Çatalhöyük (Forks Hill) Neolithic Settlement PDF

Çatalhöyük ("cha-tal hay OOK“) Turkish for “forked hill” Neolithic settlement in Anatolia (Turkey) 7500 BC to 5500 BC Settlement built on alluvial (i.e., river- borne) clay favorable for agriculture First city (or “proto-city”) No temples or palaces – egalitarian [Remember Graeber...

Çatalhöyük ("cha-tal hay OOK“) Turkish for “forked hill” Neolithic settlement in Anatolia (Turkey) 7500 BC to 5500 BC Settlement built on alluvial (i.e., river- borne) clay favorable for agriculture First city (or “proto-city”) No temples or palaces – egalitarian [Remember Graeber & Wengrow’s “carnival parade of forms”] Çatalhöyük Composed of domestic buildings No obvious public buildings (i.e. temples or palaces) Population varied, up to around 10,000 Mudbrick houses crammed together No footpaths or streets were between dwellings Accessed by holes in ceiling Rooftops were effectively streets Çatalhöyük ("cha-tal hay OOK“) Human remains in pits beneath floors Bodies flexed, placed in baskets Disarticulated bones in some graves In some graves, head removed from skeleton Heads used in rituals? Some skulls were plastered and painted In women's graves - spinning whorls Men's graves - stone axes Çatalhöyük ("cha-tal hay OOK“) “Mega-site” – outsized village No centralized planning Settling permanently – initially a new idea Key questions for neighbors: Where are you from? (permanent settlement) Who are your ancestors? (mobile people)  Timeline 7500 BC: East Mound settlement begins 6500 BC: Peak occupation/"crisis point" 6200 BC: Major climate shift (8.2kbp event) 6000 BC: West Mound settlement starts 5500 BC: Final abandonment as residence Continued use as cemetery through 1700s CE  Excavations 1958: Mellaart discovered Çatalhöyük 1961-1965: Melaart’s excavations uncover Neolithic settlement 1960s: Excavations stopped: Disputes over aantiquities smuggling 1993: Ian Hodder of Stanford U resumed excavations 1993-2018: Hodder’s focus: Daily life, social org, religion 2018-present: Anadolu University (Turkey) continues research Online presence https://www.catalhoyuk.com/ Video Montage: http://www.catalhoyuk.com/video/city Stratigraphy in house floors Brown layers = Maintenance Regular replastering House cleaning Ritual renewal Black layers = Daily Activities Cooking residue Food remains Household debris Together show: Regular maintenance cycles How people cared for homes Length of house occupation  Trash pits Abandoned houses became trash pits Spaces between buildings filled with refuse Artifacts/Ecofacts: Animal bones Food remains Broken pottery Construction debris Tool fragments Ash from hearths Social Significance: Shows organized waste management Indicates community cooperation Reveals dietary patterns Houses "never died" - continued use  The Evidence Well preserved organic materials Activity patterns Economic information Environmental data Takeaways… Trash disposal a communal issue requiring cooperation Shows how people adapted to dense urban living Important source for understanding daily life Broader themes: Urban organization Community cooperation Practical challenges of city life  Building Memory Physical Continuity Houses rebuilt in same spots Floor plan maintained across generations Ancestors Below Dead buried under house floors Multiple generations stacked in layers Living With History Daily life conducted above ancestors Regular floor replastering preserved burial places Making Urban Identity People literally lived on top of their history Built deep connection to place Established urban memory History Houses Physical Characteristics More burials under floors than other houses Richer symbolic decorations Bull heads (bucrania) mounted on walls More elaborate wall paintings Longer sequences of rebuilding Social Function Gathering places for extended family groups Centers for ritual activities Repositories of group memory Focal points for community identity  City vs. Proto-City Traditional requirements: monuments, writing, hierarchy Çatalhöyük challenges these definitions Dense population without traditional markers Social networks over physical structures Social Structure Surface appearance of equality (similar house sizes) Hidden inequalities in symbolic objects Status through ritual knowledge vs. wealth West Mound: visible social differences emerge Two-story houses mark growing inequality  Abandonment Process Gradual exodus over centuries Population dispersal across Konya Plain Movement to new urban centers Maintained connection through burial practices Social transformation vs. collapse New communities emerge from old networks Legacy & Significance Early experiment in urban living Balance of equality vs. hierarchy Climate adaptation strategies Complex social networks Importance of portable identity markers Lessons for modern urban sustainability  Daily Life Evolution Early phase: shared communal spaces Middle phase: specialized craft production Late phase: increased trade networks Changes in food storage practices Shift from local to traded goods Increasing mobility between settlements Architecture & Space East Mound: Uniform house sizes Shared walls Roof access Burial beneath floors West Mound: Variable house sizes Courtyard spaces Ground-level access No floor burials  Cities as Living Systems Cities evolve rather than simply rise and fall Transformation continues even after "abandonment" Population movement represents adaptation Social networks outlive physical structures Modern lessons about sustainability and change Cities as processes rather than fixed places Community survival through transformation