A.

Özdogan
Mehmet Özdogan

Çayönü. A Conspectus of Recent Work

In: Paléorient. 1989, Vol. 15 N°1. pp. 65-74.

Résumé
Çayönü, important site du 8ème millénaire de notre ère, en Turquie du sud-est, a été la scène d'une intense activité
archéologique au cours des 8 dernières années. Cet article se livre à un rapide survol des dernières découvertes, et s'attarde
plus spécialement sur la séquence archéologique. L'un des thèmes majeurs dont l'on débattra est la continuité dans l'occupation,
comme en témoigne l'évolution progressive des types de constructions, du plan circulaire au «grill-plan», puis au plan cellulaire.
L'on examinera aussi quelques modèles sociaux.

Abstract
Çayönü, a major site of the 8th millennium B.C. in South-eastern Turkey, has been the scene of intensive archaeological activity
during the last 8 years. This paper will be a brief overview of the latest evidence with special emphasis on the archaeological
sequence. One of the major issues to be discussed is the continuity in occupation as evidenced by the gradual evolution of the
building types from the round-plan to the grill and to the cell-plan. Some social patterns will also be discussed.

Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Özdogan A., Özdogan Mehmet. Çayönü. A Conspectus of Recent Work. In: Paléorient. 1989, Vol. 15 N°1. pp. 65-74.

doi : 10.3406/paleo.1989.4485

http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/paleo_0153-9345_1989_num_15_1_4485
ÇAYÔNU
A Conspectus of Recent Work

M. ÔZDOGAN and A. ÔZDOGAN

ABSTRACT. - Çayônii, a major site of the 8th millennium B.C. in South-eastern Turkey, has been the scene of intensive
archaeological activity during the last 8 years. This paper will be a brief overview of the latest evidence with special emphasis
on the archaeological sequence. One of the major issues to be discussed is the continuity in occupation as evidenced by the
gradual evolution of the building types from the round-plan to the grill and to the cell-plan. Some social patterns will also be
discussed.
RESUME. — Çayônii, important site du 8ème millénaire de notre ère, en Turquie du sud-est, a été la scène d'une intense activité
archéologique au cours des 8 dernières années. Cet article se livre à un rapide survol des dernières découvertes, et s'attarde
plus spécialement sur la séquence archéologique. L'un des thèmes majeurs dont l'on débattra est la continuité dans Г occupation,
comme en témoigne Г évolution progressive des types de constructions, du plan circulaire au «grill-plan», puis au plan cellulaire.
L'on examinera aussi quelques modèles sociaux.

Since the presentation of a report on the Çayônii
excavations at the "Préhistoire du Levant" coll
oquium of 1980 (1), six more major field campaigns
have taken place, thus contributing to a better un
derstanding of the site. Most of the facts outlined at
the 1980 colloquium have been further elaborated
and some of our conclusions have undergone revi
sions and changes. Prior to the excavation campaign
of 1980, the total area exposed at Çayônii was about
2 100 m2; with the field season of 1987, it reached
4 900 m2, comprising 12 % of the whole site (2).
Accordingly, the overall picture of the site has chan
ged to a degree which would have been even hard
to imagine before. In the early eighties, Çayônii was
mainly renowned for its sophisticated architecture
and its monumental buildings; it was an isolated
case, far away from any other excavated site of its
time range. Salvage operations along the Euphrates
basin have now made it possible to define an ind
igenous cultural complex in southeastern Turkey, and
Çayônii is no more an exceptional case. However, it
is still the main source of our information for what
many call the "pre-neolithic" horizon (3), mainly due
to the largeness of the excavated area, to the
complexity of the architecture and of the settlement
pattern. But, what is now the outstanding aspect
about the Çayônii culture is the apparent intricacy
of the social system which the architecture of the
(1) ÇAMBEL, 1980.
(2) According to surface collections the site covers an area of
45 000 m ; however, almost half of this is within the boundaries
of the pottery mound. It is clear that the pre-pottery layers conti
nue, at least to the north, under the pottery mound, and therefore
it is impossible to estimate the exact extent of the main Phase I.
A rough estimate of 20-30 % being excavated for the cell sub-
phase.
(3) Needless to say, our preferences is for "effective food pro
ducing stage" than to "pre-pottery neolithic".
site must represent, at the very beginning of an ef
fective food producing way of life.
As the location, aims of research, history of ex
cavation, area descriptions as well as the descriptions
of main buildings have already been published (4),
they will not be repeated here. However, we feel it
necessary, at the start, to stress two points. First,
from the beginning of our excavations in 1964, the
effort has been under the combined field staffs of
H. Çambel and of RJ. Braidwood, who were later
joined by W. Schirmer and M. Ôzdogan; experienced
staff of Istanbul, Chicago and Karlsruhe Universities
have also been an essential part in all decision-ma
king steps of excavation. Quite naturally, especially
since the senior members of so thoroughly joint a
staff have come out of different scholarly traditions,
different approaches to the interpretation are certainl
y to be expected. Thus, this paper may differ s
omewhat from opinions expressed in our earlier
reports and so also may reports yet to come.
Secondly, it must also be emphasized that the
various industries within the Çayônii artifactual ca
tegories and the special detailed studies in the non-
artifactual categories are yet to receive their full due,
as to exhaustive analysis and interpretation.
I - STRATIGRAPHY
Before making a description of the vertical str
atigraphy of the site, a few explanatory remarks will
help to clarify the confusion on the sequential de
notations of Çayônii. Since the early years of the ex
cavation, customary usage of numerical denotations
(4) See especially BRAIDWOOD and BRAIDWOOD, 1982.

