Development of Pre-Pottery Neolithic architecture in the Upper Tigris region: evidence from Gre Fılla

Ekinbaş Can Ö.

Antiquity, 2026 (AHCI, SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Publication Date: 2026
  • Doi Number: 10.15184/aqy.2026.10282
  • Journal Name: Antiquity
  • Journal Indexes: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, Anthropological Literature, Index Islamicus, Linguistic Bibliography, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, DIALNET
  • Keywords: Anatolia, change, continuity, monumental pit structures, PPNA, PPNB, typology
  • Kocaeli University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Recent excavations at Gre Fılla, located in the northern part of the Upper Tigris region in modern-day Türkiye, have revealed an architecturally diverse settlement that was occupied during much of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (c. 9300–7500 BC). While early architecture at the site aligns with developments seen more widely in northern Mesopotamia, the typological diversity that fluoresces during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (c. 8800–7500 BC) has previously been under-represented in the region. Here, the author examines the evolution of the architecture uncovered at Gre Fılla, arguing that the increasing architectural complexity reflects the developing social complexity of Neolithic communities.