Çayönü Tepesi
A Neolithic mound in southeastern Turkey, contemporary with Göbekli Tepe but far less famous, that documents the transition from hunter-gatherer camps to permanent villages — and contains the "Skull Building," a 9000-year-old structure whose flagstone floor tested positive for human blood and may represent the earliest known evidence of ritual sacrifice.
At a glance
Çayönü Tepesi sits in the upper Tigris valley near Ergani in Diyarbakır Province, southeastern Turkey, approximately 75 km from the more celebrated site of Göbekli Tepe. First excavated in 1964 by a joint Turkish-American team, it preserves approximately 14 occupation phases spanning c. 9000–6000 BC — one of the best-documented early Neolithic sequences in the world. The site contains evidence of early plant domestication (wheat and lentils), the first systematic cold-working of native copper, and the "Skull Building": a rectangular structure from c. 9000 BC beneath whose flagstone floor over 70 human skulls were found, along with human long bones and a large flat stone whose surface tested positive for human blood using forensic hemoglobin analysis. Whether this represents an ancestor cult, a charnel house, or evidence of ritual sacrifice remains debated, but the forensic evidence has kept the sacrifice interpretation alive.
Key facts
- Location: Near Ergani, Diyarbakır Province, Turkey (38.2022°N, 41.1056°E)
- Occupation: c. 9000–6000 BC (Pre-Pottery and Early Pottery Neolithic), ~14 phases
- Key structure: The "Skull Building" — 70+ human skulls, forensic hemoglobin on flagstones
- First excavation: 1964, Halet Çambel (Turkey) and Robert Braidwood (University of Chicago)
- Firsts documented: Early wheat and lentil cultivation; systematic cold-working of native copper
- Parallels: One of only three sites (with Jericho and Abu Hureyra) with the earliest known intentional human skull collections
- Distance from Göbekli Tepe: Approximately 75 km; contemporary but predates Göbekli Tepe's construction phases
History
Çayönü Tepesi — "Çayönü Mound," named after the stream that runs nearby — was first brought to scholarly attention in 1964 when Halet Çambel of Istanbul University and Robert Braidwood of the University of Chicago identified it as a key site for understanding the Neolithic transition. The earliest occupation phases, dating to approximately 9000 BC, represent a settlement of small, rectangular structures in a period when the domestication of plants and animals was just beginning; Çayönü preserves some of the earliest evidence for the cultivation of einkorn wheat and lentils, and for the deliberate selection of morphologically domestic plant varieties. The approximately 14 occupation levels document in exceptional detail how a semi-mobile forager camp became a permanent village over several thousand years.
The site's most unsettling discovery emerged from a large rectangular building designated the "Skull Building" (also called the "House of the Dead"): excavators found over 70 human skulls arranged beneath the flagstone floor, along with quantities of human long bones and a large flat stone interpreted as a sacrificial table or altar. Forensic hemoglobin testing of the stone surface and surrounding flagstones returned positive results for both human blood and animal blood (cattle and sheep). The combination of these finds — the skull collection, the bone deposits, and the blood traces — places Çayönü alongside Jericho and Abu Hureyra as one of the three earliest sites in the world with documented systematic collection of human skulls, a practice that appears to characterise a specific phase of Near Eastern Neolithic ritual life. Whether the Skull Building represents an ancestor cult (veneration of dead community members), a mortuary processing facility, or evidence of actual sacrifice remains actively debated by specialists.
The copper evidence at Çayönü is also remarkable: small copper tools and ornaments found in early levels were made by cold-hammering native copper — not yet smelting, but the systematic recognition of copper as a workable material — making Çayönü one of the earliest known sites of copper working in the world. The site was largely overshadowed in popular consciousness after the 1995 publication of Göbekli Tepe's spectacular carved pillars, but among specialists it remains one of the most important Neolithic reference sites in Southwest Asia.
What you see today
The site presents as a low mound in a river valley landscape; the excavation trenches have been partially backfilled for preservation. The Skull Building foundations and the associated flagstone floor are not permanently displayed in situ; the most important material is held in Turkish museums. Visitors to the site see primarily the landscape context — the productive alluvial valley, the low rises marking successive occupations — rather than standing architecture. A site museum or on-site interpretation facility was not established on the same scale as at Göbekli Tepe.
The most significant finds from Çayönü — skulls, copper objects, ceramic material, and worked bone — are held in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara and in the Diyarbakır Archaeological Museum. The Diyarbakır museum provides the most convenient access for visitors in the region and offers broader context for the Neolithic and Bronze Age of southeastern Anatolia.
Practical information
- Access: Near Ergani district, Diyarbakır Province; accessible by road from Diyarbakır city (approximately 65 km)
- Site visits: The mound itself is not developed for tourist visits; specialist researchers coordinate access through Turkish archaeological authorities
- Museum alternative: Diyarbakır Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara hold the key finds
- Security: Diyarbakır Province is generally accessible; check current Turkish government and FCDO travel advisories before travelling to the region
Getting there
Diyarbakır city is served by direct flights from Istanbul and Ankara (approximately 1.5–2 hours). From Diyarbakır, the site near Ergani is approximately 65 km northwest via the D360 highway; a hire car or organised tour is the most practical means of access. The site is often combined with visits to the Diyarbakır city walls (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and to Göbekli Tepe (approximately 140 km to the west via Şanlıurfa).
Nearby
- Göbekli Tepe — contemporary Neolithic sanctuary with the world's earliest monumental carved stone pillars (c. 140 km west via Şanlıurfa)
- Diyarbakır city walls — UNESCO World Heritage basalt Roman-era walls enclosing a major historic city (c. 65 km east)
- Nevalı Çori — nearby Neolithic site with pre-Göbekli pillar sculpture, now beneath Atatürk Dam reservoir (c. 80 km northwest)
Sources
- Çambel, H. & Braidwood, R.J. (1980). "Çayönü Tepesi: Short Preliminary Report." Paléorient 6: 279–282.
- Özdoğan, M. & Çambel, H. (1999). Neolithic in Turkey. Istanbul: Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayınları.
- Loy, T.H. & Wood, A.R. (1989). "Blood residue analysis at Çayönü Tepesi." Journal of Field Archaeology 16(4): 451–460.
- Schirmer, W. (1990). "Some aspects of building at the aceramic-Neolithic settlement of Çayönü Tepesi." World Archaeology 21(3): 363–387.
- Wikipedia contributors. "Çayönü." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
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