Changes and Transformations in The Elazığ–Malatya Region in The Early Bronze Age: An Assessment Through Public Buildings

In archaeological literature, public buildings generally refer to administrative and/or religious structures located within the monumental fortifications of large upper settlements, serving a class of rulers or ruling elite. Public buildings were constructed to serve administrative, religious, or other social functions such as meetings, banquets, ceremonies, festivals, or as symbols of power. While the Elâzığ–Malatya Region is considered part of Eastern Anatolia culturally and politically, it was also a region with its internal dynamics in the Early Bronze Age. This study aims to discuss the architecture of public buildings in the Elâzığ–Malatya Region, their use, the tendencies of the rising ruling class reflected in this architecture and the social dynamics of the region in the Early Bronze Age from a holistic perspective. The region’s settlement pattern is analyzed, and the study is illustrated with maps and drawings. The results indicate that in the first half of the Early Bronze Age, when mobile groups dominated the region, there was social chaos. Stabilization began in the second half of the period. The elites emerging towards the end of this period, who ruled the settlements from public buildings named palaces, are considered to have been instrumental in this stability.