Rural farmers, climate change, and continued archaeological work at Çadir Höyük (2023-2024)

The Çadır Höyük mound is located in Yozgat Province, south of the city of Sorgun. Excavations have spanned 30 years as of 2024, and have documented nearly constant occupation spanning six millennia, beginning in at least 5200 BCE until final abandonment in the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries CE. During these millennia there have been at least six major climate events, with a seventh occurring now, in the twenty-first century. Much of the work at Çadır Höyük focuses on how residents managed their economies and settlements during these past climate changes. Here we report on our 2023–2024 excavations and ethnographic work, presenting results of work on Late Chalcolithic, second millennium BCE, and Byzantine excavation areas. This report also includes discussion of the recent ethnographic work which focuses on documenting past and present farming traditions and techniques and the challenges local farmers face in today’s changing climate.