Middle Iron Age pottery production inside the boundary of the Kızılırmak. The pottery inventory of Uşaklı Höyük

This contribution concerns the preliminary analysis of the Middle Iron Age pottery assemblage from 2016-2017 Ușaklı Höyük excavation seasons. Given the lack of a coherent and regionally shared archaeological sequence, in particular for the first part of 1st mill. BC, the evidence from Ușaklı Höyük can represent a new connection point. The comparative approach with the main sites of the region and the type-variety system represent the methodological foundations of this study. On the basis of chrono-typological and contextual comparanda, the Middle Iron Age material culture of the site shares morphological and decorative elements with sites of the same period, confirming a general homogeneity. At the same time, some qualitative attributes suggest a peculiar trait, typical of Ușaklı Höyük pottery production.