Çatal Huyuk the Prelude

CATAL HUYUK: A PRELUDE TO CIVILIZATION

A Thesis

Presented

to the Faculty o f

California State University Dominguez Hills

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Master of Arts

in

Humanities

by

Pamela J. Vafi

Fall 2005

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THESIS: CATALHUYUK: A PRELUDE TO CIVILIZATION

AUTHOR: PAMELA VAFI

APPROVED:

Bryan Feuer, Ph.D. Thesis Committee Chair

Jahres S. Jeffers, PiVD Committee Member

Louise H. Ivers, Ph.D. Committee Member


TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

COPYRIGHT PAGE..................... ii

APPROVAL PAGE.....................................................................................................................iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................................iv

LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................................... vi

ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................................. vii

CHAPTER

1. CATAL HUYUK: A PRELUDE TO CIVILIZATION........................................................ 1

Introduction....................................................................................................................... 1

2. MATERIAL, METHODOLOGY, AND THEORIES.........................................................7

Literature Review............................................................................................................. 7Methodology...................................................................................................................11Theories on the Development o f Civilization............................................................ 13

3 THE NEOLITHIC POPULATION AND ENVIRONMENT..........................................20

The Geography, Climate, and Ecology o f the Anatolian Plateau........................... 20Chronology of Neolithic Period................................................................................... 23

4. THE SUBSYSTEMS OF CATAL HUYUK....................................................................31

The Architectural Design o f atal Huyiik as a Monumental Public W ork........... 37Population Density in atal Hiiytik............................................................................ 46Population Diversity and Non-Kinship Residency................................................... 48A Scientific Revolution in Agriculture.......................................................................48Surplus and Storage.......................................................................................................51Labor Specialization......................................................................................................52Trade and Raw Materials..............................................................................................59Symbolism in Art, Burial Practices, and Abstract Concepts................................... 61Ranking and Social Stratification................................................................................70

iv


CHAPTER PAGE

5. A SYSTEMS-ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE OF CATAL HUYUK.................................................................................................................................... 76

The Environment and Creativity.................................................................................. 78Positive-Feedback Relationships................................................................................. 80Negative-Feedback Relationships................................................................................97

6. A SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH ON CATAL HUy UKS SUBSYSTEMS 99

WORKS CITED....................................................................................................................... I l l

APPENDIX: COPYRIGHT HOLDER PERMISSION STATEM ENT...........................118

v


LIST OF FIGURES

PAGE

1. Neolithic Sites Represented in Grey..................................................................................27

2. Neolithic Sites in Southern Anatolia and Sources o f Raw Materials............................32

3. Schematic Reconstruction o f a Section o f Level V I........................................................39

4. Diagrammatic View of Construction Technique at atal Huyiik.................................. 39

5. Building Plan - Level VI A ................................................................................................. 40

6. Building Plan - Level V IB ................................................................................................. 40

7. Restoration of Eastern and Southern Walls o f Shrine VI. 14......................................... 43

8. Decoration o f Northern and Eastern Walls o f Shrine VI A.8........................................ 43

9. Ceremonial Flint Dagger with Carved Bone Handle.......................................................53

10. Black Limestone and Lead Beaded Necklace...................................................................53

11. Examples o f atal Hiiyiik Pottery...................................................................................... 54

12. Spouted Dish of Red Sandstone from Shrine VIA.8.......................................................54

13. Characteristic Wooden Vessels from Levels VI A and V IB .........................................55

14. Clay Statuettes o f Female Forms, Possibly Goddesses.................................................. 55

15. Textile Found in Burial Site in Shrine VI. 1......................................................................57

16. Cloth Tapes Used for Ties and in Burial Practices..........................................................57

17. Baked Clay Seals Excavated from Level V IB to Level II.............................................68

18. Feedback Relationships Between Subsystems, the Environment, and the Group 81

vi


ABSTRACT

Neolithic atal Hiiyiik challenges prevailing theories that attribute the origins of

civilization to the third millennium B .C .E. To gain a comprehensive portrait o f this

prehistoric proto-city, I categorize the cultural inventory according to V. Gordon Childes

still relevant 1951 subsystem criteria. This study employs systems-ecological and social

models to analyze these subsystems and their interactions with the environment through

positive and negative feedback mechanisms. Based upon criteria including population

density, population founded on residence and not kinship, monumental public works,

technological knowledge, long-distance trade, and symbolic expression, I attempt to

demonstrate that atal Hiiyiik represents a proto-civilization. Although full-time labor

specialization and surplus product seem likely, research cannot definitively prove either,

and while this study demonstrates ranking, stratification seems improbable. Although

Catal Hiiyiik lacked the maturity o f Sumerian civilization, it contained the seeds of all

that the Mesopotamian civilizations were to become.


1CHAPTER 1

QATAL HUYUK: A PRELUDE TO CIVILIZATION

Introduction

An enigmatic city lies on the Anatolian plateau o f central Turkey north o f the

Taurus Mountains and, though little known, holds potential to impact the interpretation of

history and our understanding o f the progress o f ancient man. Archeologist James

Mellaart estimated that this once-thriving community, where life transcended issues of

basic survival, had a minimum population o f five to six thousand (Wason 186; Heskel

362). Artisans painted elaborate murals, built fantastic shrines, engaged in civil

engineering projects, exploited resources both far and near, and undertook not only

practical and creative activities, but engaged in symbolic expression as well. But what

makes this urban center all the more intriguing is that it is not the contemporary o f a

thousand-year-old Mesoamerican city, nor even a more ancient Mesopotamian one, but is

instead a nine-thousand-year-old city that rivaled the complexities of those of a later age.

While scholars continue to posit the emergence of civilization in fourth millennium B C E

Sumeria, the hallmarks o f a proto-civilization were present in the city of atal Hiiyiik three

millennia before the ascendancy o f Uruk and other contemporaneous cities.

Neither village nor town, Qatal Hiiyiik was an exercise in urban complexity that

was the product o f a fertile ecological niche and the creativity o f an ancient people.

Although a primary characteristic of any urban center is a population in excess o f five

thousand, size alone does not differentiate the city from other community forms (Redman


2215). What defines the city as an urban center is not only size, but complexity and

integration. A citys population must be diverse; it must host nonagricultural activities and

provide assorted services for residents and those living in smaller communities in the

geographical vicinity. Likewise, urban centers must have some form of governing

organization to maintain the orderly coexistence of their dense populations (Redman 216).

Most early cities, however, began as villages that were a coalescence, organization,

and maturation o f scattered activities that were focused principally on nutrition,

reproduction, and simple religious ritual (Mumford 31). It was within the confines o f the

village that these activities were exploited and became the creative forces that stimulated

the diversification and growth o f these basic village components into the various divisions

that define a city. Defining civilization, however, proves more challenging and this study

in complexity remains the subject o f much controversy. In a broad sense, it is this

complexity that defines civilization as dynamic, as a process o f constant, interdependent

change o f its various components. A civilized society is productive, creative, and

possesses sufficient surplus to stimulate that creativity (Quigley 142).

The Latin root o f the word city is civitas or community and is closely associated

with civilization, citizen, and civilian, all o f which are a product of city life (City,

def. 415-416; Civitas, def. 1). Anthropologists, according to Fairservis, generally

adhere to the Latin meaning, characterizing civilization as either urbanization or a cultural

phenomenon of which cities are a symptom (4). The classical meaning o f civitas,

however, has nothing to do with the concept o f large and dense population centers. This

would be better defined as the Latin urbanus. Civitas, instead, can be defined as a society


3whereby mans true nature can emerge through the guidance o f family, a fair economic

market, friendship among craftsmen, and just governance (Civitas, def. 1). Civitas is

reminiscent o f the ideology o f the autonomous Greek polis where the grandeur o f the city

(excluding the Acropolis) was more a state o f mind than fact. A civilized society is more

than interactions between its various parts; it is first a social phenomenon that is about

relationships that bind a people together and create a unique milieu for institutional

growth. It was within this context that atal Hiiyiik has emerged as the worlds earliest

proto-urban environment.