65 Colloque Préhistoire Levant II Maison de Г Orient-Lyon

30 mai-4 juin 1988 Editions du CNRS, Paris, 1989
for stratigraphie units was intentionally avoided, as
such a categorical division might lead to over-simp
lifications. Moreover, in the course of the 25 years
that have passed since the first field season, under
standing of the site has evolved considerably; some
of the major stratigraphie horizons, which are now
understood to be of substantial significance in the
history of the site, either did not occur in our earlier
trenches or the evidence was too fragmentary to be
properly understood. It became inevitable to elabo
rateor, at times, to alter our system of recording as
the exposures became larger. If the Çayônii excavat
ionshad come to a close after excavating a few hun
dred m2, as is the case with most of the sites of this
general time range, we could have produced an easy
sequential series which would have been far from
reality. We now have a much better understanding
of the site and its sequence; though there are some
details that are unclear, it is possible to correlate dif
ferent sectors of the mound.
a) Main phases of occupation
In earlier reports (5), three main phases of oc
cupation of the Çayônii mound were defined. Phase
I was seen as representing the main pre-pottery set
tlement. At that time, Phases II and III were reco
gnized through surface collections and also through
a few intrusive pits. Even though there still have
been no major efforts to excavate phases II and III,
they can be more thoroughly defined :
Phase III : Represents minor and discontinuous
layers in various parts of the mound; the latest of
these dates from the Early Iron Age which concent
ratesmainly in the northeastern and eastern sectors
of the mound. Occasionally, deep storage pits of this
period are also encountered. There are also a few
possible 2nd millennium sherds from the same area.
The Çayônii mound seems to have been used as a
burial ground in late EBA II and early EBA III pe
riods. Pits of this period are more common in the
eastern and the northern sections of the mound. As
no habitation layers were recovered, we assume that
the EBA II-III settlement is somewhere in the vici
nity, possibly on the other side of the stream, near
to the present-day village of Hilar.
Phase II : This is a long-lasting, substantial
phase, which almost completely circles around the
pre-pottery mound. The thickness of the deposit is
at least 2.5 m, but may possibly be much thicker.
There are also indications that the original height of
the Çayônii mound was much higher than it is today
with an overburden of later material. It is impossible
to understand what resulted from the levelling of the
main height of the mound; it is possible, though, that
layers of Phase II were preserved only around the
(5) Ibid, and ÇAMBEL, 1980.
66
outskirts of the mound, leaving in the centre of the
mound the remains of Phase I, near the surface.
What is preserved of Phase II comprises mainly
pre-Halafian layers. Most of the pottery bears direct
resemblance to the early "Dark Faced Burnished
Ware" of the Keban region, but there are also some
distinct wares, such as a certain "knobbed decorated"
ware, which, for the time being seems to be unique
at Çayônii. There is at least one Halafian sherd which
seems to indicate that the settlement persisted up to
that period. As of now, no Obeid or related material
has been recovered at Çayônii, possibly indicating a
break of occupation. However, mainly in the Western
section of the mound, there is a fair number of pits
yielding typical "chaff-faced" pottery of the Late
Chalcolithic period and EBA I sherds all along the
northern periphery.
Phase I : This is the main early prehistoric
phase of Çayônii, comprised of five sub-phases and
composed of numerous architectural layers. The di
visions of the sub-phases were made according to
changes of the main building types, such as grills,
cells, etc. This seemed evident in the earlier exca
vation campaigns as the ground plans of these buil
dings were fundamentally different from each other
and as each architectural layer consisted only of a
single type of house plan. The architecture and the
lay-out of each sub-phase was so distinct that it
might even have suggested interruptions in the s
equence of occupation, if only building plans were
considered. However, large exposures on the western
section of the mound have now revealed numerous
examples of "transitional" building types, demonst
ratingthe gradual development of building concepts
at Çayônii and thus indicating continuity in occupat
ion (6).
b) Description of phase i
Round Plan Sub-Phase. Prior to the season of
1984, our knowledge of the earliest sub-phase was
based on restricted soundings, randomly scattered
over various parts of the mound. Nevertheless, the
presence of an oval building, with walls constructed
in "wattle and daub" technique was attested as early
as 1978. In 1986 and 1987, some 200 m2 were ex
cavated down to virgin soil in the eastern section of
the mound; remains of two more round buildings and
parts of at least five others were recovered.
Round or oval plan type seems to be the charact
eristic of this earliest sub-phase. However, when
building details are considered, there is a consider
able diversity : some have stone-laid foundations,
while others are of wattle and daub without any
foundations.
(6) The material assemblage of Çayônii is also indicative of
an unbroken continuity.
