= Heffron Y., Factoids of Assyrian presence in Anatolia: towards a historiography of archaeological interpretation at Kültepe-Kaneš, in: AnSt 71 185-206. [DOI: 10.1017/S0066154621000120. (Abstract: This article offers a historiographical examination of how 20th-century ideas of assimilation and cultural purity have
shaped our understanding of Bronze Age Anatolia, focusing on the canonical narrative of Assyrian presence at the site
of Kültepe-Kaneš. According to this narrative, Old Assyrian merchants who lived and conducted business at Kaneš from
the early 20th to the late 18th century BC left no trace in the archaeological record except for cuneiform tablets and
cylinder seals, assimilating to local culture to such a degree that Kültepe’s archaeological record is entirely of Anatolian
character. The accuracy of this view has met increasing circumspection in recent years. What remains to be articulated
is why it remained unchallenged for so long, from its initial formulation in 1948 until the late 2000s, during which time
it was widely repeated and reiterated. It is proposed here that the persistence and longevity of what is essentially a
misconstrued notion of foreign (in)visibility in Kültepe’s material record can be explained by treating it as a ‘factoid’.
The article first historicises the factoid’s formulation and subsequent development. This is followed by a critical evaluation
of the evidentiary bases of the factoid to show how disciplinary tendencies to privilege certain categories of
evidence over others have created artificial gaps in the data. Ultimately, the article seeks to highlight the epistemological
implications of how one of the key sites of Bronze Age Anatolia came to represent a perceived rather than an observed
case of indigenous cultural purity)] Neue Abfrage | New Search
