The Kahramanmaraş Survey: A Short Biography of a Long-Term Archaeological Project with Elizabeth Carter
January 22 @ 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM PST
James West Alumni Center,
Los Angeles,
CA
90095
United States
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The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology invites you to the latest installment of its Author Spotlight series celebrating the publication of The Kahramanmaraş Valley Survey: A Crossroads Along the Syro-Anatolian Frontier by UCLA professor emeriti Elizabeth Carter.
The event will take place on Thursday, January 22, 2026 at 6:00 pm in the James West Alumni Center and will be followed by a reception. Please note that registration is required.
Abstract
This talk celebrates the publication of The Kahramanmaraş Valley Survey: A Crossroads Along the Syro-Anatolian Frontier. This survey presents a study of local landscape histories in the Kahramanmaraş valley— a previously understudied, but pivotal, crossroads along the Syro-Anatolian frontier. The Holocene vegetation history is explored in relation to climatic changes and human impact through the pollen analytical results of a deep core obtained from a former Sağlık (Gavur) lakebed. Extensive surface surveys carried out in the region between 1993 and 2000 form the basis of the settlement pattern studies beginning with the first permanent settlement of the valley in the Neolithic, and ending with the Islamic era. Including results of a series of intensive full coverage and transect surveys around Domuztepe, the analysis of a long historical record, diverse physical environment, and a significant number of archaeological sites are used to outline the myriad ways the ancient residents of this region between Syria and Anatolia made it their home for over seven thousand years.
About the Speaker
Dr. Elizabeth Carter was a Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology in the Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Department at UCLA and a former Chair of the Department and of the Archaeology Program. She is presently a Professor Emerita and Research Professor in the department. She has done archaeological fieldwork in Iran, Iraq and, since the late eighties, in the southeastern region of Türkiye . She began her survey of the Karamanmaraş region in 1993 in co-operation with the local museum. The present volume presents the results of surface and environmental studies carried out in the region.