12.02.2024
6 Dakika
Living in huge cities with buildings that seem to touch the clouds, where millions of people live together and where all aspects of life are intertwined, has become commonplace for us today. The countless institutions that regulate social life, the complex administrative systems, the social hierarchies, the different cultural moods and the many other factors that shape our complex society... All of this seems commonplace to us, as if it has always existed, since the beginning of time. However, there must be a point in time when all of this began; a point where it emerged and gradually took shape over the millennia, much like a rock that has been eroded by the elements over time. So, there must be a place where we can find answers to the question of how this "spectacle" began, where we can observe its impressive transformation, a place that is preserved like a snapshot frozen in time.
It is not surprising that such a place exists in a region like Türkiye, which is home to some of the oldest artifacts of human development. We are talking about the Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük in the South Anatolian Plateau, 52 kilometers from the city center of Konya. Çatalhöyük, with its remains dating from 7400 BC to 5200 BC, is precisely the place where this imaginary concept is realized. The people who settled here in the Neolithic period created a remarkable, unique city. They also left behind artifacts in various fields such as architecture, urban planning, socio-economics, religion and art, from which we can gain insights. Let us explore together what awaits us Çatalhöyük is considered the earliest example of comprehensive urban organization and has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List due to its numerous features.
Discovered in 1958 by a group of British archaeologists, Çatalhöyük contains two separate mounds that summarize a 2,000-year span of humankind's journey on earth: the West Mound and the East Mound. Today, these two mounds are protected by bunkers, with the East Mound dating back to an earlier time. During excavations, the remains of one of the largest known settlements from the Neolithic period were found here.
In this city, which was founded by our ancestors 9,000 years ago, the houses were built back-to-back, with no streets in between. These single-storey, rectangular houses were entered and exited through holes in the roofs, which were accessible via ladders. It is generally believed that this unique layout at Çatalhöyük reflects the ideal of equality between people in the Neolithic period. There is no design that indicates a hierarchy in the structures.
Although there are some differences between the houses built of mud brick, wood and reed, a common architectural pattern prevails. These houses usually consist of a central room, the main living area, surrounded by one or two smaller rooms used for storage or other purposes. The central rooms also have raised platforms, which were probably used for activities such as sleeping. A notable feature of the houses at Çatalhöyük is the presence of tombs beneath these platforms. This suggests that our Neolithic ancestors wanted their loved ones close by and even buried them directly under their sleeping place...
Another fascinating aspect of the East Mound is that the houses were dug into the ground after their use and new houses were built on top of them, a practice that continued for 18 layers. While the exact reason for this is not known, it is possible that our Neolithic ancestors wanted to preserve their entire past underground, similar to the way they hid their deceased loved ones under their beds.
Are these houses, whose modest floor plans suggest that functionality was paramount, ordinary structures that were only used for shelter and the maintenance of vital activities? The decorative patterns, consisting of geometric motifs and meticulously drawn depictions on the whitewashed walls of the houses, suggest the opposite. The inhabitants of Çatalhöyük decorated their houses with "artistic" marks thousands of years ago or left them on the walls of their houses for reasons still unknown. In addition, the reliefs of the main goddess found in Çatalhöyük indicate the existence of a powerful belief system to which the people of that time were connected, a belief system that also shaped subsequent eras in Anatolia.
The settlement in the region was moved to the western areas at a later date for an unknown reason. The presence of Chalcolithic remains from the period between 6200 and 5200 BC with 13 building layers on the West Mound indicates that the practice of filling abandoned houses with earth and building new houses on top continued. However, the houses here are both two-storey and more independent, and there are no traces of burial traditions. The artistic understanding is based on the same figures, but has shifted from mural painting to pottery.
Many artifacts found during Çatalhöyük excavations, such as everyday objects and mother goddess figurines, are on display at the Konya Archaeological Museum. Don't forget to visit the remains in the museum to complete your visit to the Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük, where you'll witness the surprising adventure of our ancestors who transitioned to sedentarization with agriculture. If you're curious about the unique experience that the Çatalhöyük Neolithic City offers you, we'd like to remind you that you can watch the "Uncovering: Çatalhöyük" video on the YouTube channel of the Turkish Museum.
