The Layout and Size of an Early Pre‐Pottery Neolithic B Small Settlement Revealed by Geophysical Prospection at Harbetsuvan Tepesi in Southeastern Anatolia

ABSTRACT In Upper Mesopotamia, the transition from the Pre‐Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) to Pre‐Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period, ca. 10 800–10 600 cal. BP, is marked by a series of changes in chipped stone industries, architectural forms, symbolic objects, regional distribution of settlements and long‐distance exchange networks among others. These shifts may indicate rapid social transformations occurring in this time period. Since settlement size and layout can serve as proxies for population scale and social structure, methodologies capable of capturing entire site plans are critical. Geophysical prospection provides an efficient means for surveying entire archaeological sites, making it particularly suitable for studying settlement size and layout. However, geophysical prospection of Pre‐Pottery Neolithic sites in Upper Mesopotamia has rarely been published. This study conducted comprehensive geophysical investigations, including topographic survey, magnetometry and ground‐penetrating radar, covering the entire mound of Harbetsuvan Tepesi, a recently discovered small‐scale (approximately 5900 m 2 ) Early PPNB site in southeastern Anatolia. This represents the first comprehensive geophysical survey covering the entire extent of a PPNB site in this region. The data revealed a cluster of rectangular rooms densely concentrated near the mound's centre, with no indication of large open spaces or significantly oversized monumental structures. This settlement layout differs from larger contemporary sites in the region, where large circular monumental buildings have been exposed alongside clustered small dwellings. This settlement layout at Harbetsuvan Tepesi provides an example of the social structure of small settlements and makes a contribution to understanding the inter‐site regional social hierarchies and settlement diversity during the PPNA–PPNB transition.