That Catal Hiiyiik was a complex community is manifest in its archeological

remains. Archeological evidence indicates that it comprised a large and diverse population

with a shared ideology that engaged in long-distance trade and appeared to be a well-

nourished and stable society where order and organization prevailed. It was within atal

Hiiyiik that dispersed functions coalesced and were organized into a state o f dynamic

tension and interaction that produced a proto-urban setting that was to thrive for sixteen

hundred years. But determining whether atal Hiiyiik can be defined as a proto

civilization marked by social, political, and cultural complexity proves more daunting. It

is the goal o f this research to demonstrate that this ancient community does, in fact, meet

those criteria. To achieve this end, this study will examine the archeological record of

Catal Hiiyiik and offer evidence and analysis o f its complexity through an eclectic blend of

systems-ecological and social theories.

Such analysis requires, however, that the dynamic complexity that was atal

Hiiyuk be parsed into characteristic traits such as those defined in 1951 by archeologist and


theoretician V. Gordon Childe, which allow for an organized and systematic approach to

the study o f civilization. While Childes theories are no longer relevant, the components

o f his trait or subsystem list continue to serve as markers o f civilization and remain useful

guides when attempting to define complex urban societies (Redman 218-19). In writing

Man Makes Himself, Childe selected ten criteria that researchers can apply to ancient sites

as a measure o f their complexity and represent a means to recognize early models of

civilization. Although not causal factors in the development o f civilizations, Childes

traits represent subsystems that complex, urban centers seem to possess in common and

which are necessary markers to determine that cause. This list includes population density;

population based on residence, not kinship; labor specialization; surplus product;

monumental public works; social stratification; scientific and technological knowledge;

symbolic expression; long-distance trade; and a system o f writing (Childe, Man Makes

Himself 116-35).

Childes traits, however, are somewhat vague and arbitrary and although they are

indicative o f urban complexity and civilization, each is not necessarily an essential

component when various combinations o f others are present. Although writing ushered in

the historical period and was a prerequisite for all that was to follow in Mesopotamia and

later Egypt, this trait was not requisite for civilization to flourish. In fact, various markers

attributed to civilizations in general may be lacking in some, but they remain civilizations

nonetheless. The Incas, for example, had a thriving civilization, but lacked a written

language, and yet were able to build an empire that was vast and remarkable by any

standard (Riley 178). Although civilizations are typically associated with cities, that o f the


Old Kingdom of Egypt (2660-2180 B.C.E.) throve within a network of village

communities and lacked large urban centers altogether (Riley 36). Although

interpretations o f civilization vary, what they recognize in common is population density

and the ability o f society to function as a creative, producing unit, with a level of

organization that glues the individual fibers into a unified, self-sustaining whole. While

Childes traits delineate the components o f a civilization, their greatest function is as an

organizational guide to aid analysis o f the underlying dynamics o f large and productive

societies.

While there is general consensus regarding the advent o f civilization, there are

conflicting views on the status o f Catal Hiiyiik. While James Mellaart, archeologist and

original excavator o f the site in the early 1960s, claimed that atal Hiiyuk contained all the

traits o f civilization save a written language, others disagree (Excavations 19; Wason 155).

Anthropologist Walter Fairservis refers to the sodalities within atal Hiiyuk which are

indicative of a tribal or simple chiefdom level o f organization and served as the unifying

force in society, precluding any form of labor specialization other than a sexual division of

labor (187). Researcher Paul Wason argues that atal Hiiyiik was a ranked society and not

stratified and was probably, therefore, not a civilization, but he acknowledges in his 1994

work that it approaches civilization and that further excavation and research will continue

to shed light on emerging subsystems (179). Archeologists Christopher Scarre and Brian

Fagan refer to Catal Hiiyiik as a large village or town with the obvious implication that

Catal Hiiyiik lacked the characteristics of either a city or a civilization (62).


6In light, however, o f recent excavations at the atal Hiiyiik site, evidence has

emerged that signifies greater complexity than Mellaarts work indicated, upon which

many o f the above studies were based. While various researchers have focused on

individual aspects of atal Hiiyiiks culture, a global perspective can provide insight into

the overall complexity o f this proto-urban environment. Based upon artifacts and

architecture revealed in archeologist Ian Hodders current excavations and Mellaarts work

during the 1960s, this research will assess the various subsystems, the interactions between

them, and the social environment that fostered those interactions through the systems-

ecological and social theoretical perspectives.

Testing the hypothesis that atal Hiiyiik does meet the criteria to be defined a

proto-civilization and evaluating the artifacts and architecture from this perspective offers

an alternate viewpoint to prevailing theories. Studies in prehistory are challenged by the

lack of a written record, yet the cultural material o f Catal Huyuk is so rich in texture that

this obstacle is partly overcome. Unlike Neolithic villages, Qatal Hiiyuk offers an

extensive record of symbolic artwork, burials, artifacts, skeletal remains, and architecture,

all o f which can be interpreted through the framework of an eclectic theoretical approach.


7CHAPTER 2

MATERIALS, METHODOLOGY, AND THEORIES

Literature Review

James Mellaart amassed an astounding array o f artifacts as he excavated a complex

and symbolically embellished architecture (De La Haba 42). His work and interpretations

remain dominant themes in the modern arena despite the current excavations conducted by

Ian Hodder and other international teams (Hodder, On the Surface 1993-2004). While

much archeological work has occurred, only a fraction o f the overall site has been

excavated, leaving much to inference and the error-prone imagination. Because atal

Hiiyiik represents to date an archeological anomaly, interpretive assessments vary widely.

While much work has been done on the Neolithic milieu, little has been written on

the archeological exceptions to prevailing theory. Early twentieth-century scholars such as

V. Gordon Childe in Man Makes Himself and Lewis Mumford in The City in History

provide in-depth but generalized perspectives on the development and markers of

prehistoric man and while their theories are no longer relevant, their historical accounts

are. It is the exceptions to the general, however, that are not only the means by which to

challenge existing models but which become the tools through which knowledge is gained,

modified, or rendered obsolete. That the Neolithic cultures were the first agriculturists

remains a fact, but with the emergence o f prehistoric cities, the need to expand ones

ideological perspective becomes a necessity. Although excavation o f Neolithic sites is

ongoing, more so in Europe and Britain than in the Near East, Neolithic tells remain


8largely untapped. Both Jericho (an advanced Near Eastern Neolithic site) and atal

Huyuk, while exceptions to date, may indicate increased patterns of emerging complexity

as archeological investigations expand in the region of the Near East. At present, however,

evidence from atal Hiiyiik and Jericho is altering the theoretical positions of scholars

regarding the relationship o f Neolithic cultures to their Near Eastern environment.

As a result o f this changing perspective, the theoretical approach to understanding

these cultures is changing as well. Trait-system models which were popular in the 1950s

deemed subsystems as representational o f civilization and not its symptoms and were used

to delineate one civilization from another and from simpler social structures (Redman

219). Today, researchers have shifted their focus to relational aspects and adaptational

responses within society and to the environment, searching for an understanding o f that

which promoted growth, decline, homeostasis, and regulation of urban complexes.

