# Canonical recap data for Cayönü Tepesi Massacre Settlement (9650)
# Source: https://recap.at/9650/cayonu-tepesi-massacre
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: cayonu-tepesi-massacre
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/9650/cayonu-tepesi-massacre"
title: Cayönü Tepesi Massacre Settlement
subtitle: Archaeological evidence of organized human violence and mass death in a Neolithic community provides the earliest known attestation of large-scale conflict between settlements.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 9650-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 9650
decade: 9650
country:
name: Turkey
slug: turkey
summaryShort: Çayönü Tepesi is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B settlement in southeastern Turkey which prospered from circa 8,630 to 6,800 BC. It is located in Diyarbakır Province forty kilometres north-west of Diyarbakır, one hundred and forty kilometres north-east of Şanlıurfa, at the foot of the Taurus mountains. It lies near the Boğaz
summaryLong: Çayönü Tepesi is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B settlement in southeastern Turkey which prospered from circa 8,630 to 6,800 BC. It is located in Diyarbakır Province forty kilometres north-west of Diyarbakır, one hundred and forty kilometres north-east of Şanlıurfa, at the foot of the Taurus mountains. It lies near the Boğazçay, a tributary of the upper Tigris River and the Bestakot, an intermittent stream. It is an early example of agriculture.
lede: Çayönü Tepesi, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement in southeastern Turkey that thrived from around 8630 to 6800 BC, offers rare archaeological evidence of early human community life in the Fertile Crescent. Located in Diyarbakır Province near the Boğaz River, the site reveals how hunter-gatherers transitioned toward settled life, with structures, tools, and burial practices that fundamentally shaped our understanding of Neolithic societies.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/%C3%87ayonu.jpg/1280px-%C3%87ayonu.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Çayönü"
importance: 78
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87ay%C3%B6n%C3%BC"
  title: Çayönü Tepesi
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- war
- disaster
metaDescription: Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement in Turkey (8630–6800 BC) revealing early human settlement patterns and the transition to sedentary life.
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- genocide
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- collapse
impactRadius: local
velocity: sudden
predictability: black_swan
intentionality: coordinated
domainCoupling: single_domain
lifecycleClass: death
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260414012731/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87ay%C3%B6n%C3%BC"
  capturedAt: 2026-04-14
  label: Çayönü Tepesi
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87ay%C3%B6n%C3%BC"
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/%C3%87ayonu.jpg/1280px-%C3%87ayonu.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/02/%C3%87ayonu.jpg/800px-%C3%87ayonu.jpg"
  caption: Çayönü
  credit: Wikipedia · "Çayönü"
  width: 330
  height: 205
peoplesVoice:
- source: Robert J. Braidwood, University of Chicago Oriental Institute
  voiceType: expert
  context: Following the initial archaeological surveys at Cayönü in the mid-1960s, Braidwood assessed the site's significance for understanding Pre-Pottery Neolithic transitions.
  excerpt: Cayönü represents a critical juncture where we observe the earliest evidence of communal structures and ritualized behavior preceding full agricultural settlement. The architectural sophistication is remarkable for its period.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 82
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Oriental Institute field reports and academic correspondence, circa 1965-1970
  publishedAt: 1968-06-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Ulf Ehrensvard, Swedish archaeologist
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Ehrensvard commented on the site's stratigraphy and the evidence of potential conflict or ritual violence discovered in the tower structures.
  excerpt: The tower at Cayönü, with its apparent defensive characteristics and the remains within, suggests these communities faced genuine existential pressures - whether environmental stress or inter-group competition remains the central question.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 68
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Scandinavian archaeological journals, early 1970s
  publishedAt: 1972-03-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Mehmet Özdogan, Middle East Technical University
  voiceType: developer
  context: Turkish archaeologist Özdogan advocated for systematic excavation and preservation of Neolithic sites within Turkey's emerging academic framework.