67
 In the eastern section of the mound, where this
earliest sub-phase is better documented, the thick
ness of the deposit between the overlying grill sub-
phase and the virgin soil is about 20-30 cm, and in
most parts it is disturbed by the building activities
and pits of later periods. Moreover, mainly due to
the very hard, unyielding soil matrix of Çayônii, it
is impossible to detect a simple structure constructed
of wattle and daub, unless it had been burned or had
stone foundations. Accordingly, for the time being,
we are not able to determine how many successive
layers there were, as there are no clear indications
of the contemporaneity of different structures that
have been recovered. Only in one structure, building
RA, three distinct rebuilding phases could be detec
ted,but how these relate to the other structures is
not clear at all. Whether or not the different building
techniques employed in these round buildings is in In building GG this type
dicative of gradual development within the sub-
phase is also unclear.
One of the buildings, building RB, has a slightly
sunken floor, no stone foundations, walls of wattle
and daub reinforced from the exterior by a pebbly
soil; its floor was cut into virgin soil. Parts of at
least three other huts, RE, RD and RF, were also
recovered just on or partly cut into virgin soil. On
the other hand, building RA has a stone sub-structure
in all of its three rebuilding phases; its floor is again
hollowed-out but the stones were not laid-out like a
foundation, but more like a facing on the sides of
this shallow pit, leaving a very narrow opening to
the south. Another building, BN, is much more im
pressive with neatly laid foundations of flat cobbles. grill plan, both ends of the openings between the
Unfortunately, neither the floor or any remnant of
its upper structure was preserved, but one can sur
mise that its living floor was still above the level
of the foundation stones.
As the level of the round-plan buildings have not
yet been reached on western, central and northern
parts of the mound, it is impossible to guess the ex tual number of building layers of this type may have
tent of the settlement at the time of this sub-phase.
However, judging from the apparent depth of the de
posit, it seems probable that the settlement extended
along the river to the west and not to the north.
Grill-Plan Sub-Phase. This sub-phase, which is
immediately superimposed over the round plan sub-
phase, without an interruption, is well documented
at Çayônii from an area of about 1000 square m. The
presence of this building type was first attested as
early as the first excavation campaign, and the main
elements of these structures have already been des
cribed elsewhere. During the last campaigns, it has
become clear that the typical grill-plan evolved from
a much simpler "grill" type, and that the grill buil
dings excavated prior to 1984 were of the developed
form. The three stages in the development of this
building type can be summarized as follows :
a) Simple grill. In this earliest version of the
building, the main part of the building, at its northern
end, consists of parallel lines of foundations
68
ged like a grill, but without any interconnecting
walls; i.e. both ends of the spaces between the grills
are left open, and the building does not have an outer
wall. The grills are constructed of small pebble-like
stones, rather loosely placed, not at all strong enough
to carry any heavy upper structure. At least one such
grill, building GH, displays the triple division of
grill : inner court, cellular divisions, and the grills.
This triple division is characteristic of later grills.
The stratigraphical position of this simple grill
type is rather clear. In at least two cases, in buildings
GH and GK, the basic plan appeared below a super
imposed series of developed grills. Wherever this
type was encountered, it always appeared immedia
tely above the level of the round buildings. Howe
ver, it is not yet very clear how many building
layers were involved in this type of grill building.
of grill plan was repeated
for three consecutive rebuilding levels and in buil
ding GH for at least two rebuildings. There are some
doubts as to whether or not these two buildings were
in use at the same time.
b) Meandering grill. Almost all known examp
les of this meandering type are directly superim
posedon the earlier type of simple grills. At least
in two buildings, where the plans are more or less
complete, the meandering grill is bigger than the pre
ceding simple grill. It is not very clear whether or
not this plan type persisted for one or two rebuilding
phases.
c) Closed grill. As a further development of the
grill-like foundations were closed, so that the buil
ding, for the first time, was encircled with a regular
exterior wall. This plan type seems to have been used
for only one layer. However, as most of the upper
grills were found to be rather disturbed by the buil
ding activities of the succeeding sub-phases, the ac
been more than one.
Transitional Grills and Channeled Buildings.
Since the appearance of the simplest grills, up to the
time of the advanced grills, subsequent rebuilding
activity was almost always repeated at the same lo
cation. In every building layer the grills were built
parallel to each other, and in every new rebuilding
layer the general orientation of the grills shifted by
a few degrees, though still keeping the same location
and an orientation parallel to the others. However,
