Çemka Höyük, Late Epipaleolithic and PPNA Phase Housing Architecture

Abstract

In recent studies carried out at the Çemka Höyük settlement on the western flank of the Tigris River in Upper Mesopotamia (Mardin province, Turkey), new information has been obtained on the Late Epipaleolithic and Early Neolithic periods, defined as the Proto-Neolithic. Despite the short-term nature of the excavations, the settlement provides new data about these eras in the region; in particular, the settlement is significant in terms of the Late Epipaleolithic–Neolithic transition as well as of architectural finds belonging to both periods. The rise of permanent settlements and domestic architecture is a focus of examination.