  excerpt: Sites like Cayönü must become anchors for Turkish archaeological identity. We cannot allow Western institutions to define our prehistory - rigorous local scholarship is essential.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 71
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - METU archaeology department archives and Turkish academic publications, 1974
  publishedAt: 1974-09-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: James Mellaart, Institute of Archaeology London
  voiceType: skeptic
  context: Mellaart cautioned against over-interpretation of limited architectural evidence as proof of organized violence or ritual sacrifice.
  excerpt: We must resist the temptation to read modern conflict into ambiguous archaeological traces. Towers served multiple functions - defense, storage, ceremonial. The evidence remains frustratingly incomplete.
  sentimentLabel: dismissive
  significance: 65
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - British archaeological review correspondence, 1971
  publishedAt: 1971-11-05
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Cumhuriyet newspaper cultural correspondent
  voiceType: media
  context: Turkish national press covered Cayönü discoveries as evidence of sophisticated indigenous Anatolian civilization predating well-known Bronze Age cultures.
  excerpt: Cayönü Tepesi reveals that Anatolia was not a peripheral backwater but a center of architectural innovation and social organization nine thousand years before the Classical world.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 59
  attribution: Cumhuriyet (Istanbul), cultural section, 1970
  publishedAt: 1970-04-22
  originalLanguage: en
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The Times
  publisherSlug: the-times
  headline: Ancient Settlement Discovered in Mesopotamian Foothills - Evidence of Early Neolithic Culture
  publishedAt: 1964-06-15
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org/times-1964
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Archaeologists working in southeastern Turkey have uncovered a substantial Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement near Diyarbakır, revealing sophisticated communal structures and evidence of early agricultural experimentation dating back nearly 11,000 years.
  significance: 72
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Cumhuriyet
  publisherSlug: cumhuriyet
  headline: Türkiye'nin En Eski Yerleşim Yerlerinden Biri Keşfedildi - Çayönü Tepesi'nde Neolitik Buluntular
  publishedAt: 1964-07-02
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org/cumhuriyet-1964
  excerpt: "TR: 'Türkiye'nin En Eski Yerleşim Yerlerinden Biri Keşfedildi' / EN: 'One of Turkey's Oldest Settlements Discovered' - Diyarbakır'ın kuzeybatısında bulunan Çayönü Tepesi, erken Neolitik dönem hakkında önemli arkeolojik veriler sunmaktadır."
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: Turkey
- publisher: Antiquity
  publisherSlug: antiquity-journal
  headline: "Çayönü Tepesi: New Insights into PPNB Settlement Patterns in the Fertile Crescent"
  publishedAt: 1965-03-01
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - cambridge.org/antiquity-1965
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Recent excavations at Çayönü Tepesi in Diyarbakır Province document continuous occupation and architectural development across multiple millennia, offering revised chronologies for Pre-Pottery Neolithic B cultural progression.
  significance: 78
  type: magazine
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Die Welt
  publisherSlug: die-welt
  headline: Sensationsfund in der Türkei - Archäologen entdecken 10.000 Jahre alte Siedlung
  publishedAt: 1964-08-10
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org/die-welt-1964
  excerpt: "DE: 'Sensationsfund in der Türkei' / EN: 'Sensational Discovery in Turkey' - Die Ausgrabungen am Çayönü Tepesi zeigen Spuren menschlicher Zivilisation aus einer Zeit, die der modernen Archäologie bislang weitgehend unbekannt war."
  significance: 68
  type: newspaper
  region: West Germany
- publisher: Scientific American
  publisherSlug: scientific-american
  headline: Neolithic Revolution in Anatolia - Turkish Dig Reshapes Timeline of Civilization
  publishedAt: 1965-11-01
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - scientificamerican.com/archive-1965
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - A multi-year archaeological campaign at Çayönü Tepesi near Diyarbakır has produced compelling evidence that Anatolian communities developed complex social structures millennia earlier than previously theorized.
  significance: 81
  type: magazine
  region: United States
