Excerpt: The Great Archaeological Discoveries -- Pt. 10: Çatalhöyük
Historiansplaining: A historian tells you why everything you know is wrongShow Notes
On Patreon for patrons only for 1 year: It is the only large town that has ever been discovered from the Stone Age, making it one of the most important archaeological finds of all time and a critical prize in the heated debates that have divided the field of archaeology. Its striking artworks have fired the imagination, and its extensive ruins, copious burials, and rich grave goods have filled in massive gaps in the story of the origins of civilization, illustrating how the invention of agriculture and the “Neolithic Revolution” made cities and urban life possible. Yet it also remains a stubborn mystery: why are the houses all so identical? Why are there no public buildings or gathering places, or even streets? And why did the town spring up in the middle of a muddy and malarial plain?
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Suggested Further Reading: Mellaart, “Catal Huyuk: A Neolithic Town in Anatolia”; Balter, “The Goddess and the Bull”; Newitz, “Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age”; Ian Hodder, “Becoming a Çatalhöyük Person: An Integration of the Evidence,” lecture,
Image: The “Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük,” discovered in 1961
Music: Rameau, "Les Cyclopes", performed by Paul Barton for Feurich
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