Cafer Hoyuk or Cafer Höyük is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

located around northeast of Malatya,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

in the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

valley. It was inhabited over ten thousand years ago during the Neolithic Revolution.Türkiye Arkeolojik Yerleşmeleri - TAY Projesi - Cafer Hoyuk
/ref> Construction of the Karakaya Dam has flooded the northeast of the tell mound. Rescue excavations were carried out by the French National Scientific Research Centre ( CNRS) under Jacques Cauvin between 1979 and 1986. Finds at the site were dated to the

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

, Pre-Pottery Neolithic,

Pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

, Early Bronze Age along with a few

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

finds. Building techniques at the site were seen to be similar to those used at Cayonu with a rectangular mud-brick structures with three rooms called by Cauvin the "cell-plan" phase. Engravings of the shoulders of

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not Castration, castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e. cows proper), bulls have long been an important symbol cattle in r ...

s on the walls of a house were indicative of animalism similar to that found at Çatalhöyük. The first evidence of domesticated

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

s appears shortly before this stage.

Livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

farming was not evidenced at this level but developed later in the PPNB. Features of the tell mound have been suggested to indicate male and female fertility features. Votive

figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...

s were also found during excavations that were suggested to be male

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

s. The "old period" of the settlement shows a predominant use of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

for tools but in the "middle period"

obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...

becomes increasingly prevalent. The "new period" evidences use of around 90% obsidian. Skeletons were also unearthed including those of two children. A skeleton of a pet dog was found evidencing hunting of rabbits along with larger animals in the first stage such as wild boar, roe deer, foxes and other prey. Sheep and

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

s are both hunted and a very small number of

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

and panther bones were also discovered. Findings indicated that larger prey was hunted in later stages. Wild emmer and einkorn wheat were found in the first layers of excavation. Wheat,

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

, lentils and peas were found cultivated along with wild varieties in later levels.

Silo A silo () is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use toda ...

s for storing grain were also found at these levels. The first layers of the excavations showed evidence of wild emmer and einkorn

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

. It was shown from the findings that these two cereals were taken into cultivation first, followed by the lentils, peas and vetch and afterwards barley. This evidence led Willem van Zeist to suggest that domesticated crops did not enter the area around the Taurus mountains and Northern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

until the middle of the PPNB. Cauvin drew detailed designs of the various settlement construction phases and dated the "old period" to the

Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) is part of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, a Neolithic culture centered in upper Mesopotamia and the Levant, dating to years ago, that is, 8800–6500 BC. It was Type site, typed by British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon ...

with c14 dates of around 8450-7180 BCE. More recent calibrations have pushed the dating of the earliest levels back as far as 8920 BCE.Thissen, L., CANeW 14C databases and 14C charts, Anatolia, 10000 - 5000 cal BC, Gérard and Thissen (eds.) 2002, The Neolithic of Central Anatolia. Internal Developments and External Relations During the 9th - 6th Millennia cal BC. Proceedings of the CANeW Table Ronde, Istanbul 23–24 November 2001, Istanbul, Ege Publishing Co., Istanbul, 299-337

