Çayönü

Excavation Directors

Halet Çambel

1964-1985

Prof. Dr. Halet Çambel, one of the founding figures of prehistoric archaeology in Turkey, left a lasting mark on Turkish archaeology not only through her scientific work, but also through her pioneering approach to cultural heritage preservation, relations with local communities, and the social responsibility of archaeology.

Born in Berlin on August 27, 1916, Çambel studied archaeology at the Sorbonne University after graduating from Istanbul Arnavutköy American College for Girls. By representing Turkey in fencing at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, she became one of the first Turkish female athletes to compete in the Olympic Games. Starting in the 1940s, through her academic work at Istanbul University, she spearheaded the institutionalization of prehistory research in Turkey, played a decisive role in founding the Department of Prehistory at Istanbul University, and contributed to training numerous young scientists. Halet Çambel passed away in Istanbul on January 12, 2014.

One of the major milestones in Halet Çambel's scientific career was the Karatepe-Aslantaş excavations. The work she conducted there not only yielded significant scientific results for Anatolian archaeology, but also enabled the development of a pioneering model in Turkey for preserving archaeological sites, displaying them in situ, and sustaining them alongside the local community. For Çambel, archaeology was not merely about uncovering data from the past. Excavation sites were living cultural spaces that needed to be preserved, shared with society, and passed down to future generations alongside scientific research.

One of the most important research areas for this scientific and social approach was Çayönü Tepesi. In 1963, together with Prof. Dr. Robert J. Braidwood, Halet Çambel introduced Çayönü Tepesi to the scientific world during field surveys around Ergani, laying the foundation for a long-term research process at the settlement with systematic excavations starting in 1964.

The work conducted at Çayönü soon began to shed light on one of the most critical transformations in human history. Core dynamics of Neolithic life - such as the development of settled life, the evolution of architecture, the emergence of agriculture and animal husbandry, production technologies, and social organization - were investigated through Çayönü's rich archaeological record. Bringing together researchers from various disciplines, these studies established Çayönü early on as a pioneering center for interdisciplinary archaeological research.

One of the most significant legacies Halet Çambel bestowed upon Çayönü was this scientific environment. Under her guidance, Çayönü was not merely an excavated archaeological site, but assumed the character of "a laboratory functioning like a school," where researchers were trained, various specialties convened, and new research methods were developed. This approach laid the groundwork for the Çayönü scientific tradition that would be carried forward by subsequent generations.

Honored with numerous national and international awards for her lifelong contributions to cultural heritage preservation alongside her scientific work, Halet Çambel was awarded the Prince Claus Award in 2004 and the Republic of Turkey Grand Award for Culture and Arts in 2010.

Today, every new study conducted at Çayönü Tepesi builds upon the scientific foundations laid by Halet Çambel and her colleagues in 1964. Spanning over sixty years, Çayönü's research tradition stands as a living legacy of the scientific approach, preservation mindset, and school of archaeology that she initiated and passed down through generations.

Mehmet Özdoğan

1987-1992

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Özdoğan, one of the leading figures in prehistoric archaeology and particularly Neolithic Period research in Turkey, has made significant contributions to the international recognition of Turkish archaeology through his studies on the emergence of settled life in Anatolia and the Near East, the transition to food production, cultural interactions, and the spread of the Neolithic way of life to Europe.

Born in Istanbul on May 30, 1943, Mehmet Özdoğan began his studies at the Istanbul University Faculty of Letters in 1963. Trained under Prof. Dr. Halet Çambel at the Department of Prehistory at Istanbul University, he had the opportunity to work alongside leading prehistoric archaeologists of the era within the same scientific circle, most notably Robert J. Braidwood. Completing his undergraduate studies in 1970, Özdoğan earned his doctorate in 1979 with a thesis on the Fikirtepe culture. Continuing his academic career at Istanbul University for many years, he played a decisive role in the development of prehistoric research in Turkey and in mentoring new generations of researchers.