after the destruction of the closed grills, there was
a complete change both in orientation and in location
of the newly built buildings, which still carried on
the basic grill plan. The existence of these mis-orien
ted or deviating grills had been attested as early as
1970, but as the examples on the eastern section of
the mound were in a poor state of preservation and
the ones to the south were almost completely eroded,
their structural significance remained unclear until
the season of 1987.
 In 1987, in the western section of the mound,
in well stratified context and immediately underneath
the paved-floor buildings of the intermediate sub-
phase, two superimposed and rather well preserved
buildings were recovered. Of these, the lower one,
building DP, was roughly aligned with the above
mentioned mis-oriented grills, displaying distinct s
imilarit es to them. The grill-like foundations were
considerably broader than the normal grills and the
openings between the wall much narrower. Accord
ingly, the floor or the foundation of the building
attained the appearance of a paved floor, occasionall
y interrupted by parallel drainage channels. This is
evidently a further development of the "grill
concept" where the grill-like foundation walls have
actually become a part of the floor and the previous
ventilation openings have become the channels. As
no capstones were used to cover the channels, there
must still have been a flooring above the pavement.
However, in the following layer (building DI) the
channels were covered neatly with flat capstones,
thus causing the building to loose the appearance of
a grill building.
Intermediate Sub-Phase. This sub-phase which
covers the time range between the grill and the cell
sub-phases, is now understood to have been not only
a flourishing period of the site with substantial buil
dings, but also a time of important social and tech
nological achievements. In spite of its significance
and its relatively long duration lasting for at least
three building layers the existence of this sub-phase
had not been attested until the excavation campaign
of 1984. The absence of such a substantial sub-phase
from earlier reports needs to be described here in
small detail : most of the largest exposures of early
excavation seasons had either stopped at the level
of the cell sub-phase, for the sake of preserving
architecture remains, or were located along the
southern slope of the mound, where anything above
the grill sub-phase had been eroded. In one area, on
the eastern section of the mound a stratigraphie s
equence was obtained from the uppermost sub-phase
down to the grill sub-phase, but unfortunately in this
particular area, we now know that the fill of the i
ntermediate sub-phase had been intentionally removed
for the preparation of the big so-called "plaza" of
the cell sub-phase. This plaza of the cell sub-phase
covered an area of at least 50 x 25-30 m. and the
foundation of this plaza was made by levelling the
building remains of the intermediate sub-phase, scra
ping off the highest parts and filling in the hollow
parts. Occasional remnants of the wall fragments, pa
ved floors and numerous pits were always recovered
within the foundation fill of the plaza, but, up to
1984, their identity was rather obscure, as to whether
they belonged to the uppermost grills or cells. Ne
vertheles , they never seemed indicative of a major
sub-phase. Other pre-1984 trenches, which were dug
down to the virgin soil as deep soundings, by chance
had always coincided with the open areas between
69
buildings. Indeed, as an aside, it is of interest to
stress that no architectural remains of this major sub-
phase, comprising three building levels with well-
preserved buildings were exposed in the considerably
large exposures of pre-1984 Çayônii. What implica
tionscan we draw from these remarks as regards
smaller sites ?
The intermediate sub-phase has at least three
building layers and the building plans display a gra
dual development throughout the sub-phase. The ear
liest type of building is, both in plan and
construction, very much like the channeled type at
the end of the previous sub-phase with the exception
that the channels are missing. The paved floor covers
the entire space of the room without any break. The
buildings are again long and rectangular like the grill
plans and they also indicate a triple division of
rooms. However, in the buildings of the intermediate
sub-phase, the domestic activities that were carried
out in the inner courtyards of the grill buildings have
been transferred to the area beyond the buildings, to
the open yards. The houses completely lacked fir
eplaces and working platforms. On the other hand nu
merous hearths, pits and working areas were
encountered in the open areas between the buildings
which were much more spaciously placed.
In the second rebuilding layer of the sub-phase,
though the main plan of the buildings remained the
same, there were small buttresses like projections
along the walls. The third building layer of the sub-
phase is more like a transitional stage to the cells :
for the first time in the buildings such as CM, the
narrow axis of the building is divided into two rooms
at its back. Small buttresses like projections and
large front rooms persist, but the massive pebble
flooring disappears. The buildings are again spa
ciously placed; most of the activities such as coo
king, storing and manufacturing are taking place in
