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SETTLEMENT REGION - CATAL HOYUK

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It is not surprising that an extraordinary settlement such as Catal Hoyuk is in the heart of Anatolia which has been a cradle to many civilisations. In order to fully understand and appreciate why an important group of the Neolithic Age chose to establish itself in the Konya region, we need to examine and become familiar with this area. Catal Hoyuk is situated to the south-east of Konya where the Carsamba river nourishes the fertile plains.

Catal Hoyuk's settlement site was found by archaeologist James Mellaart in 1951. At the time he was working at the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara. Though the site was initially recorded in 1952 the first detailed research of the area began in 1958 by Mellaart and two colleagues because of difficult and inaccessable conditions.

Scattered surface findings have yielded an array of obsidian tools specific to the Neolithic Age. The obsidian stone with its glass like quality was the most important tool making material of this age. It is estimated that the obsidian stone was originally brought to the area from the Hasan Mountain region as a means of bartar and trade.

Catal Hoyuk was the most suitable place for settlement during the Neolithic Age. With a spectacular backdrop of mountain forests stretching to the banks of rich marshland, Catal Hoyuk seems to have been tailored for agriculture and the breeding of animals. Findings suggest that the region was an abundant source of flora and fauna. The reason behind this natural wealth is the existence of a large lake up until 16000 years ago. The region's seemingly unending plains is the result of this lake. Also, the lack of stones around the lush lake bed meant that the people of the area used mud bricks as their primary building material.

When this great lake began to dry approximately 16000 years ago, smaller lakes and swamps emerged creating the Salt Lake of today. As a result of the lake drying, large areas of land became available for animals to graze freely. Due to the abundance of animals and wildlife flocking to the area to drink there was no need to spend time on hunting. Also, much time was not taken up by farming as the fertile soils yielded crops readily. It is thought the the ample supply of meat and crops allowed the people of Catal Hoyuk to spend most of their time involved in religious activities and decorating the interiors of their homes.

The Konya Lowlands' largest river, Carsamba, fed the region and created fertile alluvium soil. However, what at first glance appeared to be ideal for agriculture slowly disintegrated due to salt deposits created by vapourisation. The primary reason for weak plant distribution on the plains today lies behind the salination of the land over the milleniums.

The first Neolithic settlement 7000 B.C. on this fertile lowland has greatly challenged the earlier ideas about this age. Until 1951, a vast number of Neolithic Age features had been attributed to the eastern Mediterranean region, Syria and Mesopotamia instead of Catal Hoyuk. The first early and second late Neolithic settlements were established on adjacent east and west hills where the Catal Hoyuk people created one of the most magnificent civilisations of history. The name "Catal Hoyuk" originated from a forked road to the north of the hills. The words "catal" meaning fork and "hoyuk" meaning mound. It is an interesting coincidence that this name marks an important crossroad in the history of civilisation.

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Prehistorical times are studied in three separate periods. Since the emergence of humans until 12000 B.C., this first period is called the Palaeolithic Age; this period is also named the Old Stone Age. The Palaeolithic Age which left only cave paintings, primitive stone tools and monuments was followed by a transitional period between 12000 B.C. and 8000 B.C. called the Mesolithic Age or Middle Stone Age.

This period also established the foundations for systematic organisation of agriculture and cities during the Neolithic Age. The Neolithic Age emerged between 8000 and 2700 B.C. It is also known as the New Stone Age. This period was not experienced at the same time throughout the world. Continental Europe did not come into the Neolithic Age until much later after Asia minor. Even though there are other Neolithic settlements in Anatolia such as, Asikli Hoyuk, Hacilar, Yumuk Tepe, Kizil Kaya, Fikirtepe and several more, Catal Hoyuk carries the most significant features of the Neolithic Age. Catal Hoyuk is known to have been occupied by people even during the classical ages; a recent excavation found a Byzantinian grave in the area.

