M.Ö. II. BİN ANADOLU TERAZİ KEFELERİ HAKKINDA GÖZLEMLER
OBSERVATIONS ON THE ANATOLIAN SCALE PANS IN THE SECOND MILLENIUM B.C.

Summary/Abstract: Balances have been produced in different forms since their first use in facilitating trade during the Bronze Age until the present day. The earliest form used in the Near East since the 3rd millennium B.C. is the beamed scale. This type of balance consists of two small pans hung at equal lengths from each end of a beam which operates on a basis of comparison of weights. Weights were used with balances. Goods to be bought or sold were placed in the one scale pan, and the weight in the other pan. Weights were made of metal or stone, especially lead and hematite. Different types of weights made of rock crystal and hematite have been documented at the Kültepe excavations. Duck-shaped weights have been described as the Babylonian type. Examples of balances used in Anatolia during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. have been uncovered at Bozüyük (Bilecik), Troia (Çanakkale), Küllüoba (Eskişehir), Kültepe (Kayseri), Boğazköy (Çorum) and Sirkeli Höyük (Adana) and they were depicted in Egyptian wall paintings. Their use became more widespread due to increasing trade activities during the 2nd millennium B.C. Examples of balances made from gold and bronze have been widely documented at settlements and cemeteries in Anatolia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Cyprus, Aegean islands and Mainland Greece.

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