Kantman, Sönmez

Basic Biographical Information

Sönmez Kantman was born in İstanbul in 1940. He died in 1999. He got his degree from Robert College, Istanbul. Afterward, he studied law in Switzerland and then continued his education in the Department of Protohistory and Near Eastern Archaeology at İstanbul University, Turkey.

Kantman was a Renaissance scholar with wide-ranging interests. Besides his scientific research, he was interested in art studies and literature. He wrote a play in French, named Patira, and he translated thirteenth century Japanese haikus into Turkish in preparation for a book called Kokinşiu.

He participated in excavations and survey studies early in his career, but in his later career concentrated his research efforts on the theory of practicing archaeology. His book Analytic Archaeology is a result of this research.

Major Accomplishments

Sönmez Kantman’s name is on the verge of being forgotten. However, he should be remembered and honored for his remarkable study Analytic...