Near the north of Karadag there are many more hills indicating further settlements during the Neolithic period such as, Magarali Pinarbasi. The existence of other settlements does not diminish the importance of Catal Hoyuk as these settlements do not display the same level of sophistication and civilisation. The inhabitants of Catal Hoyuk created an economic revolution by maintaining animal stock such as, chickens, cattle, deer, wild boars and donkeys. They also hunted for leopards and fish. With established methods of agriculture, the people of Catal Hoyuk grew three types of wheat and barley as well as many other varieties of grain and cereal. It is also known that they produced oils of maize, wheat and peanut. There are indications that the people produced beer and wine too.

Despite Catal Hoyuk being a highly organised city, it is not known whether a central system of management existed. It is interesting to note that not one single private or central place of worship has yet been found. Nor is there a fortress or any semblance of a city wall. Instead, the houses were erected adjoining one another. The walls facing the outside of the houses are without windows or doors, which may have provided the necessary protection.

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With basic square shaped dwellings and flat roofs, Catal Hoyuk's architectural development can only be considered as being in its childhood period. The entrances to the attached buildings were via the ceilings. This style of architecture can still be found in the eastern provinces of Turkey. Despite being very close in proximity to one another, the houses display separate walls with a small gap between them. The walls were built with sun-dried mud bricks supported by wooden beams. This technique is called "himis" and is still utilised in certain areas of Anatolia. The small doorways in the houses are thought to have been for small domestic animals to get in and out. The inhabitants of Catal Hoyuk used the flat roof tops as a means of getting from one dwelling to another. The roofs were made from clay, wood and reeds and measured approximately 60 centimetres in width. The roof tops were a convenient place to carry out daily activities as the interiors of the houses had poor light and ventilation.
Catal Hoyuk's architectural structure allowed Mellaart to make use of the square shaped buildings when excavating by using the walls as a guide to designating parcels for research. This was made easier for the researchers as the walls were easily visible after slighty sweeping the surface of the roofs and because the excavations continued house by house the entire process was made less difficult.

However, because the plans and sizes of the buildings are all similar it is difficult to ascertain whether any of them are ordinary dwellings or sacred places. The dwellings have a main rectangular room with two side rooms used for storage. For means of heating a round or rectangle shaped stove was used. Furthermore, horseshoe shaped ovens were found. Each house also had a raised bank of earth or stone which was used as a table, divan and bed. These raised banks were also used for the burial of the dead and were covered with woven mattings thought to be earliest forms of kilims. After death, corpses were thrown to vultures and then the skeletons were cleansed and wrapped in soft cloth while the skulls were painted and decorated and buried in the homes. These scenes are depicted in paintings found on the walls of the dwellings. It has also been found that gifts were left in the graves. According to status, the gifts in the graves vary; for example, in the graves of women, obsidian mirrors and jewellery were found while in the graves of men, flintstone and spear heads made from the obsidion stone appear.

In nearly all of the houses, items of charm and religion in the shape of statues, reliefs and paintings can be found. The paintings adorned the mud-brick walls, which were often painted over again by using a thin layer of plaster to cover former drawings. It is estimated that during the period of use, the walls of the dwellings were painted at least thirty times. Some houses are known to have two hundred layers of thin painted plaster. As suggested by Mellaart, if the houses were painted once every year then it can be calculated for how long the dwellings were in use. However, this situation creates a new problem for the researchers who wish to study each layer separately, as maintaining the paintings as a whole at present is difficult. To develop new techniques, work in the laboratories is continuing at a rapid pace. At present, fiber-optic cables are passed through the layers to examine the methods and styles used in the paintings. This is an extremely time consuming and costly exercise.

Of the discovered paintings, most display religious concerns. In all the homes the religious paintings and statues have the heads of animals with horns. Some houses have peculiar differences to them; for example, small areas found are considered to be areas of worship. According to current thinking, when an important member of a house died, the house was emptied and closed. When the house was opened at a later date it was done so with a sacred intention. An entrance to these interior graves supports this theory. Apart from using the dwellings as a place of shelter, the fact that they were used as places of worship suggests that the people of Catal Hoyuk were on their way to developing other sites for worship and evolving through a stage of worship oriented religions.