Within this framework most modern researchers interpret civilization as the

relationship between humans and their social organization, technology, and the

environment. Cultural traits within a community, therefore, are analyzed according to their

adaptive capacity. Anthropologist Charles Redman takes this perspective in The Rise of

Civilization as he defines ancient mans move from rural to urban environments. Walter

Fairservis, too, follows this theoretical format in The Threshold o f Civilization and

addresses the cultural development of atal Hiiyiik in particular. Most researchers,

including those whose focus is on social and behavioral factors, do not deny the

importance of the relationships of man to technology and his environment and it is from

this base that they construct their theories. Social theorists, such as Julian Thomas in


Understanding the Neolithic, rely on material culture as an interpretive base, but do so in a

social and systems-ecological context. While much of this text is based on the historical

practices o f Neolithic societies, Thomass interpretation o f Neolithic mores is the product

o f prehistoric mans relationship with his community, his material culture, and the

environment in which he lived. This same theme is present in Ian Kuijts Life in Neolithic

Farming Communities and Paul Wasons The Archaeology of Rank. These texts address

the complexities o f Neolithic communities in Britain, Europe, and the Near East, following

an eclectic blend of systems-ecological and social theoretical models.

While much archeological theory during the early 1980s followed a natural science

protocol (processual archeology) with an emphasis on systems-ecological perspectives, the

mid-1980s brought a change in focus. Archeologists began drawing on the field of social

anthropology and the view that the context and meaning of behavior must be taken into

account when assessing ancient cultures. While this new social paradigm with proponents

such as Ian Hodder (Reading the Past and Archaeological Theory Today) has become the

trend for archeologists, this theory remains inextricably tied to the material culture and

environment and thereby relies heavily on systems-ecological theories. Ian Hodder is a

post-processual theoretician, but his perspective, too, is an eclectic mix of social,

behavioral, and systems-ecological models. Ian Hodders annual Archive Reports do not,

however, offer interpretive analysis, but chronicle his excavations at atal Hiiyuk,

cataloguing each seasons work and the architectural and cultural materials that his team

reveals.


10

Yet, among the research that does analyze the cultural development of Qatal

Hiiyiik, there is little consensus. While some of this research posits that Qatal Hiiyiik was

an inchoate civilization, Fairservis suggests it was a simple chiefdom (187). The problem

is one of defining civilization and while Fairservis implies that civilization itself seems to

defy definition and approaches the subject tentatively, others are less reluctant and rise to

the challenge (3-9). Authors such as Carroll Riley in The Origins o f Civilization and

Carroll Quigley in The Evolution o f Civilization stress that any definition demands an

assessment beyond the confines o f the natural sciences. According to Quigley, the

formation o f a civilization is a fluid and irrational process between mutually dependent

social instruments (416). Although any definition of civilization falls short o f its reality,

this thesis will attempt to define a working model (based, in part, on the works of

Fairservis, Riley, and Quigley) that will account for the development o f Qatal Hiiyiik and

serve as the foundation for assessment o f its culture and material artifacts.

Additional references provide documentation o f Qatal Hiiyiiks artifacts,

architecture, and symbolic materials and address the geographical zone and ecological

niche from which Qatal Hiiyiik emerged. These include Ian Hodders, Roger Matthews,

and Mirjana Stevanovics Archive Reports. Catalhovuk News, and internet sources, all of

which are essential for the processing o f systems-ecological and social models.

Periodicals, texts, and journal articles specific to Qatal Hiiyuk include Louis De La Habas

Roots o f the City: Jericho and Qatal Huvuk. Dora Jane Hamblins The First Cities: The

Shrines of Qatal Hiiyiik. and James Mellaarts Catal Hiiyiik: A Neolithic Town in Anatolia.

Ozdogans Neolithic in Turkey provides a wealth o f data on Neolithic settlements and


11

metallurgy throughout the Anatolian Plateau and includes additional historical data on

Catal Hiiyiik.

Material on Mesopotamian culture is obtained from the works of Norman Yoffee

and Jeffery Clark in the Early Stages in the Evolution o f Mesopotamian Civilization.

Christopher Scarres and Brian Fagans Ancient Civilization provides a fund o f data on the

Mesopotamian Neolithic cultures and subsequent civilizations, as does Charles Redmans

The Rise o f Civilization, which also addresses the paleobotanical environment of the

ancient Near East.

Other references offer supplementary data, such as Joe Baumans Dry Farmers in

Desperate Trouble and Marla Malletts A Weavers View of the atal Hiiyiik

Controversy, et al., and both corroborate and challenge the views of this research and

further establish the complexity o f Qatal Hiiyuk.

Methodology

The present investigation into patterns o f complexity and the dynamic qualities of

interdependent flux examines the productivity, creativity, and cultural growth that were

Catal Hiiyuk. While Catal Hiiyiiks traits, as proposed by V. Gordon Childe, represent

subsystems of a proto-civilization, they must be addressed in the context o f modern theory.

Thus, this research applies systems-ecological and social models to determine what

enabled these subsystems to develop and propel atal Hiiyiik on its path to inchoate

civilization.

While multiple theories have evolved over the past one hundred years that attempt

to define civilization, the twenty-first century trend is toward social perspectives that place


12

human endeavor at the center o f urban progress. This study addresses the pertinent

theories as they apply to atal Hiiyuk and assumes an eclectic theoretical perspective, as

any study of prehistoric man precludes a strictly social point of view due to prehistorys

lack of a written record. Qatal Hiiyiik compounds this problem, as archeological

excavation is still in its early stages with little more than several acres excavated to date.

Therefore, a systems-ecological-social model is employed, as this multifaceted approach is

more responsive and revealing than viewing atal Hiiyiiks history through the confines of

a single theory. The attempt to define civilization, its development, and the traits that

compose it is integral to the understanding of Catal Hiiyiik and is the basis for the

successful application o f the systems-ecological and social paradigms.

Following the assessment of the theoretical models that are employed throughout

this research, a short history o f Near Eastern Neolithic cultures provides background for

the scope of this study, while a description o f the geography and climate o f the prehistoric

Anatolian Plateau establishes setting. The succeeding section addresses the environment

and ecological niche in which Qatal Hiiyiik throve, which was critical to its cultural

development and to the successes and failures of this community. atal Hiiyiik cannot be

separated from its environment, for it formed an inseparable union with its surroundings

and all that it was was owed to this relationship with the land and its many resources.

Catal Hiiyiiks ability to interact with and exploit its environment rendered a precocious

culture and as a result, the environmental theme remains dominant throughout the

analytical discourse o f this thesis.


13

The city itself is the next topic in this work and is introduced through the

excavations, upon which this research is based, of James Mellaart and Ian Hodder. While

their archeological techniques and theoretical approaches are widely divergent, the

amalgamation o f their efforts has rendered a fund of cultural materials that is in the earliest

stages o f combined analysis. To gain a comprehensive portrait o f atal Hiiyiik from the

excavations o f Mellaart and Hodder and one from which theoretical analysis is possible,

the architecture and artifacts are categorized according to Childes ten subsystems.

Following this descriptive detail, Qatal Hiiyiiks subsystems and their interactions

with the environment are analyzed through the systems-ecological model, with the

ecological perspective based upon positive feedback mechanisms. This analysis is

presented in a social theoretical context and concludes with negative feedback

relationships that may have contributed to the abandonment o f atal Hiiyuk. The final

section o f this thesis addresses the results of the research and a discussion regarding those

results and closes with a summary analyzing the significance of the study, its limitations

and implications, and recommendations for future research.

Theories on the Development o f Civilizations

V. Gordon Childe was a product o f the unilinear cultural evolution paradigm that

was the prevailing tenet o f Victorian anthropology. Although Childe refined the

anthropological concepts o f savagery, barbarism, and civilization in his studies of

prehistoric and Bronze Age societies, he too assumed a linear progression and believed that

social change was simply the product o f opportunity (Scarre and Fagan 6). Childe focused

on the results o f human behavior, not its cause, and in Marxist fashion believed it was the


14

social group that determined the behavior o f its members, minimizing ecological factors

and the influence of the individual on group dynamics (Hodder, Archaeological Theory

144). His theories objectified society and posited that human potential was fostered

through technological progress, with the product defining the producer (Childe, Man

Makes Himself 13V Finally, in a self-limiting fashion, Childe believed the observer of the

past had more insight into ancient civilizations functions than did its participants.

