Çayönü
Encyclopedia
Çayönü is a Neolithic
settlement in southern Turkey
inhabited around 7200 to 6600 BC. It is located forty kilometres north-west of Diyarbakır
, at the foot of the Taurus
mountains. It lies near the Bogazcay, a tributary of the upper Tigris
River and the Bestakot, an intermittent stream.
between 1964 and 1978, and later between 1985 and 1991. The settlement covers the periods of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A
(PPNA), the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
(PPNB), and the Pottery Neolithic (PN).
The stratigraphy is divided into the following subphases according to the dominant architecture:
(Sus scrofa) was first domesticated. The wild fauna include wild boar, wild sheep, wild goat and cervids. The Neolithic environment included marshes and swamps near the Bogazcay, open wood, patches of steppe
and almond-pistachio
forest-steppe to the south.
in Cologne
has discovered that the genetically common ancestor of 68 contemporary types of cereal still grows as a wild plant on the slopes of Mount Karaca (Karaca Dağ
), which is located in close vicinity to Çayönü. (Compare to information on cereal use in PPNA).
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
settlement in southern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
inhabited around 7200 to 6600 BC. It is located forty kilometres north-west of Diyarbakır
Diyarbakır
Diyarbakır is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey...
, at the foot of the Taurus
Taurus Mountains
Taurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, dividing the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east...
mountains. It lies near the Bogazcay, a tributary of the upper Tigris
Tigris
The Tigris River is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.-Geography:...
River and the Bestakot, an intermittent stream.
Archaeology
The first excavations were conducted by Robert John BraidwoodRobert John Braidwood
Robert John Braidwood was an American archaeologist and anthropologist, one of the founders of scientific archaeology, and a leader in the field of Near Eastern Prehistory.-Life:...
between 1964 and 1978, and later between 1985 and 1991. The settlement covers the periods of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A
Pre-Pottery Neolithic A
Pre-Pottery Neolithic A denotes the first stage in early Levantine Neolithic culture, dating around 9500 to 8500 BC. Archaeological remains are located in the Levantine and upper Mesopotamian region of the Fertile Crescent...
(PPNA), the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
Pre-Pottery Neolithic B is a division of the Neolithic developed by Dame Kathleen Kenyon during her archaeological excavations at Jericho in the southern Levant region....
(PPNB), and the Pottery Neolithic (PN).
The stratigraphy is divided into the following subphases according to the dominant architecture:
- round, PPNA
- grill, PPNA
- channeled, Early PPNB
- cobble paved, Middle PPNB
- cell, Late PPNB
- large room, final PPNB
Animal Life - Domestication of Pigs
Çayönü is possibly the place where the pigPig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
(Sus scrofa) was first domesticated. The wild fauna include wild boar, wild sheep, wild goat and cervids. The Neolithic environment included marshes and swamps near the Bogazcay, open wood, patches of steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
and almond-pistachio
Pistachio
The pistachio, Pistacia vera in the Anacardiaceae family, is a small tree originally from Persia , which now can also be found in regions of Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Sicily and possibly Afghanistan , as well as in the United States,...
forest-steppe to the south.
Farming - Cultivation of Cereals
According to Der Spiegel of either 6 March or 3 June 2006, the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding ResearchMax Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
The Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research is located in Cologne, Germany. The institute was founded as part of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society as the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Plant Breeding Research in 1928 in Müncheberg, midway between Berlin and the German-Polish border...
in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
has discovered that the genetically common ancestor of 68 contemporary types of cereal still grows as a wild plant on the slopes of Mount Karaca (Karaca Dağ
Karaca Dag
Karaca is a shield volcano located in eastern Turkey. According to Der Spiegel of either 6 March or 3 June 2006, the Max Planck Institute for Breeding Research in Cologne has discovered that the genetically common ancestor of 68 contemporary types of cereal still grows as a wild plant on the slopes...
), which is located in close vicinity to Çayönü. (Compare to information on cereal use in PPNA).