Çatalhöyük related to
Çumra township of
Konya is one of most important settlements of the
Neolithic Age. This is one of the first urbanized places of not only
Anatolia but of the
Middle East as well..
Çatalhöyük was first discovered by
J. Mellaart in 1958 and a number of excavations were performed in 1961-1963 and 1965. No excavation was done in
Çatalhöyük until 1996. That year the
British Archeology Institute started excavations under the leadership of Ian
Hodder. Since 1993 State of
Art instruments and death devices are made use by Ian Hodder in the excavations so that more concrete and precise data can be obtained.
Çatalhöyük comprises two hills. While one of them dates back to the
Neolithic Age the other displays findings from the
Calcolithic Age. The studies made on the western slope of the hill revealed 13 layers. The earliest settlement in the first layer dates back to 5500 BC. The best known period of urbanization in
Çatalhöyük lie between layers 7 and 11. Houses were adjacent thus there were no streets in the city. The wall pictures were found in layers 10 and 11. The most beautiful and sophisticated ones belong to the seventh and fifth layers. These pictures are the continuation of the tradition started by Paleolithic man who made pictures on cave walls and were believed to bring them luck in hunting. The little figurines found during
Çatakhöyük excavations provide us with new insights about the beginning of the
Mother Goddess cult ( worshipping) and the religious beliefs of the time. These small sculptures made of cooked clay and stone measured 5-15 cm high. Interesting about
Çatalhöyük is that the people who leaved here layed much importance in the interior decoration of their houses. The entrances of the houses were from a hole opening in the roof and inside the house there were sacred places which they decorated with heads of bulls which they deemed sacred. Besides the remains of pots and cups found in
Çatalhöyük houses are the first examples of their kind used in the human history. The models of the mentioned houses and the findings obtained in these houses are displayed in the
Anatolian Civilizations Museum in
Ankara.