References

* Jacques Cauvin and Oliver Aurenche, Cafer Hoyük et le Néolithique en Anatolia, in Dossiers Histoire et Archéologie 122, 1987, p. 24-25. * Cauvin, Jacques., Recherches récentes sur la néolithisation de l'Anatolie. les fouilles de Cafer Hôyuk (Malatya) Turcica (Travaux et Recherches en Turquie, I) 71–7., 1982. * Cauvin, Jacques., Cafer Hoyuk Kazisi 982 yili raporu (en Turc). V Kazi Sonuçlan Toplantisi (Istanbul 23-27 Mayis 1983) 65–66., 1984. * Cauvin, Jacques., Le Néolithique de Cafer Hoyuk (Turquie), bilan provisoire après quatre campagnes ( 1979-1983). Cahiers de l'Euphrate 4 123–135. 5 fig. Pans Éd. du CNRS., 1985. * Cauvin, Jacques., Cafer Hôyiik 986. Anatolian Studies 37 1 82- 1 82., 1987. * Cauvin, Jacques., Les fouilles du village néolithique de Cafer Hôyiik. gue d'Exposition « Anatolie Antique ». Varia Anatolica IV/1 10–13., 1989. * Cauvin, Jacques., La stratigraphie de Cafer Hôyuk-Est (Turquie) et les origines du PPNB du Taurus. In Aurenche O., Cauvin M.-C. et Sanlanville P. (éd.), Préhistoire du Levant H, Colloque, CNRS, Lyon, mai 1988. Paléorient 15,1 75–86., 1989. * Cauvin, Jacques., with O. Aurenche., Cafer Hóyiik (Malatya) 1979. lian Studies 30 207–209., 1980. * Cauvin, Jacques., with O. Aurenche., Premiers sondages sur le siteque de Cafer Hoyiik. In // Kasi Sonuçlan Toplantisi (Ankara février 1980) 175–180., 1980. * Cauvin, Jacques., with O. Aurenche., Cafer Hoyuk 1980. Anatolian Studies, 31 184–185., 1981. * Cauvin, Jacques., with O. Aurenche., Cafer Hoyiik 1 980. In Kasiçlan Toplantisi (Ankara) 1, 19-120., 1981. * Cauvin, Jacques., with O. Aurenche., Le Néolithique de Cafer Hoyuk tya, Turquie. Fouilles 1979–1980. Cahiers de l'Euphrate 3 123–138, 12 fig. Paris Éd. du CNRS., 1982. * Cauvin, Jacques., with O. Aurenche., Cafer Hôyiik 1983. Anatolian Studies 34, 209–210., 1984. * Cauvin, Jacques., with O. Aurenche., La campagne de fouilles 1984 à Cafer Hoyiik. VII Kasi Sonuçlan Toplantisi 17–21. 1985 * Cauvin, Jacques., with O. Aurenche, Cafer Hoyuk 1984. Anatolian Studies 35, 183–186., 1985. * Cauvin, Jacques., with M.-J. Chavanne., et T. Oziol., Le cimetière médiéval de Cafer Hôyiik (Malatya. Turquie). Cahiers de l'Euphrate 4 135–173. 14 fie., 1985. * Cauvin, Jacques., with O. Aurenche., Cafer Hoyuk 1985. Anatolian Studies 36, 182–184., 1986. * Cauvin, Jacques., with O. Aurenche., Cafer Hoyiik les fouilles de 1985. VIII Kasi Sonuçlan Toplantisi 39–49., 1986. * Cauvin, Jacques., with O. Aurenche Cafer Hoyiik et le Néolithique en Anatolie. Dossiers Histoire et Archéologie 122 24–25., 1987a * Cauvin, Jacques., with M.-C. Cauvin, P. Anderson-Geraud et D. Helvier., Les travaux de 1986-1988 sur le site néolithique pré-céramique de Cafer Hoyiik. Anatolia Antiqua, EskiAnadolu, (1FEA Istanbul XXXII): 4-10. Paris: Maisonneuve., 1991a * Cauvin, Jacques., with M. Molust., Les niveaux inférieurs de Cafer Hoyiik. Stratigraphie et architectures. Fouilles 84–86. Cahiers de l'Euphrate 5-6 85-1 14. Paris ERC., 1991. * Cauvin, Jacques. with O. Aurenche, M.-C. Cauvin et N. Balkan-Atli., The Pre-pottery Site of Cafer Hoyiik. In Ôzdoan M. and Basgelen N. (eds). Neolithic in Turkey 87-103 et pi. h. t.., 59-11 Istanbul Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayinlazi., 1999.

External links

France Diplomatie - Turkey - Cafer Höyük - The use of obsidian and the Neolithisation of Anatolia

Cafer Hoyuk on the University of Cologne's Radiocarbon Context Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cafer Hoyuk Former populated places in Turkey Geography of Malatya Province Buildings and structures in Malatya Province Archaeological sites in Eastern Anatolia Archaeological sites of prehistoric Anatolia Bronze Age sites in Asia Neolithic settlements Neolithic sites Paleolithic sites Pre-Pottery Neolithic B

See also

References

Further reading

External links