Boncuklu Tarla

Boncuklu Tarla (meaning "beaded field", in Turkish) is an archaeological site in Mardin, Turkey. It is the remains of a settlement occupied from the Late Epipalaeolithic to Pre-Pottery Neolithic B periods, starting around 9000 BC. It was discovered in 2008 during an archaeological survey in advance of the construction of the Ilısu Dam and has been excavated by a team from Mardin Museum since 2012.^[1]

The discovery of a large communal building with stone pillars was reported at Boncuklu Tarla in 2019, prompting comparisons to the Taş Tepeler culture site of Göbekli Tepe.^[2][3] It is an early example of rectangular plan architecture.^[4] The excavators also claimed to have found a sewer system, which if confirmed would be the oldest known in the world.^[5][6]

Boncuklu Tarla was discovered in the district of Dargeçit in Mardin in 2008.^[4][5] The discovery was made during a prospecting dig near Ilisu dam.^[4] The site underwent its first excavation in 2012 under the auspices of the Mardin Museum which was followed by a second excavation by Dr. Ergül Kodaş of the University of Mardin Artuklu in 2017.^[4][2] The temple found at Boncuklu Tarla is from the same period as Göbekli Tepe.^[5][2] Ibrahim Ozcosar, a Turkish university rector, has made statements claiming Boncuklu Tarla is older than Göbekli Tepe.^[7]

The 2012 excavation of Boncuklu Tarla had a scope of “studies for the Documentation and Rescue of Cultural Assets Remaining in the Interaction Area of the Ilısu Dam and HES Project” around the rural neighbourhood of Ilisu.^[5][2] More than 15 restorers and archaeologists have assisted in the excavation of the area with the aid of 50 workers.^[5] The excavations were carried over into 2017 by initiating an excavation in the eastern sector of Boncuklu Tarla.^[4] In 2019, this excavation revealed that this section of the site was occupied over three different phases during the 10th millennium BC.^[4] The excavation uncovered four types of building structures, a sewage system, and over two dozen artifacts.^[5][4] Among the artifacts found at Boncuklu Tarla were thousands of beads for ornaments, obsidian or flint blades, and tools used to cut stone.^[2] Tools discovered also included blades, gimlets, arrowheads, and microliths.^[2]

• 
  Grave Goods, Stone Plaque and Belt Buckles, Boncuklu Tarla, Ilisu Dam, Mardin Museum, Turkey
• 
  Grave Goods, Stone Necklace, Boncuklu Tarla, Ilisu Dam, Mardin Museum, Turkey
• 
  Grave Goods, Bracelets and Glass Bottles, Boncuklu Tarla, Ilisu Dam, Mardin Museum, Turkey

Boncuklu Tarla is located in Mardin Province in Eastern Turkey.^[5] The site sits around 125 km east of the city of Mardin within the district of Dargecit.^[4] Boncuklu Tarla is within 1.5 km of the Tigris River. Due to the site’s proximity to the river, it is highly likely Boncuklu Tarla underwent many phases of flooding as with many other riverine communities.^[9] This supports the theory that there were phases in the construction of the site, which was recognised by the site’s archaeologists. Some parts of Boncuklu Tarla were constructed on the bedrock of the location.^[4]

This area is known to have had many established civilisations such as the Sumerian, Akkadians, Babylonians, Hittites, Urartians, Armenians, Kurds, Romans, Abbasids, Seljuks, and Ottomans.^[7][2][5] Analysis was done onsite as well as C14 calibration and laboratory studies to determine that at least six levels of occupation occurred at Boncuklu Tarla. These six levels, extending backwards in time, include the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, old Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, the transition from Pre-Pottery Neolithic B to Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, and the later Epipaleolithic.^[4]

Boncuklu Tarla displays four different forms of communal space usage within the village. These usages range from communal building to domestic housing, storage spaces, and unconstructed or open communal spaces. The communal building, sometimes referred to as the temple, is located in the centre amongst houses varying in shape and size.^[4] These homes are either circular or partially rectangular in shape while the communal building is the only structure that is rectangular.^[4] This construction originates from the tenth millennium BC during which time the rectangular buildings were first revealed.^[4] The rectangular plan was slow to be adopted systematically during this time. Therefore the adoption of this designed shape of buildings up to eight stories high, reaching a height of seven meters,^[5] might have begun with the construction of the communal building of Boncuklu Tarla.^[4] The head of the excavation team has speculated that buildings up to eight stories high and reaching a height of seven metres could have been possible.^[5]

El edificio comunal de Boncuklu Tarla tiene cinco contrafuertes estructuralmente insignificantes en los muros este y oeste. El muro este tiene dos contrafuertes bien conservados, mientras que el oeste tiene tres que están dañados. Los contrafuertes oeste y este no están perfectamente alineados ni están posicionados en línea con los cuatro pilares ubicados en el centro del edificio. ^{[ 4 ]} La existencia de este tipo de contrafuerte ha sido bien caracterizada en otros sitios como Karahan Tepe , Göbekli Tepe y Çayönü , ^{[ 10 ] [ 11 ]} pero los de Boncuklu Tarla difieren en que no están alineados con los pilares simétricos del edificio comunal. A diferencia de Çayönü, el propósito de los contrafuertes en Boncuklu Tarla no era estructural, sino que de hecho solo proporcionaba diferenciación espacial al interior. ^{[ 4 ]} Todos los contrafuertes tienen medidas de aproximadamente 50  cm de largo y 30  cm de profundidad. La pared norte, en la esquina noreste, también contiene un nicho que mide 40 x 40  cm. ^{[ 4 ]}