the open areas.
Cell Plan Sub-Phase. Architectural layers of
this cell sub-phase are directly over the building r
emains of the intermediate buildings, without any sign
of a break in the settlement. As the buildings of the
cell sub-phase are considerably more massive than
the buildings of the other sub-phases, they have been
well preserved almost all over the site. Accordingly,
various aspects of this sub-phase had been attested
in earlier campaigns, and already described in a numb
er of reports mentioned above. It should only be
made clear that the cell sub-phase has three main
architectural layers which can be observed rather
consistently in all areas of the mound. There are also
a number of rebuilding activities and pockets of earth
within these layers, but they are all discontinuous
and evidently represent minor activities that took
place in restricted areas. The flooring of the main
plaza, in the eastern section of the mound, which is
also clearly attributable to the cell sub-phase, has
been renewed completely several times by laying
new earth, and has also undergone two minor repairs.
 Large-Room Sub-Phase. As it has been ment
ioned above, the upper layers of the pre-pottery
Çayônti mound were badly disturbed. As early as the
1964 season, buildings with a single or more large
rooms had been recovered, stratified above the cell
plan-types. In later seasons more examples of such
buildings were excavated, mainly in the northern part
of the eastern exposure. One of them partly overlaid
the Terrazzo building. In the western section of the
mound, only one, but a rather dubious example of
this plan was recovered. However, most of the buil
dings were badly eroded and the detailed stratifica
tion of this sub-phase was never clear. In the
campaign of 1987, in trench 25 K, which is now un
derstood to be the peak of the pre-pottery mound, a
stratified sequence of buildings belonging to the
large-room sub-phase was recovered. In this area
three architectural layers were exposed, the last one
being within the plough zone. It is thus highly prob
able that there were even more architectural layers
yuvarlak planli zg ara planli •лo 5£•■
rounded plan grill plan
i
« ?
GHA DP
YAPI GELÍSÍMÍ - ÇAYÔNÙ - SEQUENCE OF BUILDINGS
FIG. 2. - Schematic drawing of main building types according to sub-phases at Cayonu.
of this sub-phase. It also became clear that the buil
dings of this sub-phase consisted of more than one
room, which compared to the rooms of the cell buil
dings, are considerably larger and are arranged in a
different order.
Due to surface erosion and later disturbances, it
is not at all clear how the pre-pottery occupation of
Çayônii came to an end, and whether or not pottery
came in use at the very end of Phase I.
II - STRATIGRAPHICAL POSITION OF THE
SPECIAL BUILDINGS
There are at least four buildings at Çayônii
which can be named buildings of special function;
all of them are different in plan, in techniques of
construction and in material yield from the domestic
tat dottmtli yapilar hdcre planli g t n » od ah
pebble paved floor type S«" 5'i. cell plan large room
i
70
buildings of the site. Two of them, the flagstone and
the terrazzo buildings , which were excavated in ear
lier campaigns, were so different from the other buil
dings of Çayônii which are very consistent in their
plan types throughout their respective sub-phases,
that they were taken as being a separate sub-phase
in earlier reports. This seemed evident as both buil
dings shared a common flooring and plan concept.
The flagstone building had been cut into the slope
of the mound without any stratigraphical connections
to the main architectural layers, which led to the mi
sinterpretation of the sequence.
In fact, the special buildings of Çayonii do not
represent a separate sub-phase; they were in use, to
gether with other types of buildings, in most of the
sub-phases. Still, with the exception of the terrazzo
building, the exact correlation of the special buil
dings to architectural layers is not possible, as the
others were cut into the slope of the mound, usually
by terracing. Nevertheless, they can be attributed to
the Phase I sub-phases.
Bench Building. Building BK, excavated in
1978, is the smallest of the special buildings; it
consists of a single room with massive stone benches
running along its walls. Its floor is neatly laid with
fine sand, and it has a drainage channel to the south.
The southern wall of the building is built over the
back wall of the flagstone building so that the drai
nage opens directly to its floor. Even though it is
obvious that the construction of the bench building
is later than the flagstone, the latter must have still
been standing and possibly been in use.
The back side of the bench building was cut into
the slope of the mound by destroying one of the ear
lier grills. It indicates its more recent origin. Rubbles
coming from the destruction of the intermediate sub-
phase by the earliest cells were covering the top of
the bench building. Thus, building BK is earlier than
the cells, being either contemporary with the upper
grills or with the intermediate buildings. There are
some indications suggesting that it was in use at the
time of the latest phase of the so-called "skull-buil
ding"; though with some reserve, we are inclined to
consider it within the time range of the intermediate
sub-phase.
Flagstone Building. This massive building (FA),
excavated in 1964, is also cut into the southern slope
