24 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The inhabitants of Pınarbaşı Höyük in central Turkey may be the ancestors of the Boncuklu Höyük and Çatalhöyük neolithic human communities

The Department of Excavations and Researchs, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Turkey, attracted attention with the tweet it today shared about Karaman/Pınarbaşı Höyük (Pınarbaşı Mound).

The Excavations and Research Department, in their tweet today, claimed that “The excavations carried out in the area considered to be the oldest known cemetery in Anatolia (14.000 BC) in Karaman/Pınarbaşı Höyük show that Pınarbaşı people may be the ancestors of the Boncuklu Höyük and Çatalhöyük neolithic human communities.”

Communication and interaction between cultures develop, change and take shape due to many different reasons. This current dynamism can be associated with many reasons ranging from raw material changes to kinship relations, or it can be evaluated as a reaction to changing population percentages or external influences.

Excavations at Boncuklu Höyük

According to scientists, cultural relations are more intense and fast in the east but develop slowly in Central Anatolia. However, as new things are added to what we know every day, it is not possible to predict how volatile the dynamics can be.

According to the data obtained as a result of the excavations, it is seen that the social and economic organization of the Neolithic cultures in Central Anatolia was highly developed in settlements such as Aşıklı Höyük, Pınarbaşı, Boncuklu Höyük, and Çatalhöyük.

Boncuklu Höyük is located only 9.5 km north of Çatalhöyük, in the town of Hayiroğlu in the Karatay district of Konya. Pınarbaşı Höyük is a flat settlement located 39 km north-northwest of Karaman city center and approximately 7 km north-northeast of Ortaoba Village. The distance between Pınarbaşı Höyük and Çatalhöyük is approximately 126 km.

Excavations at Çatalhöyük

Pınarbaşı Höyük was discovered in 1993, after the second phase of Çatalhöyük excavations began, during surveys carried out mainly on the eastern approaches to determine the environmental sources of the Neolithic culture in this settlement.

Boncuklu Höyük was discovered in 1983 during the Konya Surface Surveys under the direction of Prof Dr. Douglas Baird from the University of Liverpool.

Dating about a thousand years before Çatalhöyük, Boncuklu Höyük is also one of the rare places where the first phases of agriculture and animal husbandry are explored. However, the inhabitants of Boncuklu Höyük are seen as the pioneers of Çatalhöyük Culture.

In the light of the information revealed as a result of the Boncuklu Höyük excavations, it will be possible to carry the research on Çatalhöyük culture, its origin, and symbolic structure to a wider platform and evaluate it from a different perspective.

Excavations at Pınarbaşı Höyük. Photo: Department of Excavations and Researchs

The microlithic tools found in the excavations in Pınarbaşı Höyük are dated to 8500-8000 BC according to the analyzes made with the C14 method.

In 2003, another study was conducted to understand whether the society living in Pınarbaşı in 9000 BC  ( before present-day 11 thousand years ago)was nomadic or settled. A settlement dating to 9000 BC was unearthed in an area covering most of the top of this small mound.

A cemetery area containing cist tombs made of stone and mudbrick is one of the most remarkable discoveries in Pınarbaşı.

This cemetery area was dated to 14,000 BC with the statement made by the Department of Excavations and Researchs, and it was reported that it could be the oldest known cemetery in Anatolia.

The Department of Excavations and Research sharing attracted attention, while also increasing the expectation for a new Carbon 14 dating. It seems that the news from Pınarbaşı Höyük in the coming period will excite Archeology lovers.

We follow the developments.

Cover Photo: Department of Excavations and Researchs

Source: In this article, excerpts are taken from Associate Professor Adnan Baysal’s article titled “Konya Ovası Neolitik Dönem Kültürel Gelişimi İçinde Boncuklu Höyük ve Önemi”.

Related Articles

Ceremonial cave site from Postclassic Maya period discovered in Yucatán Peninsula

21 December 2021

21 December 2021

Archaeologists have discovered a ceremonial cave site in Chemuyil on the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, that dates from the Postclassic Maya...

Al-Aqiser Church, Disappears in the Depths of The Iraqi Desert

10 May 2021

10 May 2021

In a country that has been devastated by successive conflicts and economic crises, Al-Aqiser, like the numerous Christian, Islamic and...

A massive Rune stone found under a kitchen floor in Denmark declared treasure

8 June 2023

8 June 2023

A couple in Denmark discovered a massive rune stone weighing approximately 900 kilograms during a home renovation project that planned...

An Unusual Artifact Points to Roman Britain Rituals Linked to Fertility, Painted Dog Penis Bone Found in England

9 January 2025

9 January 2025

In a Roman quarry shaft in Surrey, England, archaeologists have discovered one of the most unusual human and animal remains...

The Enigmatic Architecture of Sacsayhuaman: The Sacred Stronghold of Massive Stones and Mysteries

14 March 2025

14 March 2025

Sacsayhuaman Fortress, located just outside Cusco, Peru, is one of the most astonishing archaeological complexes in the world. Initiated by...

Archaeologists have found a fort that the Romans built to protect their silver mines, complete with wooden spikes

23 February 2023

23 February 2023

Archaeologists have discovered wooden defenses surrounding an ancient Roman military base for the first time in Bad Ems, western Germany....

The enigma behind King Tut’s’space dagger,’ according to archaeologists, has finally been solved

24 February 2022

24 February 2022

Archaeologists have finally solved the enigma of King Tutankhamun’s dagger, which was discovered 3,400 years ago. A new examination of...

Archaeologists Discovered 1,500-Year-Old Maya Palace in Mexico

25 September 2023

25 September 2023

Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) archaeologists have discovered a palace at an ancient Maya city in southeastern...

Beautiful’ Water-Nymph statue turns out to be Aphrodite

20 October 2023

20 October 2023

The statue of a nymph (water fairy) discovered last month during excavations in the Ancient City of Amastris was identified...

World’s Oldest Settlement Plan Found in “Çatalhöyük”

15 February 2021

15 February 2021

With the beginning of the Holocene period, many lakes have dried up and have become suitable for settlement. It is...

6000-Year-Old Salt Production House Rewrites Europe’s History

31 March 2021

31 March 2021

Archaeologists in the UK have found an ancient stone age-era salt-production house in North Yorkshire, estimated to be older even...

The earliest Buddha statues in China found in northwestern Shaanxi

10 December 2021

10 December 2021

The two copper-tin-lead alloy Buddha statues discovered in northwestern Shaanxi Province became the earliest Buddha statues of this kind unearthed...

Remains of a 5-year-old girl found under Real Alcázar in Spain

9 May 2021

9 May 2021

The body of a five-year-old fair-haired girl who lived in the late Middle Ages and was most likely of noble...

Mandrin cave in France shows Homo Sapiens arrived in Europe almost 10,000 years earlier than thought

10 February 2022

10 February 2022

According to archaeological research published in Science magazine on Wednesday, Homo sapiens ventured into the Neanderthal territory in Europe far...

An 8500-year-old wooden ladder remain was discovered at Çatalhöyük

12 April 2022

12 April 2022

Remains of the wooden ladder were discovered for the first time in Çatalhöyük, one of the best-preserved Neolithic settlements in...