Material Culture in Asia Minor

As a Republic established on the legacy of many civilizations which existed in Anatolia (also called Asia Minor as the peninsula forming the western extremity of Asia), the Balkans and the Middle East, Turkey has a rich material culture. The earliest representations of culture in Anatolia can be found in several archaeological sites located mainly in the Central and Eastern parts of Turkey. The remnants of civilizations dating back to the Paleolithic Era (B.C. 8000), involving Assyrian, Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian, Lydian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods, are exhibited in various Museums in Turkey, of which the best known are the History of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.