Catal Hoyuk's houses with their wall paintings, bulls' heads and statues clearly indicate that the local people had obvious beliefs and acts of worship. Despite profuse religious motifs, there does not appear to be any signs of offerings or sacrifices. Unlike the remnants of Beyce Sultan during the First Bronze Age, there is no indication of any sacrificial altar. There are no suggestions that any animals were sacrificed or any pits were made for the storing of sacrificial blood. The only pointers to any form of offerings lies in the houses where in some rooms tools and materials have been left; for example, jewellery, weapons , seals and vessels.

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Archeological excavations have always been delicate work requiring painstaking skill and patience. With current technological advancements being utilised at Catal Hoyuk, the excavation is being pursued with particular interest and care. Even though technology perhaps has not made a significant change in the time taken to excavate it certainly has aided in the removal and evaluation of findings.
Magnetic sensors and satellite technology have greatly assisted in the selection of appropriate areas for excavation as well as in the planning. Global Positioning Systems have markedly improved the accuracy in establishing coordinates and ground measurements are made using laser equipment.

To evaluate delicate, minute findings the researchers also employ a method of sifting, using water to detect trace metals and other small particles. This is the only suitable process for locating tiny pieces of scattered organic and inorganic materials. At Catal Hoyuk not one shred of minute material is overlooked; every piece is sifted and placed under powerful microscopes for detailed examination. Larger pieces of organic materials such as, animal bones are compared with the bones of animals found today and categorised accordingly.

At present the excavation is carried out on two sites. The first being the one Mellaart is working on and the other is carried out on the far side of the hoyuk (hill). Mellaart's excavation as yet has not reached the bottom layers. The aim, currently, is to remove and save the top layers in order to reach the final layers as Mellaart's site is rapidly collapsing.

The more recent excavation site has yielded interesting objects which symbolise the Catal Hoyuk region and still carry important traditional value in Anatolia. In one of the houses the pedestal of a statue of a mother goddess was found. It is interesting to note that the skull of an animal was found on the ground facing the pedestal. In the same area in another house a painting has been recently unearthed. The pieces found will be covered for the time being and research will continue in the new year, using better methods of analysis. Currently, the Hoyuk's most interesting section is about two to three hundred metres away from the excavation site. At the moment the surface area has been cleaned and will be excavated at a later date. What has created the interest in this area is the assertion of Dr. Ian Hodder. He claims that the houses currently being excavated display a different settlement plan. Apparently the houses' walls are not necessarily parallel to one another and the houses are built in the shape of a cake slice, facing a central building which may have been a monument or some other important building. Until recently it was estimated that Catal Hoyuk's Neolithic city did not have such a structure. It is an assertion that only the full excavation will yield.

To support and provide financial assistance for the excavations, the Catal Hoyuk Friends Association has been formed. The Catal Hoyuk excavation and other similar archaeological projects require the aid of official and private organisations in order to continue to shed light on the past.

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The Catal Hoyuk region was established as an excavation site in the 1960s when archaeology was still not considered a "science". This situation has at least been altered today to include archaeology as a para-science. The use of scientific analysis techniques has contributed to the shift in thinking. In the 1960s, Catal Hoyuk's excavations were far removed from scientific methods. For example, archaeologists did not sift the soil, use phosphate analysis or conduct Carbon-14 dating methods. Basically, the excavations of this period were the process of quickly moving large amounts of soil from one area to another.

Despite the use of these methods, many works of art and statues have been dicovered. The Catal Hoyuk site gained international interest because it has yielded highly crafted artefacts and complex dwellings. Also it is the first established city to have employed the exchange of goods with distant regions. The first ornamented pottery, metal works and large animal grazing was undertaken here. There are other factors which have created international interest in Catal Hoyuk. Objects of art and the valued position of women have also contributed to this settlements' significance. There are many questions which have arisen from this settlement; Was this a matriarchal society? Were the paintings on the walls the source for the designs on kilims? If much earth was not excavated, as in the 1960s, perhaps so many wall paintings and other objects would not have been found. Mellaart's excavation is an important measurement for the answers to the many questions. It is only with the use of sophisticated technology that the questions that arise can be hoped to be answered.

