Almost 10,000 years ago—long before the emergence of cities—people in central Anatolia were already experimenting with new ways of shaping their living environment. Recent excavations at Canhasan 3 Höyük in Turkey’s Karaman province have brought to light one of the world’s earliest known streets, dating back around 9,750 years, predating the more famous settlement of Çatalhöyük by roughly seven and a half centuries.
A Planned Passageway in the Neolithic World
Archaeologists uncovered a deliberately designed corridor between houses—an astonishing find that stands among the earliest examples of a “street” in human history. This discovery disrupts the long-standing perception of Neolithic life as clusters of tightly packed, roof-accessed dwellings with little space between them, a pattern epitomized by Çatalhöyük. Instead, Canhasan 3 reveals a community that consciously left open areas between structures, reflecting an early attempt at spatial planning, shared pathways, and communal organization.
Excavations and Findings
The work is conducted under the “Heritage for the Future Project” of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, led by Assoc. Prof. Adnan Baysal of Ankara University. His team discovered a clear passage separating two dwellings—an intentional layout rarely encountered in Neolithic Anatolia.
At Canhasan 3 Mound in Karaman, archaeologists uncovered one of the earliest known streets of the Neolithic Age, dating back 750 years before the 9,000-year-old Çatalhöyük. Credit: DHA
“This is a remarkable surprise,” Baysal explained. “Unlike Çatalhöyük’s compact house blocks, Canhasan 3 demonstrates a very different vision of architecture. These spaces may have served as passageways, livestock corridors, or perhaps the earliest form of a street. Whatever their exact function, the very existence of such gaps is extraordinary for this period.”
The researchers also observed variations in hearth placement compared to Çatalhöyük, suggesting diverse cultural practices among the Neolithic communities of Central Anatolia.
A Settlement That Endured for Millennia
Canhasan is not a single mound but a complex of three (Canhasan 1, 2, and 3), documenting continuous human occupation from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic through the Bronze and Iron Ages. For thousands of years, this fertile area supported communities that witnessed the advent of agriculture, animal domestication, and permanent architecture.
Baysal attributes the site’s longevity to its abundant water sources and rich environment. Excavations have revealed bones of aurochs, fish, and waterfowl, indicating a wetland landscape with plentiful resources. Ongoing analysis of plant remains is expected to shed further light on early farming practices.
Why This Discovery Matters
The identification of a street-like feature at Canhasan 3 pushes the history of urban-style planning much further back than previously thought. Streets are often seen as markers of social complexity and collective organization, and finding such an element nearly 10,000 years ago radically changes our understanding of early communities.
Moreover, the contrast with Çatalhöyük emphasizes that Neolithic societies in Anatolia were far from uniform. Different groups pursued distinct solutions to issues of mobility, safety, and social interaction.
Canhasan’s Wider Importance
Though long overshadowed by Çatalhöyük, Canhasan 3 is emerging as a crucial site for reconstructing the diversity of early settlement models. Archaeologists point to its significance in several areas:
Evidence of early spatial planning and proto-street formation
Continuity of settlement over millennia
Abundant environmental and ecological data
A cultural bridge between the Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic
For these reasons, Canhasan 3 holds value not only for Turkish archaeology but also for global research on human social development.
Looking Ahead
Excavations continue with the aim of learning more about the daily lives of Canhasan’s inhabitants. Researchers hope to understand whether these early streets served purely functional purposes or whether they carried symbolic or communal meaning.
As Baysal notes: “By carefully studying the architecture, artifacts, and ecological remains, we can reconstruct how people lived, farmed, and interacted with their environment. Canhasan 3 shows us a unique Neolithic society—different from Çatalhöyük but equally vital for understanding our shared human past.”
With its deep historical layers and groundbreaking discoveries, Canhasan 3 is gaining recognition as a landmark of Anatolia—one of the places where the earliest experiments in community planning, agriculture, and settlement design took root nearly 10 millennia ago.
