and cores made of quartz, flint and radiolarite in this section.

Neolithic Age Section (Time to Visit: 10 min.)

This age, which consists of two periods between 10,000 and 5,500 BC, as the Pottery-Pottery and the Pottery Neolithic, is represented in the museum by Çatalhöyük and Hacılar works.

In addition to hunting and gathering, agriculture started and animals were domesticated in the Neolithic Age, when the first productive village life began. In this section, you can see human and animal figurines, ornaments, bone, flint and obsidian tools, as well as terracotta and stone vessels that will require a certain expertise.

It is thought that the volcanic Hasan Mountain is depicted behind the village, which consists of quadrangular structures adjacent to each other, in the wall painting found in Çatalhöyük, which is the world’s first city plan.

Chalcolithic Age Section (Time to Visit: 10 min.)

The Chalcolithic Age, which describes the process from village to urbanization between 5,500-3,000 BC, includes the cultural diversity that reflects the regionally different socio-economic structure of Anatolia.

The most important change for the Chalcolithic Age, when the ruling class and artisans emerged, is the beginning of mining. Villages have become increasingly crowded, agriculture and animal husbandry as well as weaving and ceramic production has increased.

This section mainly consists of Hacilar, Canhasan, Tilkitepe, Alacahöyük, Alişar and Karaz works. You can see the well-cooked, burnished, red-lined, richly geometric patterned vessels of Hacılar, the copper scepter head of Canhasan, and the metal and stone seals of Alişar, which show the development of the idea of ​​private property in the Chalcolithic Age section.

Early Bronze Age Section (Time to Visit: 15 min.)

This period, dated to 3000-1950 BC, is in the museum; It is represented by artifacts coming from the Early Bronze Age center in many regions of Turkey, especially in Alacahöyük, Horoztepe, Eskiyapar, Karaoğlan, Ahlatlıbel, Beycesultan, Karataş-Semayük, Hasanoğlan.

With the establishment of city-states, village life moved to cities and local principalities were established. Mining has been effective in all areas of life, with the realization that bronze is obtained by adding tin to copper, melting in high temperature fire and solidifying again when cooled.

In this section, you can see the Alacahöyük and Horoztepe King Tombs and religious ceremonial objects made of metals such as bronze, gold and silver, necklaces, bracelets, crown belt buckles, jewelry such as pins, and metal containers in the Eskiyapar settlement area. Horoztepe and Hasanoğlan figurines are also among the works in this section.

Assyrian Trade Colonies Section (Time to Visit: 10 min.)

At the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC, the Assyrian Trade Colonies Period was experienced in Anatolia. This period, which covers a period of approximately 200 years, is the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age in Anatolia.

The Assyrian merchants who came to Anatolia for the purpose of trade brought the cuneiform script that they learned and used from the Sumerians, and the written history in Anatolia began.

Terracotta and stone vessels, seals and seal impressions, figurines, lead god-goddess figurines and stone molds, cosmetic boxes, gold items and jewelry, bronze tools and weapons found in Kültepe, Acemhöyük, Alişar and Boğazköy excavations can be seen in this section.

Kültepe tablets, which are the oldest written documents of Anatolia, animal-shaped ceremonial vessels called riton, cuneiform bronze dagger belonging to the Poodle King Anitta, and the ivory box found in Acemhöyük are the artifacts that should be seen.

Hittite Section (Time to Visit: 10 min.)

The Hittite State, which ruled in Anatolia between 1750-1200 BC, was the first state in Anatolia to be governed by the central system.

Hittite art, which is based on the Assyrian Trade Colonies Period, is a unique art that has been enriched by the gains of a great empire and is unique in civilizations outside Anatolia.

The capital Boğazköy, Inandik, Eskiyapar, Alacahöyük, Alişar, Ferzant, Maşathöyük are important Hittite centers.

Inandik vase, which is one of the most beautiful examples of the Hittite relief vase tradition, god and goddess statuettes made of ivory, gold and bronze, large-sized animal-shaped ceremonial vessels, cuneiform clay tablets, seal impressions of Hittite kings and queens, as well as bronze, the only example in Anatolia. tablet, the friendship letter written by the Egyptian queen Naptera to the Hittite queen Puduhepa are the works that should be seen especially in this section.

Phrygian Section (Time to Visit: 10 min.)

In this section, after the collapse of the Hittite Empire in 1200 BC, groups of artifacts in which radical changes were noticed in almost all cultural elements are exhibited. The change in the tradition of works that has been going on in Anatolia for centuries is also a sign of a new community coming to Anatolia.

In addition to the difference in ceramic forms and decorative art, it is seen how advanced the Phrygians are, especially in metal and woodworking. Artifacts from centers such as Alişar, Boğazköy, Kültepe, Pazarlı and Maşathöyük, mainly the capital Gordion Tumulus, are exhibited in this section.

Bronze cauldrons, animal head-shaped situlas, Phrygian fibulae, phiale-bellied bowls with omphalos, wooden serving table and animal-shaped miniature toys and terracotta goose-shaped ritons are the remarkable works of the section.

Urartian Section (Time to Visit: 10 min.)

In this section, artifacts found in Van-Altıntepe, Ağrı-Patnos, Erzincan- Altıntepe, Van-Toprakkale, Muş-Kayyalıdere and Adilcevaz and Giyimli villages belonging to the Urartian State founded in Eastern Anatolia between 900-600 BC are exhibited.

The Urartians, who reached an advanced level in terms of mining and architecture, showed their architectural success with their unique temples and multi-columned reception halls in their palaces, dams, ponds, irrigation canals and the ways they built.

In the Urartian Department; You can see furniture parts and ornaments made of bronze and ivory, bronze belts, votive plates, silver and bronze pins, fibulae, bracelets, necklaces made of various stones, ornaments, various examples of vessels, harnesses, war tools and agricultural tools made of iron. The reclining lion, which was formed by the combination of more than a hundred ivory plates, which was found in the Altıntepe excavations and exhibited in this section, is the largest lion figurine made of ivory in Asia Minor.

Stone Works Hall (Time to Visit: 20 min.)

Hittite Imperial Period Alacahöyük reliefs (14th century BC), Late Hittite Principalities Period orthostats (1200-700 BC), artifacts from principalities such as Malatya, Kargamış, Sakçagözü, Zincirli, and Phrygian reliefs (1200-700 BC) are located around Ankara. represented by those found.

Sculpture was fused with architecture in Hittite art. Especially the door entrances are covered with animal reliefs in the form of semi-sculptures and the lower rows of the front facades of monumental structures are covered with embossed stone blocks called “orthostats”.

In the Phrygians, reliefs decorated the tomb entrances. The horned “Goddess Kubaba” orthostat holding a pomegranate in her hand and the Assyrian-influenced “King Mutallu” statue are among the Late Hittite works that should be seen.

Source: Ankara Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism. Ankara Directory. (2014)