of the mound. It sits directly on the virgin soil with
the exception of its northeastern corner, where there
are the remnants of an earlier building. Its northern,
massive retaining wall, which is earlier than the
bench building cuts through wattle and daub layers.
The top of its walls were covered with the same rub
ber layer as the bench building. As a result, the str
atigraphie position of the building is below the later
part of the intermediate and above the earliest sub-
phase.
The Skull Building. This massive and interes
tingbuilding (BM) was excavated, in parts, from
71
1980 onwards. Until the excavation campaign of
1985, only the latest and best preserved phase of this
building was known; it yielded some 70 human
skulls, and so, came to be known as the "skull buil
ding". However, later work revealed that the building
had at least five major rebuilding phases; the earliest
buildings were not only employed for storing skulls,
but also contained skeletons or parts of skeletons
which are now known to represent at least 400 in
dividuals. Nevertheless, the nomenclature "skull
building", somewhat misleadingly, has been kept for
all phases of the building.
The stratigraphie position of the latest phase of
this building seems clear. It belongs to the later part
of the intermediate sub-phase. On the other hand,
preceding versions of the building are rather difficult
to correlate into stratigraphie system, as they are all
cut into the slope of the mound. Remnants of the
earliest building, which, with the exception of one
round wall, are badly preserved, sit right on the vir
gin soil. If the resemblance of this round wall to the
ones of the earliest round plan sub-phase is not coin
cidental, the five rebuilding stages of the skull buil
ding must cover the entire time span of the wattle
and daub, grill and intermediate sub-phases. On the
other hand, there is still a possibility that all five
rebuildings are more recent than the grill plan sub-
phase.
The second earliest version of the building,
which is somewhat better-preserved, is very similar
to the flagstone building. It has a floor made of large
stone slabs with standing stones set into the floor.
Whether this version was in use simultaneously with
the flagstone building, or whether it has been built
after the destruction of the flagstone building is not
clear.
The Terrazzo Building. This significant buil
ding (ВТ), first exposed in the 1970 season, has a
lready been described in a number of earlier reports.
In stratigraphy, it obviously belongs to the cell sub-
phase, and possibly to its second or even to its latest
architectural layer. Even though the terrazzo building
was found quite near the top soil, parts of a large-
room building (BF) belonging to the uppermost sub-
phase was built over its northern side. Immediately
below the walls of the still in-place terrazzo buil
ding, walls of two earlier buildings are detectable.
The techniques of their wall construction, at least
one of them having small buttresses, indicate that
they were also special buildings. However, without
the removal of the terrazzo building, these lower
buildings cannot be exposed. It seems very possible
that the tradition of special buildings moved further
north to the place of the terrazzo building after the
destruction of the skull building.
The Plaza. A large prepared open area, that ap
pears to have served some special purpose within the
Çayonii settlement deserves a description. There are
indications that the concept of an open space first
starts within the intermediate sub-phase; though it is
at the beginning of the cell sub-phase, that this "pla
za", firmly established, covered an area of 50 by 25-
30 m. Throughout the cell sub-phase, it remained in
use; its floor was renewed, at least three times, by
the addition of alternating layers of clayey soil and
beaten burnt mudbrick debris. Repairs of the plaza
corresponded with the ones of the buildings that bor
dered it to the north.
After the end of the cell sub-phase, the plaza
still preserved its presence through the uppermost
sub-phase as an open area. However, in the later part
of its history, it was no longer well-kept as in the
cell period; its floor was not remade and levelled.
On the contrary, gradual deposition of debris resul
ting from the activities that took place in the plaza
accumulated.
Ill - CONTINUITY IN OCCUPATION
One of the debated issues of the Çayôniï s
equence is whether or not there was a break in the
sequence. As most of the building types that sym
bolize the sub-phase are, seemingly, very different
from each other, the possibility of discontinuity be
tween the round plan sub-phase and the grill and cell
sub-phases has often been considered, as well as the
possibility of external influences on changing buil
ding types. There is, however, a general impression
of continuity in the development of each of the ar-
tifactual groups. The recognition of an intermediate
sub-phase, in the later seasons, between the grill and
the cell sub-phases, clearly demonstrates a gradual
development from grill plan to the cell-plan, and el
iminates the possibility of a break within this part of
the sequence. The transition from the round-plan to
the grill one is still poorly documented; here we see
a shift from round buildings to rectangular ones.
Even though this shift appears as if it were a revo
lutionary change in the concept of building, reexa-
mination of the available evidence indicates that it
