While Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe represent monumental, isolated ritual sanctuaries where people gathered but did not permanently live, the newly excavated site of Boncuklu Tarla ("The Field of Beads") provides the missing link: a permanent, sedentary village where humans lived alongside their temples at the absolute dawn of history. Located in the Dargeçit district of Mardin province in southeastern Turkey, Boncuklu Tarla dates back to an astonishing 10,000 to 11,000 BCE , making it over 12,0