In 1995, an international group began new excavations in the region while Mellaart found houses with ritual areas in them. The soil being at a level of 50 microns was carefully sifted. During this process, fish vertebae were found. It is understood that the platform on which the vertebrae were found was used to process the fish in some way. Micromorphological analysis has shown that animals were penned in this area for the collection of their droppings. Osteological tests on the remains of human skeletons suggests that the people of Catal Hoyuk were not great cereal eaters but relied mainly on meat and perhaps legumes.

When considered in the light of the technology used, such as, DNA tests on the skeletons, oil analysis and isotopic tests carried out on utensils found can we appreciate the level of commitment and importance given to the excavation. Perhaps the most important scientific step is the protection of the wall paintings. At the University of Pennsylvania, research is being conducted on methods of long term protection and storage of the wall paintings.

For scientific and safe-guarding analysis to continue, the European Union has partially funded the set up a laboratory near the excavation site. It is planned that the laboratory will be used by archaeologists fron Turkey and other Mediterranean countries; in particular by archaeometry specialists and also used for the purposes of education. The development of scientific research at Catal Hoyuk is anticipated to be a permanent feature in which archaeological questions can be examined with greater perspective.

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In the Konya Lowlands, in the south of Central Anatolia, Catal Hoyuk is one of the Near East's most important prehistoric archaeological areas. During the 1960s, James Mellaart's excavations, which were carried out over four seasons, discovered a series of important features related to the Neolithic Age around 6200 - 5500 B.C.. Among the discoveries were platforms used as divans embellished with the horns of bulls, sunken stone seats and wall paintings which highlight the richness of elements used in the decoration of houses. The wall paintings with their geometric designs also depict groups of people hunting animals, the flesh of headless humans being devoured by giant vultures and what appears to be a volcanic eruption. Among these Neolithic dwellings simple vessels, obsidian tools and statues of what is interpreted as being a Mother Goddess have been found. The abundance of ritual objects in the excavation site led Mellaart to suggest that this section of settlement was religious.

Since Mellaart's work, excavations in Turkey and neighbouring countries are being compared with the findings in Catal Hoyuk. In 1993, under the guidance of Dr. Ian Hodder from Cambridge University and the chairman of the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, Roger Matthews' management, a new area of work was begun. For three seasons the site work has been under progress and is expected to continue for several years. Surface findings of pieces of utensils and other objects have been carefully gathered and led to new discoveries; for example, fixing the boundaries of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantinian settlements. Future excavation sites have also been determined. Last season, areas with adjoining Neolithic structures have begun to be excavated.

A two room Neolithic dwelling is currently being excavated. It is thought that one of the rooms was used for at least two different purposes over a period of time. The remnants of a partition wall have been found on one of the walls. The partition is visible by slight protrusions in the wall which have been covered with a thin layer of red plaster. In this room a stove and an ox's horn embedded in the wall have been found. In the other room, a stone divan covered in a thick layer of white plaster has also been found. This dwelling on the north of the hill carries many similarities with the ones that Mellaart has been excavating even though there is a marked distance between them. It is now considered that all the buildings of Catal Hoyuk are of similar kind, with an array of wall paintings and plastered raised platforms used as divans.

Catal Hoyuk's continued excavations in the new year are hoped to provide a gleaming light on Anatolia and the Near East's significant Neolithic era.