While Childes views were revolutionary for the early twentieth century and

advanced the cause of scholars and in a limited capacity continue to do so through his trait

list, his theories are now gauged as outmoded and over-generalized. Childe, for example,

emphasized the significance of technology and craft specialization by full-time artisans as

a causal factor in the emergence o f civilization (Scarre and Fagan 31). Since most

researchers now view craft specialization as an indicator of social complexity, scholars

have challenged Childes theory positing that artisan specialization was often part of

egalitarian societies, as ruling chiefs also employed specialists for the production of

prestige goods (Scarre and Fagan 31). It can be argued, however, that products in

chiefdoms were produced for the ruling class in modest quantities, which likely did not

require full-time specialization. Craft specialization for mass production and consumption,

however, remains a critical and defining element of civilization, for it implies rank, surplus

and wealth, trade, and technological knowledge. Although Childes theories propelled the

study of civilization toward its present course and his traits remain the core components of

civilized society, his theories do not account for the development o f the traits themselves

or the impact that each trait had upon the other.


15

While Childe advanced the cause and scholarship of archeology, his theories have

not kept pace with an ever-changing field. Although he believed material patterns

reflected human behavior and that behavior was socially determined, the pattern is far

more complex. Subsequent theories have focused on materials as a product o f human

behavior resulting from various components within that society in which interrelationships

helped to define the social organization as a whole. It was the sum of its parts that defined

its true meaning, despite Childes earlier claims that culture was a recurring set o f

associated artifacts or traits held to represent a people or a society (Hodder,

Archaeological Theory 285). While Childes trait list remains a useful guide to determine

urban complexity, its basic tenets provide no insight into the behavioral and ecological

factors that engendered those traits. Although his cultural-historical interpretation is

academically discredited, Childes influence remains in the field and many archeologists

and researchers continue to classify prehistoric archaeology according to regions or

artifacts (Hodder, Archaeological Theory 286).

This perspective is changing, however. Theoretical archeology has moved beyond

a mere cataloging of artifacts and the assumption that these artifacts represent the past in

its entirety. Childes Marxist view o f social relations o f production implied an economic

and deterministic view of history whereby technology and the worker (craft specialists)

were paramount in the course o f progress (Thomas 12). Archeologists and historians,

however, have expanded this thesis, emphasizing that humans can manipulate resources in

a multiplicity o f ways; therefore, what is produced is less significant than how it is

produced. It is the internal dynamics o f a society that engender resource exploitation in


16

unique combinations, producing complex and distinct cultures and as a result, the

mechanisms by which resource management occur vary widely within prehistoric

societies. In each event, there are varied correlations between the interrelationships o f the

various traits and the mechanisms by which they occur.

Although traits remain a guide for determining complexity, they provide little

insight into the complexity itself. These traits or subsystems, however, are the springboard

for addressing the interrelatedness o f these components in a systems framework. Unlike

Childes theoretical view that culture is a shared experience, systems theory posits that

culture is comprised o f individual stories that can be resurrected from material remains

(Redman 12-13). It is this variation among members o f a society and their social and

resource interactions that defines a culture, giving it its characteristic signature and

allowing for its understanding. Systems theorists emphasize interrelationships, many o f

which, they believe, are basic to every cultural form (Redman 11). Ancient societies

responses, however, to varied ecological zones and the unique interrelationships that

emerged, produced unique cultural forms within the confines of environmental demands.

Childes explanation of events that propelled man from the Neolithic to Bronze

Age, in which one factor produced change in another in linear fashion, is viewed quite

differently by systems theorists. Increasing complexity, they posit, is a succession of

interacting and multiple incremental processes occurring through positive feedback (which

promotes change) that is triggered by favorable ecological and cultural conditions and

increased in a series o f mutually reinforcing interactions (Redman 13). Systems theorists

view the cultural condition as a product of a larger and ever-changing ecological system


17

within which people adapted to their environment or attempted to do so. The societal

controls through which individuals and the larger subsystems interacted created the

foundation upon which systems analysts construct their theories. Social control, according

to systems theorists, created homeostasis between subsistence needs and ideological values

through a hierarchy o f regulation that became increasingly organized as society became

more complex. Societal pressures, however, such as warfare, population growth, and

environmental events emerged as threats to this homeostasis, stimulating adaptational

mechanisms that created either the positive feedback of cultural change or the homeostatic

inaction of negative feedback (Scarre and Fagan 39). The fundamental task o f systems

theorists, therefore, is to distinguish between the processes of change that produced

increasing complexity, the mechanisms by which that change occurred, and the socio-

environmental factors that triggered these mechanisms (Scarre and Fagan 39).

Although civilization is a cultural process, it cannot be separated from the

environment from which it emerged. Akin to systems ideologies, ecological theories stress

the impact of environmental change on developing societies through an understanding of

process and mechanism (Redman 13-14). This relationship of man to his environment and

the process of adaptation are the cornerstones o f systems-ecological theories. The bridge

between man and his habitat is culture and in its organizational, technical, and ideational

forms interacting with the environment and each other (Redman 13). The ecological

approach focuses on the interdependence of topography, flora, fauna, and natural resources

and their relationship to the development o f human culture, creating a variety o f challenges

to which regional groups responded in varied ways, thus producing distinct cultural forms.


18

Although similar environments produced general adaptational responses among groups,

societies within a region occupied ecological niches where each focused on resources and

challenges unique to their needs, thus producing subtle cultural variety (Redman 14).

Consequently, cultures are expressed by the specific range of resources deemed essential

for that communitys survival, their manipulation o f those resources, and the oppositional

challenges that they face.

The more recent trend, however, advocates a social perspective whereby societies

are viewed as comprised o f individuals and interactive groups pursuing personal agendas

of power, ideology, and factionalism (Scarre and Fagan 41-42). Although the goal of

social theorists is to understand past societies in a behavioral context, they must do so

within the framework o f modern culture (Wason 15). One must be vigilant, therefore, to

avoid projecting modern cultural content into archeological data and be mindful of

ethnocentricity and all that it implies. It is essential, particularly regarding prehistoric

societies, that systems-ecological theories be coupled with social models as partial defense

against specious interpretations. Society, expressed in a social context, blends well with

systems-ecological models, as both address mans relationship to the material world

through processes and mechanisms. While the systems-ecological model is enhanced by

social theories inferences, systems-ecological theories can temper the extravagances

toward which a purely social perspective may stray.

The evolutionary process o f culture, whether occurring by imperceptible degrees or

as a rapid reaction to crises (but most likely both), demands a multi-theoretical

interpretation for any degree o f accuracy and logical social deduction. Social inference,


19

therefore, must be based on relationships o f more than chance regularity if it is to prove

irrefutable and this remains particularly challenging in the absence of a written language

(Clarke 485). Although social inference is always biased, it can shed light on the behavior

and motivations o f ancient man when applied in conjunction with systems-ecological

theories.


20

CHAPTER 3

THE NEOLITHIC POPULATION AND ENVIRONMENT

The Geography, Climate, and Ecology o f the Anatolian Plateau

The geographic environment in which Qatal Huyiik emerged is a rugged land mass

surrounded on three sides by water with its eastern border protected by an imposing

mountain range. The varied landscape of Turkey is the product of earthquakes and

volcanic activity and is part o f the enormous Alpine belt that extends from the Himalaya

Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. Formed during the Tertiary period (sixty-five million to

1.6 million B.C.E.), the Arabian, African, and Indian continental plates began their

collision with the Eurasian plate and the sedimentary layers deposited by the prehistoric

Tethyan Sea bucked, folded, and uplifted (Turkey: External Sec. 1). This process,

accompanied by strong volcanic activity and intrusions of igneous rock material, was

followed by extensive faulting during the Quaternary period, beginning approximately 1.6

million B.C.E. (Turkey: External Sec. 1). Lying between two folded mountain ranges,

the earthquake-prone and structurally complex Anatolian Plateau consists of uplifted

blocks and down-folded troughs, covered by ancient deposits. In Asiatic Turkey, however,

few areas are flat, save the coastal plains o f Antalya and Adana, the deltas of the

Kizilirmak River, the valley floors o f the Gediz and Buyukmenderes Rivers and several

regions in the high plains o f Anatolia, namely around Tuz Golu and the Konya Basin,

home to Qatal Hiiyiik (Turkey: External Sec. 1).


