ORIGINAL ARTICLE Archaeobotanical evidence for trade in hazelnut (Corylus sp.) at Middle Bronze Age Ku ¨ ltepe (c. 1950–1830 B.C.), Kayseri Province, Turkey Andrew Fairbairn • Fikri Kulakog ˘lu • Levent Atici Received: 20 January 2013 / Accepted: 23 May 2013 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013 Abstract Archaeobotanical samples from the Middle Bronze Age (MBA; c. 2000–1700 B.C.) city of Kanesh, excavated at the site of Ku ¨ltepe in Kayseri Province, Turkey, preserve the charred shells of hazelnut (Corylus sp.). Hazelnut species do not naturally grow in the Kayseri area, being a native element of the broadleaf woodlands of Turkey’s Black Sea region, today home to a multi-million dollar international hazelnut export industry. The finds come from both the upper and lower city, being restricted to the Middle Bronze Age Karum level II, an occupation phase which saw the greatest development of the Assyrian trade network of which Kanesh was the administrative centre. This archaeobotanical discovery at Ku ¨ltepe pro- vides the earliest direct evidence for trade in hazelnuts in the region, probably imported on a small scale as luxury items facilitated by the Assyrian trade network. It also provides independent support for historical claims that hazelnut was traded at Kanesh based on the analysis of cuneiform tablets. Keywords Hazelnut Á Anatolia Á Trade Á Bronze Age Á Assyrian trade colony Á Kanesh Introduction Around 1950 B.C., in the Anatolian Middle Bronze Age (MBA), a trade network was established across central Anatolia in an agreement between the rulers of its cities and Assur in northern Mesopotamia. Regulated trade ini- tially evolved between these two areas with their city- states, temple and palace bureaucracies to facilitate the controlled flow of tin and textiles. Because tin was obtained from sources in Central Asia the trade network expanded to include cities, states and regions from Afghanistan to Anatolia, and over time it incorporated many other commodities such as copper, silver, gold, other precious metals, wool and plant resources, especially the staples of agriculture, but also luxury items (Dercksen 1996, 2008b; Larsen 1974; Veenhof 1995, 1999; Sturm 2008; Atici in press). A detailed picture of this trading network has emerged during the study of more than 23,500 cuneiform tablets unearthed from its administrative centre at the ancient city of Kanesh, located at the village of Ku ¨ltepe, near Kayseri in central Turkey. Analysis of the texts has largely focused on the operation of the trading system, historical events—including those in other regions, especially northern Mesopotamia—and the economic exchanges of the traders. Only recently has attention turned to the details of the resource production and supply systems which sustained life at the site, including agriculture and pastoralism (Dercksen 2008a, b). Archaeobotanical sampling and processing began in 2008 as part of a renewed multi- disciplinary excavation program at the site. Among its aims was to provide systematically collected archaeological Communicated by G. Willcox. A. Fairbairn (&) The University of Queensland, School of Social Science, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia e-mail: a.fairbairn@uq.edu.au F. Kulakog ˘lu Arkeoloji Bo ¨lu ¨mu ¨, Dil ve Tarih-Cog ˘rafya Faku ¨ltesi, Ankara U ¨ niversitesi, Ankara, Turkey L. Atici Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Pkwy, Mailstop 455003, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA 123 Veget Hist Archaeobot DOI 10.1007/s00334-013-0403-5