Catalhoyuk, Turkey case study

• Catalhoyuk is located in Turkey, in the Konya Plain, 250km south of Ankara.
• It is a Neolithic settlement.
• It is thought that the earliest date is 7,400BC and the latest 6,200BC both of which are calibrated dates.
• It could be seen as an example of rescue archaeology of the lower part because there is falling water table which when it falls could stop the preservation of the site as it is.

The Buildings

• There are 13 layers of occupation debris suggesting that houses were built on top of each other when they were broken/destroyed.
• It is thought that people may have walked across the top of the buildings to get around.
• It is also thought that people would have got into the houses by climbing down through the roof.
• Each house was generally occupied for 70-100 years.
• The buildings were small, densely packed and rectangular.
• It is thought that the roof may also have been used for domestic use.
• There is a lack of rubbish in the rooms and therefore it makes it hard to establish the room use. It is thought that the houses were completely cleared out at the end of its life.
• The interiors of the houses tended to follow the same plan of a kitchen area to the south side of the room, a fireplace, a food storage area, and oven and a raised platform on the north side which may have been used for sitting…