21

Lying north of atal Hiiyuk and parallel to the Black Sea are the Pontus

Mountains, increasing in stature as they traverse the coast from west to east, reaching

heights of nearly ten thousand feet (Turkey: Pontus Sec. 1). Mountain rivers flow

toward the Black Sea and while the northern slopes are home to dense growths of

evergreen and deciduous trees, the southern and inland slopes remain treeless. Along the

Mediterranean coast rise the Taurus Mountains, a folded chain that trends easterly to the

Arabian Platform, then arcs northward until the Taurus and Pontus ranges converge. A

more rugged chain than the Pontus Mountains and with fewer rivers, the Taurus Mountains

were an ancient barrier except for passes such as the Cilician Gates in south-central

Turkey. Lying between the two mountain ranges in the central region o f Turkey, however,

are the semiarid highlands of Anatolia, ranging in elevation from west to east, two

thousand to four thousand feet. Throughout the folded mountains and the Anatolian

Plateau lie well-defined basins, some narrow, others, such as the Konya Plain, large basins

of inland drainage, resulting in generally saline lakes throughout the region.

As the massive Pleistocene lakes that formed these basins began to recede in

earnest around the eighth millennium B .C .E., the lower portion of the Konya Plain began

to emerge. The exposed land was fertile and well-watered and offered a hospitable

environment for flora and fauna. The ecological conditions were ripe for organic variety,

fecundity, and the adaptation of a wide range o f plant and animal species. Fairservis noted,

At least three forms of deer, the ibex, wild ass, pig, auroch, wild ox, gazelle, leopard, lion,

fox, weasel, wolf, sheep, goat, bear, rabbit, wild cat, marten, jackal, marsh birds, and the

land tortoise were found in abundance (160). Fish-filled lakes and streams and mollusks


22

were plentiful as well. As a result of the warming trend that occurred at the end of the

Pleistocene epoch, trees, grasses and wild grains spread into the Near East, promoting

hybridization o f wild plant species, some o f which were amenable to domestication and

cultivation (Ozdogan and Basgelen 14).

This prehistoric plateau and surrounding areas offered diverse ecological and

climatic zones, from forested mountains, to semiarid highlands, to coastal plains, offering a

wide range of organic and inorganic resources. The abundance o f products on the Konya

Plain, however, promoted and supported sedentary living and offered the best of both

worlds during the transition from hunting and gathering to the domestication of plants and

animals. This rich environment and all that it nourished drew the hunters and gatherers of

the Anatolian Plateau, for the Konya Plain possessed what other areas lacked: the alluvial

soils o f the (^arsamba ay.

With the advent o f the Holocene epoch, climatic conditions have changed little on

the Konya Plain and if they remain challenging to village life today, they were all the more

so to the Neolithic population. This semiarid region receives an historic precipitation of

twelve inches per year, but rainfall is unpredictable and during frequent droughts, fewer

than eight inches of annual precipitation may occur (Turkey: Pontus Sec. 1). The aridity

creates frequent dust storms in the summer, blowing fine yellow dust across the plateau,

making the Konya Plain one of the driest and dustiest regions in Turkey (Turkey: Pontus

Sec. 1). The cold and snows of winter, however, are equally challenging and while

summer temperatures are often in excess of one hundred degrees, winters can plunge

below zero (Turkey: Climate Sec. 1).


23

As the Paleolithic epoch gave way to modern climates, hunting and gathering

bands began their transition from seasonal base-camps, often located in caves, to the

occupation o f regions which lay in open areas more favorable to agricultural

experimentation and the domestication o f animals (Redman 98). It was within the fertile

but challenging environment o f the Konya Plain that the transition from hunting and

gathering to the sowing of seed occurred and it was a move that revolutionized the world

and propelled humans on their course toward civilization.

Chronology o f Neolithic History

Anthropologist Charles Redman writes that for ninety-nine percent of the 500,000-

year-history of man, men and women subsisted by hunting and gathering (89). From this

Pleistocene history emerged the twelve-thousand-year-old Neolithic culture where the

physiologically modern and sedentary human produced exponential growth in technology,

which enabled progress to occur at a sharply accelerated pace. What brought man to the

portals o f civilization, however, remains an enigma in the arena of scientific debate. One

precipitating event may well have been the climatic changes that produced concentrations

of organic resources. During the transition to the interglacial period, roving bands o f Near

Eastern hunters and gatherers sustained themselves with forced movement amongst a

dispersed food and timber supply. As the climate warmed, however, and plant species and

riparian environments proliferated along with the animals they supported, human density

increased in richly concentrated resource zones, reducing migratory patterns.

As population increased in newly prime habitats, so, too, did competition for

resources, thereby increasing human vulnerability to privation and necessitating large-scale


24

herding as the means for successful resource acquisition and its protection. Mans herding

behavior represents an innate self-protective mechanism expressed through the guise of

solidarity, as the individual overcomes his vulnerability en masse. As early humans

banded together in the hunt, their cunning for survival exceeded their vulnerabilities, due

in large part to united and coordinated effort.

As bands became sedentary tribes and settled into the rigors o f village life,

experimentation with domestication began in earnest. By 7000 B.C.E., morphological

changes in sheep appeared in the Near East, producing the hornless female species that is

indicative o f domestication. Dogs, too, appear to have been domesticated in this region

during the same period, although the earliest domesticated canine excavated in the Near

East dates to 11,000 B.C.E. (Redman 135). Around 6000 B.C.E., domesticated cattle were

a significant part o f atal Huyiiks economy, but domesticated cattle were evident in

southeastern Europe a millennium earlier (Redman 139-40).

Experimentation with domestication o f cereal grains, and einkorn wheat in

particular, began at approximately the same time as did animal domestication, but which

came first has not to date been proved. Domestication of wild grains, as with animals,

produces morphological changes (Redman 142). Whereas the axis is brittle in wild species

of einkorn wheat, allowing for disarticulation and dispersal o f seeds, in domesticated

einkorn, the axis breaks only with threshing and the seeds stay intact (Redman 123). This

domesticated product produced a symbiotic relationship whereby the plants survival

depended upon humans for the acts of reaping and sowing, which increased mans

dependency upon sedentariness. By 6800 B.C.E., the climate had warmed to an optimal


25

temperature zone for agricultural development in Anatolia and southwestern Asia and

radical advances in domestication began under the aegis o f the newly-emerged Ceramic

Neolithic cultures.

It is probable, however, that experimentation with domestication began long before

the fact, but attributing a specific time-frame would be mere speculation. This is true of

both animal and plant domestication and while the earliest villages indicate mixed

economies, they trended through time toward a predominant dependence upon

domesticated food sources. Such was the case in Catal Hiiyuk, which exhibited this

primary dependence upon domesticated products by the seventh millennium B.C.E.

(Redman 183).

While tool construction during the Epi-Paleolithic period throughout the Near East

continued as microlithic and included blades o f chipped stone, the emergence of local

differentiation regarding material usage and technology had begun (Ozdogan and Basgelen

14-15). Although sporadic attempts at primitive pottery began prior to 7200 B C E . , the

Near Eastern Ceramic Neolithic population emerged in earnest between 7200 and 5000

B C E , along with halting experimentation in metallurgy (Yoffee and Clark 241-48).