Çayönü Tepesi holds a special place in Mehmet Özdoğan's scientific life. Participating in Çayönü research within the scientific environment established by Halet Çambel since his student years, Özdoğan took responsibility for the settlement's fieldwork and scientific evaluation processes over many years. Thus, his relationship with Çayönü transcended a researcher's participation in a specific excavation, evolving into one of the foundational scientific research areas he would pursue throughout his life.

By the mid-1980s, the first major stage of intergenerational scientific transmission took place in Çayönü research. Assuming the deputy director position of the excavation in 1985, Mehmet Özdoğan took over the excavation directorship of Çayönü Tepesi from Halet Çambel in 1987. In doing so, a researcher trained during Çayönü's initial phase took on the scientific responsibility for the subsequent period, continuing the settlement's tradition of research.

During Mehmet Özdoğan's directorship, the systematic evaluation of the vast archaeological data gathered from Çayönü, a more detailed definition of stratigraphic relationships, and the interpretation of the settlement's architectural development within a holistic framework gained importance. Data regarding various building phases, private and public spaces, production areas, technological advancements, and social organization were addressed within a broader theoretical framework aimed at understanding the transformation of the Neolithic way of life over time.

One of Özdoğan's most significant contributions to Çayönü research was that he did not evaluate the data obtained from the site solely on the scale of Çayönü itself, but linked them to the core issues of the Neolithization process across Southeastern Anatolia, Northern Mesopotamia, and the broader Near East. Findings related to Çayönü's architecture, modes of production, technological innovations, and social structure became one of the primary datasets for broader discussions concerning the emergence and development of settled life.

Thanks to this approach and a body of scientific publications spanning many years, Çayönü Tepesi reinforced its position as one of the principal reference sites in international archaeological literature for understanding the Neolithic transformation. Mehmet Özdoğan's work plays a crucial role in interpreting Çayönü's distinct architectural phases and long stratigraphic sequence not merely as a chronological sequence, but as an indicator of profound shifts in the human lifestyle.

His approach at Çayönü was not limited to excavation and scientific publication alone. The Open-Air Museum Project initiated in 1989 was a major effort aimed at preserving the uncovered architectural remains, displaying them in situ, and bringing Çayönü to the public. Thus, the ethos established during Halet Çambel's era—combining archaeological research with preservation and public engagement—was sustained into this new period.

Mehmet Özdoğan's scientific work extends far beyond Çayönü. His endeavors in diverse regions—ranging from rescue archaeology projects to long-term research in Thrace and Southeastern Anatolia—contributed to the development of new models concerning Anatolia's Neolithization process and the transmission of this lifestyle into the Balkans and Europe. Research at sites such as Aşağı Pınar, Hoca Çeşme, and Mezraa-Teleilat stands among the key examples of his broad-scale archaeological approach, which interprets different regions through shared cultural processes.

Another key characteristic of the Mehmet Özdoğan era regarding Çayönü's scientific tradition was the continuation of intergenerational transfer. During the Çayönü work led by Mehmet Özdoğan—who had trained under Halet Çambel before taking over the directorship—Aslı Erim-Özdoğan assumed major responsibilities in field management and later became the third-period excavation director of Çayönü Tepesi. Thus, the unique research tradition based on passing down scientific knowledge and fieldwork experience from one generation to the next persisted at Çayönü.

The legacy Prof. Dr. Mehmet Özdoğan left to Çayönü is, beyond the data uncovered by excavation, an intellectual tradition that transforms this data into scientific questions explaining the great transformations of human history. Çayönü's prominent standing in global Neolithic research today is a major outcome of this scientific legacy, which began with Halet Çambel and gained new theoretical depth during Mehmet Özdoğan's era.

Aslı Erim-Özdoğan

2015–2023

Prof. Dr. Aslı Erim-Özdoğan, one of the leading scholars of prehistoric archaeology and particularly Neolithic Period research in Turkey, has made significant contributions to Turkish archaeology through her field studies spanning many years, her research focused on the relationship between material culture and space, and the scholars she has mentored.