Alrededor del edificio comunal de Boncuklu Tarla se descubrieron otros tres edificios subrectangulares. Se denominaron Estratos II, III y VII, y todos medían entre 8 y 10 metros de largo y entre 4 y 5 metros de ancho. ^{[ 4 ]} El Estrato III tiene muros completamente independientes, mientras que los Estratos II y VII comparten muros comunes con el edificio comunal al oeste y al este, respectivamente. La excavación reveló que las tres estructuras también tienen contrafuertes en la parte frontal de sus entradas, cerca del ángulo de la hilada de muros. El suelo de los tres edificios está compuesto de tierra apisonada y alisada. ^{[ 7 ] [ 2 ] [ 4 ]}

Se han encontrado dos edificios circulares en Boncuklu Tarla. Estas estructuras también comparten el suelo apisonado y los contrafuertes característicos de los edificios subrectangulares; sin embargo, algunas partes también presentan suelos de guijarros. ^{[ 7 ] [ 2 ] [ 4 ]} Ambas estructuras circulares tienen extensiones en sus entradas, una rectangular y la otra circular. El edificio situado al norte se denomina Estrato IV y el situado al oeste, Estrato VI.

Göbeklitepe

Nemrik 9

Çayönü

Boncuklu

Nuwayrat

Ebla

Ashkelon

Ebla

Baq'ah

muestras de la Edad del Bronce ( ) y ubicaciones y fechas de ascendencia neolítica de Mesopotamia ( ): Nemrik 9 (9500-8000 a. C.), Boncuklu (9000-8500 a. C.), Çayönü (8300-7500 a. C.) ^{[ 12 ]}

Las muestras humanas de Boncuklu Tarla, datadas entre el 9000 y el 8500 a. C., formaron parte de un estudio genético reciente, como miembros de un grupo neolítico de Mesopotamia (junto con las muestras de Çayönü y Nemrik 9 ). ^{[ 12 ]} En este estudio, el grupo neolítico de Mesopotamia apareció como un ancestro principal de varios individuos levantinos y egipcios de la Edad del Bronce , particularmente de Ebla , Ashkalon , Baq'ah y Nuwayrat . ^{[ 12 ]}

En particular, se descubrió que el individuo Nuwayrat, un egipcio adulto varón del Imperio Antiguo de estatus relativamente alto, datado por radiocarbono entre 2855 y 2570 a. C. y denominado " Individuo del Imperio Antiguo (NUE001) ", estaba asociado con ascendencia neolítica del norte de África, pero alrededor del 24 % de su ascendencia genética podía provenir del Creciente Fértil oriental , incluida Mesopotamia , correspondiente al grupo neolítico de Mesopotamia. ^{[ 14 ]} El perfil genético fue representado más estrechamente por un modelo de dos fuentes, en el que el 77,6% ± 3,8% de la ascendencia correspondía a genomas del sitio marroquí del Neolítico Medio de Skhirat-Rouazi (datado entre 4780 y 4230 a. C.), que a su vez consiste predominantemente (76,4 ± 4,0%) ascendencia neolítica del Levante y (23,6 ± 4,0%) ascendencia iberomaurusa menor , mientras que el resto (22,4% ± 3,8%) estaba más estrechamente relacionado con genomas conocidos de la Mesopotamia neolítica (datada entre 9000 y 8000 a. C.). ^{[ 14 ] [ 15 ]} Ningún otro modelo de dos fuentes cumplió con los criterios de significancia (P>0,05). También surgieron dos modelos de tres fuentes, pero con proporciones de ascendencia similares, con la adición de un componente de tercer lugar mucho menor proveniente del Levante neolítico/calcolítico. ^{[ 14 ]} Según Lazardis, “Lo que esta muestra nos dice es que en una fecha tan temprana había personas en Egipto que eran mayoritariamente de ascendencia norteafricana, pero con cierta contribución de ascendencia de Mesopotamia”. Según Girdland-Flink, el hecho de que el 20% de la ascendencia del hombre coincida mejor con genomas más antiguos de Mesopotamia, sugiere que el movimiento de personas mesopotámicas hacia Egipto pudo haber sido bastante sustancial en algún momento. ^{[ 16 ]}

The timing of the admixture event cannot be calculated directly from the 2025 genetic study.^[17] The 2025 study showed that the Nuwayrat sample had the greatest affinity with samples from Neolithic Mesopotamia dating to 9000-8000 BC^[12][17] Concurrently, other studies have shown that during the Neolithic, in the 10,000-5000 BC period, populations from Mesopotamia and the Zagros expanded into the Near-East, particularly Anatolia, bringing with them the Neolithic package of technological innovation (domesticated plants, pottery, greater sedentism). Egypt may also have been affected by such migratory movements.^[17][18] Further changes in odontometrics and dental tissues have been observed in the Nile Valley around 6000 BCE.^[17] Subsequent cultural influxes from Mesopotamia are documented into the 4th millennium (3999-3000 BC) with the appearance of Late Uruk features during the Late Pre-dynastic period of Egypt.^[17]