is also the outcome of a gradual development :
Throughout the entire life span of the pre-pottery
occupation, one of the main concerns of the Çayônti
people seems to have been to isolate their living
floors from the ground. Considering how heavy and
sticky the muddy clay soil of the area can get even
after a summer rain, this is perfectly understandable.
In the grill sub-phase the living floors were raised
by means of closely placed grill-like foundations, in
the intermediate sub-phase by solid platforms and in
the cell sub-phase by basement like sub-structures.
The only sub-phase in which the living floor was
not raised seems to have been the earliest one,
where, at least in one building, the oval hut has a
sunken floor. Given the soil matrix of Çayônii, it is
impossible to imagine people living on a hollowed-
out floor as it would be filled with water after the
first rain. Accordingly we would assume that the
72
concavity functioned to drain off the rain water and
that the main living floor was above it, possibly res
ting on branches stretched across the pit. It is also
of interest to note that, where preserved, all of the
round-plan buildings have their openings to the
south, towards the river in accordance with the slope
of the mound.
The earliest and simplest grill-plan buildings
have no side walls; the grill walls on which the l
iving floor of the building was raised are arranged
like branches over a pit. Accordingly, the main dif
ference between the round-plan buildings and the
grill-plan buildings is that in the former the isolation
is achieved by hollowing out the substructure of the
building, and in the latter by raising the level of the
floor. As a natural consequence of using rows of
stone, i.e. the grills, for supporting the floor, the buil
ding became rectangular.
The side walls of the round-plan buildings were
made of mud-daubed wattle, thatch and twigs with
occasional supporting thick branches. In the 1987 ex
cavation season it became evident that the upper
structures of the grill-plan buildings were also of
light material, supported by rows of posts. Extensive
use of mud for walls only appeared for the first time
in the late intermediate period and by the cell sub-
phase shaped bricks were in use. To conclude,
throughout Çayônii a gradual evolution of architec
tural techniques have been evidenced, as well as
continuous experimentation in building techniques
and in the use of materials.
IV - SOCIAL SYSTEM, SOME CONSIDERA
TIONS
A striking aspect of Çayônii as a settlement is
the homogeneity of building types in each building
layer. As has been described before, the building
types of each layer were different from both the pre
ceding and from the succeeding ones, but throughout
a single layer, without any exception, all the building
plans were uniform. Up to now, approximately one
hundred buildings have been recovered, but only one
building (GS) of the grill sub-phase, has shown i
r egularity, and only in architectural details.
The settlement pattern within the site is very
standardized. The most extreme case for stand
ardization can be observed in the grill sub-phase :
not only was the orientation of the buildings in every
building layer the same, but also their location is
neatly determined. In excavating the grill layers, it
is now possible to define almost exactly where the
next building will appear and what the plan and
orientation will be like. None of the grills have any
added annexes or later alterations. This all leads one
to think that on certain occasions the settlement was
intentionally destroyed and rebuilt according to a de
finite plan. The fact that all the buildings of a buil-
ding layer were standard in building details, suggests
that the reconstruction might have been done collec
tively starting at one end of the settlement.
Other details further support this interpretation,
ïn every building layer, the foundations of the new
building are always directly on top of the preceding
one, without disturbing or re-using its stones. If there
had not been some kind of a social inhibition, the
stones previously used and obviously still visible
above the ground would have served as easy building
material.
Another fact which is mainly observed in the
buildings of the cell sub-phase is the blocking up of
doorways. With the exception of a few buildings
which had been destroyed by fire, passages leading
from one room to another are always found to be
blocked by an irregular fill of stones. The same phe
nomenon was also observed in the latest phase of
the skull building; all inside doorways were blocked
with stones. Usually the blocking is so irregular that,
if the buildings were still in use, the stones would
certainly have fallen down. This also indicates that
the buildings were deserted intentionally and that
there was a kind of superstition in closing up the
spaces. It is also of interest to note that many arti
facts which are still intact were abandoned within
the cell rooms.
Another surprising fact of the Çayônii settlement
is the evidence of social stratification that can be
best observed within the cell sub-phase where the
exposures are most extensive. At the time of this sub-
phase, the eastern section of the mound was the "pla
za", which certainly had some communal function.
Most of the tools found in association with the plaza
layers are chipped discs, perhaps indicating that but
chering was done there. A huge grooved stone, mea
suring more than a meter in length, which we assume

