ANCIENT VILLAGES Catal Huyuk CATAL HUYUK Since the

ANCIENT VILLAGES Catal Huyuk

CATAL HUYUK • Since the 1960’s, excavations have uncovered a densely packed Neolithic settlement which dates back to 9000 years. (About 7, 400 BC) • Visible above the surface are only two mounds. • Underneath the surface is a complicated society.

RISE AND FALL OF THE NEOLITHIC TOWN • People first settled this area around 7, 400 BC • The area was a wetland, with the climate mostly moist and rainy. • Resources in the area included fish, water birds, and their eggs. • Toward the drier ground were agricultural fields, and herds of wild animals could be found roaming the plain. • By 6, 500 BC people were using cooking pots. • Domestic cattle and milk were introduced.

RISE AND FALL • There was an increase in housing and population density. • Burials and ritual behavior also became more complex. • People begin to decorate their homes and buildings. • Figurative art (of people) • At its peak, 3500 -8000 people lived, worked, and died here. • Later on, people started to spread out to other nearby areas, including West Mound • These people continued to bury their dead at East Mound.

ARCHITECTURE • People at Catal Huyuk continually built and rebuilt their houses. • Houses were somewhat rectangular, and closely built together with no streets in between. • People used the rooftops as streets. • They entered their homes using a wooden ladder through an opening in the celling. • The houses were different shape and sizes, but were about the same layout. • They has a center room with an oven below the ladder. • Domestic tasks were performed in this room, such as cooking. • Raised platforms within the rooms were used for sleeping and other domestic activities. • Beneath the platforms, they buried their dead. • Side rooms were accessed off the central room, providing storage.

HOUSING • People decorated their homes. • They used white plaster on the walls and floors. • Walls and floors had detailed paintings depicting hunting scenes and geometric patterns. • The walls were made of mud bricks. • Based on evidence from the site, it is believed that wet clay mixture was either placed directly on the wall between wooden boards or constructed using a mortar and sun-dried.

• Thick wooden posts were put up in the central room and may have been used to strengthen the structure. • It may can also created a division of living space. • People took good care of their houses, it took a lot of planning and forethought to build and maintain. • The houses were continuously under construction. They were burnt down and new homes were built above the old one. (Infilling) • This eventually created the mound that we can see on site today.

DAILY LIFE • Daily life took place within the settlement and without. • Men and women led very similar lives. • We know this based on analysis of human skeletons showing generally identical diets. • Infant mortality was high, as were the risks for women during childbirth. • Generally, people lived healthy and active lives. • The ate animal products such as fish, and beef and plants such as barley and wheat. • When someone died, people were buried under the floor of houses. • Bodies were tightly bound in a flexed position and place in a simple grave with few or no artifacts.

TOOLS & TRADE • People crafted obsidian and bone tools as well as ceramic materials. • Obsidian and bone were also used to create interest objects such as clay figurines and beads. • Many tools were also decorated. • People traveled to where obsidian was sourced from in Cappadoccia and Eastern Turkey • Traders even went as far as the Red Sea to obtain things such as baskets and shells. • People at Catal Huyuk valued artistry and decorations.

• Food, tools, and other resources were shared equally and used by all. • Ritual activities at Catal Huyuk revolved hunting, death, and animals. • Many people believe that the people believed in a mother goddess based on the discovery of many female figurines. • Recently, reinterpretations suggests that male and animal figurines were just as common, if not more so. • Equality appears to have been of primary important for these people.

WEST MOUND • It is believed that West Mound was occupied between 5, 900 -5, 600 BC. • Starting later than Catal Huyuk, but continued after the desertion of East Mound. • It is believed that the Carsamba River was once In the area between the mounds. • This time period is when we start to see painted pottery (Early Chalcolithic) • It is not clear why people established West Mound. • One theory suggests that the river changed its course and people moved to be closer to the water. • There is no evidence of burials under the houses, wall paintings, or infilling of abandoned houses.

• Pottery changed with the emergence of beautifully decorated pots. • A theory suggests this could be for entertaining guests with impressively painted serving vessels. • Cattle was consumed less, and decorations no longer depicted bulls or horns.