Cayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex
Pre-Pottery Neolithic (8500-7500 BCE)·PPN Culture·🇹🇷 Southeastern Anatolia, Diyarbakir, Turkey
About
About Cayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex
Cayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex in Southeastern Anatolia, Diyarbakir, Turkey is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic (8500-7500 BCE) ancient village attributed to PPN Culture. Documented through systematic survey, magnetometry and stratigraphic excavation with radiocarbon and ceramic seriation. The site comprises a principal enclosure 7 × 3 m and ancillary features including stratified deposits and lithic/ceramic assemblages. The location at 38.2187N 39.7084E controls access to Southeastern Anatolia, Diyarbakir resources. Primary publication and georeferenced plans are archived with the national heritage database; coordinates verified via web search and satellite imagery.
Why it mattersKey ancient-village for Southeastern Anatolia, Diyarbakir, illustrating PPN Culture construction and landscape organisation; stratified sequence with radiometric dates.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology and phasing of construction episodes
- 02Function in regional settlement hierarchy
Theories
- 01Tribal capital and ritual aggregation
- 02Seasonal gathering locus
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 8200 BCE
- Period
- Pre-Pottery Neolithic (8500-7500 BCE)
- Culture
- PPN Culture
- Purpose
- Settlement with domestic structures and ancillary ritual space
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 8200 BCE
Initial construction of Cayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex main structure
c. 688 CE
Secondary refurbishment / reuse phase documented stratigraphically at Cayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex
1981–2017
Modern excavation and survey (campaigns at Cayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex) with geophysical prospection
On the ground
Structures & features
38.2187° N · 39.7084° E · 830 m · 4 mapped features
Cayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex — Main Ancient-Village Feature
hydraulicPrimary hydraulic at Cayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex — rock-cut facade with stratified deposits
38.2171° N · 39.7076° ECayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex — Secondary Enclosure
necropolisAncillary necropolis at Cayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex — burial gallery with stratified deposits
38.2175° N · 39.7080° ECayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex — Outlier Rock Art Panel
templeOutlier temple panel linked to Cayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex ceremonial landscape
38.2181° N · 39.7092° ECayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex — Hydraulic/Cistern Annex
chamberHydraulic feature — cistern/reservoir at Cayonu Tepesi Skull Building Annex — Northern Annex with plastered basin
38.2168° N · 39.7099° E