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Around 6000 B.C., in Europe and in particular Anatolia, it is purported that women reigned supreme in religion, law and custom. Female sovereignity is thought to have ended with the development of using metals for the making of weapons.
Is this possible? Is it likely that during a period of history that is not well known that women were once the sovereigns? Lithuanian-American historian, Marija Gimbutas, says "yes". According to Marija, prior to today's male dominated society, especially during 6000 B.C., it was likely that a society where women were the dominant sex existed. That period was perhaps one where Mother Goddess' ruled. In the world of archeology and ethnology, there is no evidence to suggest that humankind ever experienced this kind of period. Despite this, Marija Gimbutas is adamant that period existed. In her 1989 text, Goddess' Language, Marija attempts to prove this.

During prehistoric times, it is known that the female form was prefered far more in the making of statues. This is also true of the Palaeolithic, and later, periods. In archaeology, innumerable Venus statues have been found while only a handful of Adonis statues have been found. 30,000 year old cave paintings depict female genitalia. The primary object of Neolithic art was also the female form. In Anatolia and Europe - the cradle of civilisation - statues and paintings of women have been found. Men appear to have been pushed aside, perhaps planning their dominance over the world.

In an excavation project that Marija Gimbutas participated in, she describes how they discovered a temple which contained groups of fifteen fired clay statues, from 6000 B.C., of women. In the west of Ukrania, a temple from 5000 B.C. was found with thirty-two female statues. Also, in Moldivia, a statue, belonging to 4000 B.C., of a pregnant woman clasping her belly was discovered. The most important support for Marija Gimbutas' thesis came from a finding in Catal Hoyuk. On the hills of Catal Hoyuk, an alter and temple from 7000 - 6000 B.C. were discovered. On the walls are paintings depicting hunting and burial scenes. The paintings also show large vultures observing a group of headless men. In the alter and temple a number of statues of overweight women were found. In one of the temples a grain container yielded a 12 cm statue of a large woman sitting on a throne with two leopards on either side of her. The statue depicts the woman giving birth, with the head of the baby visible. Apart from leopards and vultures, bulls also are found at the side of the Mother Goddess. On wall paintings only the heads of bulls are depicted.

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The oldest known woven material is known to have been from 7200 B.C.. It is estimated that it was used to wrap cleansed corpses with before a burial ceremony. In the late Neolithic Age, it became tradition to dress the dead in cotton clothing. This evolved to today's use of cotton. During the years 8000 B.C., the beginning of economic wealth created an earnest cultural transformation for Neolithic settlements. In central Anatolia and surrounding regions, with its roots reaching to the Paleolithic period, the motifs of Mother Goddess cults depict a wealth of visual expression. The remnants of Catal Hoyuk's walls also find meaning in this form of visual expression, as well as paintings which bear great resemblance to the designs on woven material. It is thought that during the same period when Neolithic settlement was spreading that patterned woven material was used on a daily basis. It is a shame that examples of this material have not survived to this date. It is only with the findings in Catal Hoyuk of fired clay seals, that it is thought that they were used for printing designs on skeletons and material.

Even though the woven materials of the time have not survived, with their drawings and traditions we can still trace them today. The adornings on Catal Hoyuk's walls with their abstract figures can almost be perceived as being identical to that of Anatolian kilims. Over time, there must have been some form of cross influence between these wall paintings and patterned woven material. The figures on typical wall paintings are still found on the kilims of many regions of Anatolia. The most important figure being of the Mother Goddess.
Like the wall paintings, leopards and vultures can be found on kilims along side the Mother Godesss or independently. What has interested Mellaart is the possibility of wall paintings being influenced by kilims. In several identical wall paintings, the methods of weaving and making knots is clearly visible. Also, some of these specimens make up a complete kilim. According to Mellaart, during the Neolithic period, the inhabitants of Catal Hoyuk hung kilims on their walls just like the ones depicted in their wall paintings. The sketches of wall paintings found by Mellaart's team show a surprising similarity to kilims made today. What points to the inhabitants of Catal Hoyuk using kilims as wall decorations is the unexpected blanks on some of the walls and the existence of tiny holes in the area. While these findings demonstrate that culture is continuous, Catal Hoyuk's excavations may be a key to finding out more about today's cults and the elements of culture.

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