New Insights into Çatalhöyük’s skeletons
The World Heritage Site of Çatalhöyük in southern Anatolia contains the ruins of one of the oldest “cities.” This Neolithic settlement mound flourished about 7,000 BCE. Perhaps 5,000 to 7,000 people lived there. Wall paintings adorn many of the rooms in the tightly clustered mud-brick homes. Residents entered buildings via ladders and holes in the roof. (Photo at top of reconstruction, by Wolfgang Sauber, wiki) The distinctive artwork of Çatalhöyük depicts many animals and human figures. The female figures with distended bellies and breasts were first interpreted as fertility deities, but the full range of evidence over the many excavation years reveals complex ritual beliefs that are hard to pin down. Recent study of Çatalhöyük’s skeletons adds a fascinating layer to what we can discern about their communal practices.
Secondary Funeral Treatment of Bones
These Neolithic people buried their dead inside their homes in pits under the floor. The tightly curled bodies were wrapped in reeds or placed in baskets. Some of the skeletons show traces of paint on the craniums. Community members applied this paint during “secondary funeral” practices. That is, after the original burial, they retrieved some bones for special treatment.
Colorful Bones and Equality of the Sexes
Recent study of these bones by physical anthropologist Marco Milella reveals some tantalizing insights. First, the sex of the dead partially determined which pigment they used. Thus, they used red ochre on the bones of both sexes, but for male skeletons they used cinnabar (reddish) and female they used blue/green pigment. Second, the painted bones indicate skeletons of people valued by the community. Researchers conclude this from the role the bones played by being taken out of initial burial and brought back to “stay” with the community for rituals. Third, this Neolithic community may have been egalitarian. They painted and celebrated with equal numbers of male and female skeletons.
Interior Design and Ritual
The last fascinating detail Milella’s research adds to our understanding of this venerable site pertains to the wall paintings. The number of layers of redone wall paintings corresponds to the number of burials under the floor of these rooms. That is, when they buried someone, they redid the wall paintings. This conclusion gives us a startlingly vivid awareness of the context and purpose of the wall paintings. Down the road, it may lead to new interpretations of this artwork with the voice it brings us from early human life.
Here for a post about the air pollution inside the homes at Çatalhöyük.