Born in Istanbul in 1956, Aslı Erim-Özdoğan completed her undergraduate, master's, and doctoral studies at the Department of Prehistory in the Faculty of Letters at Istanbul University. Trained within the Istanbul University Prehistory tradition, one of the most important research areas of Erim-Özdoğan's scientific life was Çayönü Tepesi, which she was involved with starting from her student years.

Aslı Erim-Özdoğan's association with Çayönü began in 1978 when she joined the excavation team. In the following years, her responsibilities within the team steadily grew; in the second half of the 1980s, she managed field and workshop operations, later assuming the position of associate director of the excavation. Thus, raised directly within the Çayönü research tradition that began under Halet Çambel and continued under Mehmet Özdoğan, she acquired comprehensive scientific expertise based on many years of work on the settlement's stratigraphy, architecture, and material culture.

The pause in field operations at Çayönü in 1992 due to security conditions did not sever her scientific bond with the settlement. She continued her work evaluating excavated materials, analyzing distinct artifact assemblages, and contextualizing Çayönü's place within the Neolithic Period. Thus, during the long period when field operations could not be conducted, she played a vital role in preserving Çayönü's scientific memory and research continuity.

The year 2015 marked a new turning point both in Aslı Erim-Özdoğan's scientific life and in the research history of Çayönü Tepesi. With the resumption of systematic fieldwork at Çayönü Tepesi after an interruption of nearly twenty-four years, Erim-Özdoğan assumed the excavation directorship, initiating the third scientific era in the exploration and preservation of the settlement.

The work conducted between 2015 and 2023 focused not only on excavating new areas, but also on re-evaluating the vast pool of data inherited from past periods, documenting previously opened trenches, resolving stratigraphic questions, and developing conservation practices. This approach allowed scientific questions stemming from Çayönü's long research history to be revisited and re-examined.

During this period, the scope of research at Çayönü was no longer limited to Neolithic strata. Through investigations into questions surrounding the settlement's later uses, systematic excavation of Early Bronze Age cultural deposits commenced. Consequently, a new field of research was established to understand the post-Neolithic stages of Çayönü's multi-millennial occupational history.

Aslı Erim-Özdoğan's scientific endeavors extend beyond Çayönü Tepesi to various prehistoric settlements across Anatolia and Upper Mesopotamia. Her roles in various surface surveys, long-term archaeological projects, and salvage excavations at sites such as Akarçay Tepe, Menekşe Çatağı, Kerküşti Höyük, Sumaki Höyük, and Çemialo Sırtı enabled her to develop a broad scientific perspective focused on the comparative evaluation of regional cultural interactions, Neolithic lifestyles, and material culture.

One of her major contributions to Çayönü was the transmission of this scientific tradition to new generations. Having developed her expertise by taking on key field management responsibilities during Mehmet Özdoğan's directorship, Aslı Erim-Özdoğan similarly spearheaded opportunities for young scholars to gain field experience and specialize during her own tenure. Among these researchers, Savaş Sarıaltun served as field manager for many years and later as First Deputy Director of Çayönü Tepesi, eventually taking over the excavation directorship in 2024.

Thus, Çayönü's distinct chain of scientific transmission continued once more: Mehmet Özdoğan, trained under Halet Çambel, became excavation director; Aslı Erim-Özdoğan, who developed under Mehmet Özdoğan in field management, assumed the directorship; and Savaş Sarıaltun, who held field management responsibilities during Aslı Erim-Özdoğan's tenure, became the excavation director for the subsequent era. This sequence created a unique scientific continuity spanning over sixty years of research history at Çayönü.

The legacy Prof. Dr. Aslı Erim-Özdoğan left at Çayönü is not limited to resuming research after a long hiatus. Her era served as a vital bridge where the scientific memory inherited from the past reconnected with fieldwork, where Çayönü was addressed with fresh research questions, and where scientific knowledge was passed on to the next generation.