Symbolic expression developed within art and architecture, as indicated by recurring

designs and color themes, and trade in obsidian and luxury materials began as well,

perhaps suggesting inchoate labor specialization (Redman 184-85). Within five millennia,

the move from the Natufian settlements o f the Levant (10,000-8000 B.C.E.) to the late

Neolithic cultures o f Mesopotamia executed the transition to complexity, whereby


26

technological growth exploded and mans accelerated progress catapulted him into the

glory o f Uruk and beyond.

This explosive growth in Neolithic technology has received intense archeological

and theoretical focus in the region of northern Mesopotamia, and about these Neolithic

societies much is known. This research has increased our understanding of Neolithic

cultures, particularly as precursors to the Sumerian civilization of southern Mesopotamia.

Although the significance o f the archeological and anthropological studies cannot be

minimized, from these has emerged a stereotypic chronology o f the development of

Neolithic cultures and subsequent Sumerian civilization. This chronology is significant to

this study, as it is one that this research has opted to challenge, claiming instead that urban

complexity was demonstrated in atal Huyiik three thousand years before the rise o f Uruk.

As the Neolithic population gained firm footing in the region o f northern

Mesopotamia, they set the course that defined the development of Sumerian civilization.

From the Hassuna period o f the sixth millennium B.C.E., characterized by crude pottery,

incipient agriculture, and domestication o f animals, emerged the Halafian period (5500-

4800 B.C.E.) that made marked cultural advances in this region (Riley 29-31). Symbolic

expression and religious beliefs became increasingly sophisticated and although the

Halafian culture created beautifully-designed pottery and engaged in metallurgy and

extensive trade, o f greater importance was the standardization of products and architecture

over a region o f nearly two hundred fifty square miles (Redman 199). Most significant,

however, were the organizational changes that propelled the late Neolithic cultures of


Reproduced with

permission

of the copyright owner.

Further reproduction prohibited

without permission.

B.C.E. Anatolia Mesopotamia

Southern Mesopotamia3000

4000

CentralMesopotamia Mesopotamia

Northern

5000

ChogaMamiHassuna

6000Umm

Dabaghiyah

7000Hacilar Suberde

QatalHiiyiikCayontt

8000

Fig. 1. Neolithic Sites Represented in Grey. to~o

28

northern Mesopotamia on a course from chiefdom governance toward state organization

(Redman 202). Between the Neolithic cultures of northern Mesopotamia and those of the

arid southern region was the Neolithic Samarran society, located on the northern boundary

of the Mesopotamian alluvium.

Contemporary with the middle to late Hassunan and Halafian cultures, the

Samarrans settled south of the dependable dry farming zone, with botanical evidence

suggesting that by 5500 B.C.E. they were employing some form o f simple irrigation

(Redman 195). Their communities had both technological and organizational skills that

are reflected in the fifteen-acre Samarran town o f Choga Mami, which had a population in

excess o f one thousand people. Archeological investigation has revealed that this

Neolithic town possessed surplus wealth, used stamp seals, and produced sculpture that

resembled later Ubaid art. The Samarrans were also the first in Mesopotamia to build

buttressed structures with sun-dried brick. Excavations have produced several hammered

copper pieces (the earliest metal works found in Mesopotamia), suggesting trade with the

distant regions of Iran and Turkey, as this region of Mesopotamia is resource-poor and

lacks deposits of copper. Because o f the presence o f Samarran pottery at Hassunan and

Halafian sites, archeologists suggest that there was contact between these cultures and that

diffusion occurred. Due to their southerly occupation, historians believe the Samarrans

were likely among the early colonizers o f the first civilizations o f southern Mesopotamia

(Redman 194-98).

As the Ubaid period emerged on virgin soil around 5300 B.C.E., likely influenced

by Samarran and possibly Halafian cultures, a period o f intense and rapid specialization


29

occurred, with an accrual o f surplus wealth that enabled monumental temples to be erected

to capricious gods (Riley 31). Historians and archeologists assert that the traits identified

by Childe emerged and coalesced in the region of southern Mesopotamia during the fourth

millennium B.C.E. (Postgate 24; Redman 245). By the Uruk period (3600-3100 B.C.E ),

explosive developments occurred in technology, ranked society became stratified, and

skilled artisans became specialized, culminating in the Jemdet Nasr period (3100-2900

B .C.E.) with the advent o f cuneiform script (3100 B .C.E.). By 2900 B .C.E., the major

cities o f southern Mesopotamia had achieved sufficient complexity to be deemed a

civilization (Redman 245).

Yet seven hundred miles to the west and an even more distant three thousand years

in ancient Mesopotamias past, an anomalous community emerged on the Konya Plain that

possessed the very qualities attributed to the Mesopotamian Ubaid period. Despite atal

Hiiyiiks incomparable development, however, Neolithic settlements were numerous on the

Anatolian Plateau, most o f which had mixed subsistence economies (Ozdogan and

Basgelen 15). Seventh-millennium Suberde, which lies to the west of atal Huyiik, was

typical of the Neolithic Anatolian village. While small numbers of sickle blades and

grinding stones suggest a cereal component to their diet, great numbers o f animal bones

have been excavated (principally sheep and goats) whose skeletal remains declined in

Suberdes upper levels as wild populations declined in Anatolia, suggesting that these

animals were not domesticated (Fairservis 160). This village was an example o f how

sedentary lifestyles were possible while maintaining hunting and gathering practices in a

habitat that supported both. The environment was so richly diverse within a concentrated


30

radius that generations gradually evolved from roving bands to sedentary tribes without

sharp demarcations in lifestyles.

What many o f these Anatolian settlements like Suberde lacked, however, were the

rich alluvial soils that supported large-scale experimentation with plant domestication;

hence, village populations remained small with a heavy reliance upon feral meat and wild

grains. In contrast, the ecological niche of atal Hiiyiik had soils that the flooding

Qarsamba River frequently renewed and was, therefore, amenable to large-scale

cultivation. The river and alluvial parklands likely attracted large numbers o f animals and

the branching river may have formed natural enclosures that could have enhanced the

domestication o f cattle and other potential livestock. While Suberde was typical o f early

village life in the fruitful Anatolian region, the hunters and gatherers who settled on the

Konya Plain had descended upon a veritable Eden. While many o f the Anatolian villagers

were experimenting with simple plant and animal domestication as an adjunct to hunting

and gathering practices, atal Hiiyiik was supporting six thousand people on a diet

consisting predominantly o f domesticated food products.

Although researchers have generally regarded the Near Eastern Neolithic

population as ancillary to what they view as the main event, atal Hiiyiik surpassed

Hassunan, Halafian, and even Samarran achievements. This precocious development and

early challenge to ancient Mesopotamian cultures will be the focus o f this thesis and the

means by which to determine whether atal Hiiyiik stands as a proto-civilization. Far from

being a mere pastoral and agricultural antecedent, the Neolithic city o f atal Hiiyiik stands

as testament to the potential o f Stone Age man.


31

CHAPTER 4

THE SUBSYSTEMS OF CATAL HUYUK

Within this resource-rich and fertile region of the Anatolian Plateau, Catal Huyuk

rises as a great oval mound on the Konya Plain, rising fifty-seven feet above the

surrounding landscape. This thirty-two acre site slopes sharply on its long eastern and

western flanks, declines gently toward the south and descends into a lower secondary

hump at its northern end. Along the base o f the eastern side o f the mound is an extended

area of low-lying Neolithic occupation correlating to Catal Huyuks later phases of

habitation (Mellaart, Catal Huyiik 31 -32), While the ancient Neolithic site of Jericho has a

depositional depth of forty-five feet, Catal Hiiyiik extends to depths of sixty-five feet, but

archeologists have not yet excavated to virgin soil (Ozdogan and Basgelen 158).

