Tuğçe Yalçın

When I was an undergraduate student in the departments of history and Arha (archaeology and art history), I realized that the animals' testimony about the past is more than I thought. The curiosity to understand the place of animals in historical progress encouraged me to turn to them directly, and this is how I met zooarchaeology. Over the years, my fieldwork with animal bones has led me to a passion that today has me as a Ph.D. student at the University of Georgia.

In my research, I evaluate how the human-deer interactions in the Anatolian archaeological context are. I am analyzing deer species in the western Anatolian site Kaymakçı (Gygaia), which is dated to the Middle and Late Bronze Age. I ask how the occupants of Kaymakçı developed their deer hunting strategies and practices. I admire the poetic way deer describe environmental dynamics, microclimates, and vegetation. I argue that deer habitats and mobility are key elements to gaining insight into hunting practices and strategies by knowledge of hunting practices.

Before my academic journey at UGA, I received my Bachelor's degree from Koç University. I did a double major in the History and Archaeology and History of Art (ARHA) departments. I specialized in Classical Studies and Late Antique and Byzantine Studies. After, I gained fieldwork experience in Kaymakçı Excavations (Gygaia Project, Manisa), I started to focus on the Bronze Age.

I had a chance to practice my theoretical knowledge in the Environmental Archaeology Lab at the Anatolian Civilizations Research Center (Koç University, Istanbul). I have been analyzing the faunal remains of Kaymakçı since 2022.