Hearths and Ovens. Interpreting Fire Installations in the Late Bronze Age on the Anatolian Plateau

Cooking methods and practices are crucial in defining group identity, in expressing social and kin networks, and in reflecting domestic economies. The paper discusses different types of fire installations from Central Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age in the context of household activities. Hearths and ovens are the two basic types of fire installations attested in the Hittite Period. Construction methods, materials and location are discussed with the aim of tracing the functions of various types of fire installations during the different stages of food preparation (boiling, roasting and baking) and of cereal processing. The interpretations of the functions also include artifacts found in the contexts of these installation (e.g. cooking pots), as well as archaeobotanical and archaeozoological remains accompanying them. In addition, ethnoarchaeological observations from modern Turkey and other places of the Near East have been considered.