Australian James Mellaart was the first to excavate this mound in 1961. Over the

course o f four years, he opened a one-acre excavation on the western slope and proved that

even in early strata, Catal Huyiik was a city o f substantial size. Mellaart labeled these

emerging levels, from the surface to the bottom, as Levels 0 through XII, with two

different building levels in VI: VI A and V IB fCatal Hiiyiik 49). Although Mellaarts

excavations o f Catal Huyiik produced astonishing results, political intrigue between

Mellaart and the Turkish government subsequently stopped excavation for twenty-seven

years. By 1993, however, archeologist Ian Hodder and an international team initiated

collaboration with the British Institute of Archeology at Ankara and the McDonald

Institute for Archeology and resumed excavation of this large and intriguing Neolithic site.


Fig. 2. Neolithic Sites in Southern Anatolia and Sources o f Raw Materials. Courtesy o f Janies Mellaart, Catal Huvuk: A Neolithic Town In Anatolia

(London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 1967) 28-29.

33

Ian Hodder and Janies Mellaart, however, differ from one another scientifically and

philosophically, which is reflected in both their writing and their work at atal Hiiyiik. A

postprocessualist concerned with issues o f inference, sampling, and research design,

Hodder emphasizes the importance o f art and artifacts as clues to the cognition o f early

man (Hodder, Reading the Past 156). His interpretations are multivocal (or multicultural)

and like the physicist, stress that the researcher cannot separate from the experiment and,

therefore, influences the interpretation.

Hodders multivocal perspectives are, in fact, in direct contrast to Mellaarts

Eurocentric interpretations. The postprocessualist world denies that there is one reality

(Hodder, Archaeological Theory 3-8). Hodder claims that undetached objectivity remain

an impossibility and that no single reality can be gleaned from the excavation o f atal

Hiiyiik, but instead the site offers many realities (Reading 159-61; Kunzig 1-2). Because

o f this, Hodder relies on the scientific observation by multivocal teams o f archeologists as

they dig because, he believes, interpretation o f cultural materials remains subjective, based

upon the context in which they are found and the social context o f the excavator (Hodder,

Reading the Past 168).

Hodders perspective as the scientific researcher and theoretician is opposed to

Mellaarts expansive exploratory approach (Hodder, Archaeological Theory 1-5). While

Mellaart excavated the obvious artifacts and skeletal remains and assessed architectural

structures from a global perspective, Hodder focuses on minutia and often on that which

cannot be seen, but are visible through the lens of a microscope. Whereas Mellaart

excavated two hundred buildings in four seasons and Hodder only three in seven years,


34

Hodder believes his approach will yield a richer and deeper interpretation o f atal Huyuks

complex social structure (Kunzig 2).

Although the focus on scientific analysis has revealed significant data that build on

Mellaarts work, Hodder has since stated that the preoccupation with the details of specific

houses should return to the bigger picture . . . and work on how the site as a whole was

organized (Matthews and Hodder, C^atalhovuk 1994 2). As Kenzig states, however, The

great risk [Hodder] runs is that the lack o f quantity in his work will translate into lack of

quality: that he will never find enough evidence to say much of anything (4). In

Hodders opinion, however, analysis o f archeological methodology is as important as the

excavation and discussion of the artifacts themselves a viewpoint that renders his

archeology a protracted process (Hodder, Reading the Past 182-83).

The postprocessualist Hodder also assumes a more abstract theoretical stance than

did Mellaart, whose pragmatic theories were focused on interpreting the cultural materials

and inferring the social structure of atal Hiiyiik from these remains. Hodder, in contrast,

formulates social theories that he hopes can be proved by cultural materials. An example

is Hodders theory that before domestication of plants and animals occurred, humans had

to tame the brute within and the dangers associated with death, reproduction, and female

sexuality, all o f which represented a cultural and psychological transition to sedentary

lifestyles (Kunzig 5). Hodder hopes to verify this theory through the evidence found

within the art of atal Huyiik (Kunzig 5). Some may argue, however, that Hodder loses

himself in expressionistic interpretation much as did abstract artist Jackson Pollock, whose

paintings say little, but are busy nonetheless.


35

That the general (Mellaarts work) has been followed by the specific (Hodders

archeology) has provided an insightful assessment o f the cultural milieu of atal Hiiyiik.

Hodders work has shown exceptions to the general, thereby challenging the conception of

absolute uniformity characteristic o f earlier research. Hodders archeological techniques,

while not as expansive as Mellaarts, are certainly more intensive and while the overall

plan of the city remains an enigma, much cultural material has emerged within the last

decade that is relevant to this thesis and is addressed in detail throughout the study.

Hodders theories, however, challenge Mellaarts interpretations o f atal Hiiyiiks

material inventory; whereas Mellaart asserted the maximum potential of this Neolithic

population, Hodder denies atal Hiiyiiks complexity and compares it to the simple social

structure of primitive African tribes (Kunzig 4-5). Hodder believes, for example, that the

residents of atal Hiiyiik relied on hunting and gathering as much as they did farming,

based upon analysis o f bone fragments o f feral goats and the emergence of wild plant

remains discovered through the process o f floatation. Domesticated food products,

however, were abundant throughout the site and visible to the naked eye and while atal

Hiiyiik probably had a mixed economy, it decidedly favored domesticated grains and

animals, as these products were present in greater quantities than were wild-crafted or feral

products. Large storage bins were a feature common to the homes throughout the site and

residents typically used them to store domesticated grains and legumes, which were

obviously a staple in the diet o f this population. Ian Todd concurs with Mellaarts view as

well, stating that residents relied on domesticated cattle for meat, which comprised

approximately ninety percent of their animal protein intake (120).


36

Hodder also argues that there are no temples or palaces in Catal Hiiyiik and,

therefore, central leadership was unlikely, contrasting Mellaarts belief that the orderly

structure of Catal Hiiyiik demanded some form of central control. Instead, Hodder

believes that residents may have been ruled by clan leaders or their lives may have been

the product of simple ritual and taboo (Kunzig 5). Given the minimal areas of excavation

to date (less than five percent), this research concurs with Mehmet Ozdogan, who argues

that central administration and ceremonial centers cannot be definitively proved (or

refuted) based upon existing evidence (158). What challenges the imagination, however, is

how a densely-quartered population of six thousand could have co-existed without some

form of central management.

Hodder also posits that Mellaarts shrines were merely elaborate houses (which

could speak for stratification, which Hodder refutes) and, therefore, denies that there was a

priestly caste or organized religion (Kunzig 5). Thus, he disagrees with Mellaarts

conception that Catal Hiiyiik was a goddess community, arguing instead that the female

statuettes and elaborate reliefs represented not the divine, but domesticity (Kunzig 5).

Christopher Scarre and Brian Fagan, too, question whether Mellaarts shrines were truly

that or instead, richly decorated houses (62-63). Paul Wason also remains uncertain

whether Catal Hiiyiik engaged in goddess-centered worship (179).

Yet, despite challenges to Mellaarts interpretations of the artifacts, art, and

architecture o f Catal Hiiyiik, his work remains integral to most scholarly critiques of Catal

Hiiyiiks culture because of the vast array o f cultural materials his horizontal excavation

techniques revealed. Theoretical conflict, however, will continue until larger sections of


37

the mound are excavated and the overall design of the site begins to emerge, but with the

current techniques of Ian Hodder this is likely years away. In the interim, through the

diligent effort and theoretical challenges o f scientists and archeologists, the archeological

inventory continues to grow and with it, insight into the cultural past that was Catal Huyiik.

It is the goal of this study to investigate the cultural materials excavated by

Mellaart and Hodder in an attempt to unite past and present research and gain partial

understanding o f the social structure o f Catal Hiiyiik. To achieve this goal, this chapter

topically categorizes Mellaarts and Hodders material inventories according to Childes

trait list, establishing a foundation for subsequent analysis through the systems-ecological

and social models in Chapters 5 and 6.

