Çakmaktepe | The Missing Link & Older than Göbekli Tepe

Last month I presented some very important archaeological updates on three Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites in the SE Anatolia region of Turkey – Göbekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe and Harbetsuvan Tepesi.

As new evidence continues to come to light, the bigger picture is gradually emerging and previous ideas are becoming outdated quickly.


We are seeing relationships between the various sites, we are beginning to understand how the region was evolving and its now very apparent that to understand the origins and importance of both Göbekli Tepe or Karahan Tepe, we can’t study these sites in isolation.


There are dozens of sites of interest dating to this remote period of time, scattered throughout the Fertile Crescent, and they’re all part of the story. And that leads us nicely into the subject of this video, the Tas Tepeler Site of Çakmaktepe - a direct pre-cursor to Göbekli Tepe, and it’s also located close by, with origins 3-400 years older and showing similar yet slightly more primitive building techniques, just as you would expect with a precursor settlement.


According to news reports earlier in the year, Cakmaktepe contains the oldest architectural structures ever found in Turkey.Archaeologist Dr Fatma Sahin presented the latest findings in the recent Tas Tepeler presentation on the Arkeolojihaber YouTube channel.


The information was presented in Turkish, and I’ve transcribed the video and attempted to translate it the best I can, so I can give you a very up-to-date overview of this exciting and very important Pre-Pottery Neolithic site, a site you may have never heard of before.

Matt Sibson
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