PI. I : 1 Skull building : early stage with flagstone pavement, standing stones, crypts; at north still earlier stages of the building
with round walls.
2 Earliest grill type, (building GH) overlying round building RA.
3 Channeled building types indicating transition from grill plan to the intermediate; Buildings DI and DP.
4 Buildings DA and CZ of the intermediate sub-phase with stone-paved floors.

73
to have been a communal axe-sharpening place, was dest a settlement that there would have been no mot
found lying on one of the plaza floors. ivation for the excavators to continue digging on
Along the northern side of the plaza, a group of the site !
buildings were found, aligned behind raised plat In order to make a more substantial interpreta
forms, which have revealed the most unusual finds tion of the Çayônii evidence, the final analysis of
of the Çayônii excavations. Among these were a clay the different artifact groups must be available. Ne
house model, various elegantly worked groundstone vertheles the architectural lay-out and the prelimi
objects including beads and pendants of semi-pre naryassessment of the evidence indicates that the
cious stones. The buildings were of the same uniform social structure of the community was much more
plan types as the other buildings of the site, but they complex than we would at first ever have envisaged.
were slightly larger, with more massive walls. Even Mehmet ÔZDOGAN and Asii OZDOČAN
the stones used in the walls of these buildings are Prehistorya Amabilim Dali
considerably larger than the normal stones used in Istanbul Universitesi
other buildings of the same plan type. Istanbul, Turquie
The two rows of standing stone that were set
into the plaza are also of interest. At least one of
them had traces of red paint, and another had indi
cations of some modelling. The standing stone varied BIBLIOGRAPHY
greatly in size and shape, the largest one exceeded
2 m in height and the smallest one was about a meter
high. The only other places where standing stones BRAIWOOD R.J. and BRAIDWOOD L.
have been encountered are in the special buildings, 1982 Prehistoric Village Archeology in Southeastern
key. BAR Int .Ser. 138. Oxford.
in the flagstone building and in the skull building.
It is also of interest to note that some of the standing BRAIDWOOD R.J. and ÇAMBEL H. et al.
stones were intentionally broken and then buried un 1981 Beginnings of Village Farming Communities in
der the subsequent reflooring of the plaza. South-eastern Turkey Çayônii Tepesi. Journal of
Field Archaeology 8 249-258.
To the west of the plaza within the cell sub- ÇAMBEL H.
phase the large exposure indicates a modest living 1980 Chronologie et organisation de Г espace à Çayônii.
quarter with various witnesses of domestic activities. In С AU VIN J. et SANLAVILLE P. Préhistoire du
Towards the western end of the site, the buildings Levant 531-553. Paris : CNRS.
:
became smaller and flimsier and open areas in be :
ÇAMBEL H. and BRAIDWOOD R.J.
tween the buildings became larger. Most of the open 1986 1985 Yili Cayonii Kazisi. VIII. Kazi Sonuçlari To-
areas were occupied by industrial working areas such plantisi : 37-52. Ankara.
as flint and obsidian chipping ones. A 70 m. long ÇAMBEL H. and BRAIDWOOD R.J et al.
trench that we excavated in the 1985 season, exten 1985 1984 Yili Çayônii Kazisi. VII. Kazi Sonuçlari To-
dedto the westernmost end of the site. It clearly plantisi I: 51-66. Ankara.
showed changes in the social pattern, in that it r SCHIRMER W.
evealed numerous small working areas and poorly 1983 Drei Bauten des Çayônii Tepesi. In BOEHMER
made structures. If the excavation of the site had first R.M. and HAUPTMANN H. (eds.) Festschrift fur
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started in the westernmost area in the 1964 campaign Kurt Bittel: 463-476. Mainz.
and concentrated in that area for a few seasons, the 1986 Zur Ausbildung der Bautypen des Çayônii Tepesi .
IX Turk Tarih Kongresi I 41-47. Ankara.
overall picture of Çayônii would have been complet 1988 Zu den Bauten des Çayônii Tepesi. Anatolica XV:
:

ely different. Probably it would have seemed so 139-159.

74