The Architectural Design of Catal Huyiik as a Monumental Public Work

This prehistoric site lies along an ancient branch of the Carsamba River on the

northern frontiers of the Konya Plain, three thousand feet above sea level on the southern

boundary o f the great salt depression at Tuz Golu. Although Mellaarts radiocarbon dates

indicate Catal Hiiyiiks settlement began between 6500 and 5400 B.C.E., American

dendrochronologist Maryanne Newton has deemed its founding closer to 7200 B.C.E.,

based upon analysis o f juniper charcoal fragments removed from the base o f the

excavation site (Pre-Sumerian Cultures 4-5). Scarre and Fagan concur (63), while

Ozdogan suggests initial occupation may predate this, as approximately 16.4 feet of earlier

settlement lies beneath Mellaarts lowest level (158). From this ancient foundation, Catal

Hiiyiik was to thrive for nearly sixteen hundred years and following its mysterious decline


38

by 5600 B.C.E., a smaller Chalcolithic mound grew to its west on the opposite bank of the

Carsamba River and throve for another seven hundred years (Matthews and Hodder,

Catalhovuk 1994 1-6).

Within the more ancient eastern mound, however, lies a honeycomb of contiguous,

rectangular structures constructed o f sun-dried mud-brick that resemble the pueblos of the

American Southwest. New buildings were erected upon the carefully leveled foundations

o f the old, were generally uniform in design (some had a smaller second story), and were

constructed around courtyards o f varying sizes (Hamblin 49). The courtyards served as

community waste disposal sites that locals carefully sterilized with neutralizing ash to

minimize odor and prevent disease (Stevanovic 3).

Although it has been emphasized that residents gained access to their living

quarters through openings in flat roofs, 2003 excavations have revealed evidence of

ground-level entrances as well (Hodder, Catalhoviik News 6-7). Excavated roof surfaces,

however, smudged, scorched, and discolored, appeared to have been the main arena of

domestic activity during the summer season (Stevanovic 3). These well-made structures,

with foundations sunk significantly below floor level, had a series of small ventilating

windows cut into the upper walls and were constructed o f local mud-brick and timber

from the Taurus Mountains, lying approximately seventy-five miles to the southeast

(Mellaart, Catal Huviik 55).

The interiors o f the buildings contained built-in mud-brick sleeping platforms and

benches, and included sunken pit stoves and hearths for cooking and heating (Wason 176).

Residents plastered their interior walls with white or cream-colored clay, smoothed them


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Fig. 3. Schematic Reconstruction o f a Section o f Level VI. Courtesy o f James Mellaart, Catal Htiytlk:

A Neolithic Town In Anatolia (London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 1967) 62.

Fig. 4. Diagrammatic View o f Construction Technique at Catal Huyuk. Courtesy o f James Mellaart,

Catal Htivuk: A Neolithic Town In Anatolia (London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 1967) 61.


Fig. 5. Building Plan - Level VI A. Courtesy o f James Mellaart, Catal HUvtik: A Neolithic Town In

Anatolia (London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 1967) 58.

Fig. 6. Building Plan - Level VI B. Courtesy o f James Mellaart, Catal Huvilk: A Neolithic

Town In Anatolia (London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 1967) 59.


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with polishers, and frequently painted them with naturalistic subjects and designs (Wason

176). Floors had plastered surfaces and occasionally supported a bucranium, which was a

small pillar o f brick with horn cores and the facial features of a wild bull placed on top

(Mellaart, Catal Huvuk 65). Most buildings had a storeroom, some with dried-clay grain

bins approximately three feet high that were filled from the top and emptied through a

small opening at the base, so that the oldest grains and those most likely exposed to

dampness would be used first (Mellaart, Catal Huyiik 62).

Throughout Catal Hiiyiik, residents kept buildings meticulously clean and

renovated them inside and out on what appears to have been an annual basis, with locals

obviously taking civic pride in their orderly and well-planned city (Mellaart, Catal Hiiyiik

54-65). Some buildings had as many as one hundred layers o f plaster on their walls,

indicating frequent and possibly seasonal re-plastering (Fairservis 153). Mellaart, in fact,

reported that annual re-plastering during summer months of the high-maintenance sun-

dried brick dwellings continued in the Anatolian region of Turkey even as he excavated

Catal Hiiyiik (Catal Hiiyiik 49). Mehmet Ozdogan supports Mellaarts claims o f annual re

plastering based upon dendrochronological sequence studies completed by Kuniholm and

Newton in 1996 (159-60).

Residents built these once-meticulous structures o f near identical design with

standardized sun-dried bricks and squared timber framing that was eventually replaced

with internal buttresses in Level II (Mellaart, Catal Hiiviik 64). The interiors are uniform

as well, with kitchen and hearth on southern walls and flat-topped ovens set partly into the

wall (Mellaart, Catal Hiiyiik 56). Kitchen spaces occupy one-third of the domestic space


42

and a small square platform was placed in the northeastern corner; a large platform with a

bench on its southern end was constructed on the eastern wall and flanked by two wooden

posts that were often painted red (Mellaart, Catal Huyiik 56-58). An additional platform

was located in the southwestern corner close to the oven. This was the arrangement of

buildings constructed on a northern to southerly axis. Those with an east-west orientation

have a somewhat different, but uniform design, but the large platform and bench remain

against eastern walls (Mellaart, Catal Hiiyiik 58-60).

Adjacent to obvious residences, Mellaart excavated forty buildings in his one-acre

site that appear to be religious shrines, not because o f structural differences, but because of

the elaborate and extensive art that adorns the walls and floor spaces o f these ornate and

mysterious enclaves. This research concurs with Mellaarts interpretation that these

buildings were indeed shrines (Catal Hiivuk 77-130). Some have speculated that they were

elaborate homes; if homes, however, they would have been hazardous and inconvenient for

activities o f daily living, particularly if small children were present. One could easily have

become impaled with a misstep on the numerous, centrally-placed bucrania and massive

horn cores lining platforms. Bulls heads complete with horns protruding at floor level

from walls would have impeded ambulation and these elaborate homes, if that is what they

were, would not have been conducive to family life.


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Fig. 7. Restoration o f the Eastern and Southern Walls o f Shrine VI. 14. Courtesy o f James Mellaart,

Catal Hilytlk: A Neolithic Town In Anatolia (London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 1967) 121.

Fig. 8. Decoration o f Northern and Eastern Walls o f Shrine VI A.8 Courtesy o f James Mellaart,

Catal Hitvuk: A Neolithic Town In Anatolia (London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 1967) 28-29.


44

Although it has been long reported that little variation existed in the architectural

design of the city, evidence is emerging to the contrary. In Level II, Mellaart and his team

excavated a tower-like structure that is filled with enormous quantities o f burnt mud-brick

that also extend externally from the structure, indicating this tower was taller than the

surrounding complex f^atal Hiivuk 69-70).

Lying north o f what appears to be two shrines separated by an open passage, this

tower-like structure obstructs entry into Catal Huyiik. To its immediate left lies a crooked

cul-de-sac that leads to a series o f storerooms that are neither extensions o f homes nor

shrines.

Additional anomalies occur in a forty-by-forty meter surface excavation (hence

labeled the 4040 site) that was begun in 2003 which revealed open linear areas o f varying

widths that appear as possible streets or alleys (Lyon and Taylor 2). Whether these linear

spaces end abruptly or change course beyond the boundaries o f the 4040 site is uncertain,

but the first street runs in a north-south direction with two separate linear spaces

intersecting at right angles from the southern section. These open linear spaces range in

width from twenty feet to a mere twelve inches, although the narrow sections may have

been the result of later building encroachment. The overall plan in the 4040 area suggests

buildings formed distinct sectors separated by streets.

Wall thickness varies between these sectors as well, possibly as a means to control

internal temperatures in a region of climatic extremes or as an indicator o f social

inequality. Wall thickness, however, remains uniform within the sector and the consistent

orientation of buildings within each sector differs from those of other sectors and suggests

Reproduced with permission of the copyright

Çatal Huyuk the Prelude

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