Bronze Age Settlement Atlas Released

- This digital atlas is the result of a decade-long project by the Luwian Studies Foundation, which synthesized data from 33 excavations and 33 archaeological surveys. - The project, spearheaded by geoarchaeologist Eberhard Zangger, counters the long-held view that western Anatolia was a sparsely populated "cultural void" between the major powers of the Mycenaeans in Greece and the Hittites in central Anatolia. - The comprehensive dataset compiles previously scattered and inaccessible records into a single, open-access resource, allowing for new analyses of settlement patterns and resource distribution on a scale not previously possible. - Researchers identified the 483 settlements by analyzing publications, historical maps, and satellite imagery, requiring that each site have a minimum diameter of 100 meters and evidence of occupation during the second millennium BCE. - The atlas provides strong empirical evidence for a distinct and autonomous culture in the region, likely associated with the Luwians, who had their own languages and writing system. - Major settlements included in the atlas, such as Troy, Beycesultan, and Liman Tepe, demonstrate the region's deep integration into extensive trade and exchange networks during the second millennium BCE. - The new data allows researchers to re-evaluate the political geography of the Late Bronze Age, which was previously understood primarily through the lens of the Hittite Empire's archives. - The dataset is designed to be interoperable with other global research infrastructures, linking to external resources like Pleiades and Wikidata to encourage broader comparative studies.