This paper is aimed at exploring the testimonies of specialized productions in “egalitarian” and “élite-based” societies through the application of the use-wear analysis.
First-hand data from the chipped stone tools of sampled buildings pertaining to the Neolithic levels of the mega-site of Catalhöyük and from the chipped stone tools and macro-lithic tools of the proto-urban site of Arlantepe (levels VIII, VII, VIA and VIB) will be compared and integrated with the published data coming from other related analyses.
Evidences of specialized productions and their presence in specific domestic or not domestic spaces will be discussed. In particular, it will be underlined the change of the social role of certain productions and their step-by-step integration in a system of control of productions and goods typical of the formation of élite-based societies.