Recent bioarchaeological analyses at the Neolithic Anatolian site of Çatalhöyük have revealed con... more Recent bioarchaeological analyses at the Neolithic Anatolian site of Çatalhöyük have revealed considerable variation in skeletal completeness, preservation, articulation, and flexion among burials. Furthermore, organic remains from burnt contexts demonstrate that many bodies were tightly bound and wrapped using cordage, matting, textile, and animal hides. Some of the observed variation is suggestive of a period of delay between death and final burial for certain individuals, likely as part of a multi-stage funerary rite, perhaps seasonal in nature. It appears that some bodies may have been processed in such a way as to facilitate their temporary storage prior to burial. We examined bone samples from 57 Çatalhöyük individuals using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging techniques to determine whether specific funerary treatments can be associated with specific patterns of microstructural preservation. As endogenous gut bacteria released into the body at the onset of putrefaction are believed by some researchers to be responsible for particular patterns of microscopical focal destruction (MFD) observed in cortical bone, the lack of such bio-erosive features has been used to infer anthropogenic treatments aimed at reducing soft tissue body mass. A previous study of skeletal material from Çatalhöyük claimed to identify bacterial bioerosion in rib thin sections but did not make use of SEM. In the present study, our analyses reveal limited evidence for bacterial MFD, which highlights the fact that standard light microscopy is insufficient for properly documenting microbial bioerosion. While there is a range of variation among other taphonomic variables observed in the current study, it is difficult to associate this variability with specific human interventions. Furthermore, the complex role of local environmental and depositional factors must also be taken into account. As such, caution must be taken when using the presence/absence of bioerosion in human bone alone to assess ancient funerary practices.
The use of wood, dung and other biomass fuels can be traced back to early prehistory. Whilst the ... more The use of wood, dung and other biomass fuels can be traced back to early prehistory. Whilst the study of prehistoric fuel use and its environmental impacts is well established, there has been little investigation of the health impacts this would have had, particularly in the Neolithic period, when people went from living in relatively small groups, to living in dense settlements. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, is one of the earliest large ‘pre-urban’ settlements in the world. In 2017 a series of experiments were conducted to measure fine particulate (PM 2.5) emissions during typical fuel burning activities, using wood and dung fuel. The results indicate that both fuels surpassed the WHO and EU standard limits for indoor air quality, with dung fuel being the highest contributor for PM 2.5 pollution inside the house, producing maximum values >150,000 μg m. Maximum levels from wood burning were 36,000 μg m. Average values over a 2-3 hour period were 13-60,000...
Peopling the Landscape of Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 2009-2017 Seasons, 2021
The latest research on funerary practices at Neolithic Çatalhöyük from the final round of publica... more The latest research on funerary practices at Neolithic Çatalhöyük from the final round of publications of the Çatalhöyük Research Project (1993-2017). … Read more
The social organization of the first fully sedentary societies that emerged during the Neolithic ... more The social organization of the first fully sedentary societies that emerged during the Neolithic period in Southwest Asia remains enigmatic, mainly because material culture studies provide limited insight into this issue. However, because Neolithic Anatolian communities often buried their dead beneath domestic buildings, household composition and social structure can be studied through these human remains. Here, we describe genetic relatedness among co-burials associated with domestic buildings in Neolithic Anatolia using 59 ancient genomes, including 22 new genomes from Aşıklı Höyük and Çatalhöyük. We infer pedigree relationships by simultaneously analyzing multiple types of information, including autosomal and X chromosome kinship coefficients, maternal markers, and radiocarbon dating. In two early Neolithic villages dating to the 9th and 8th millennia BCE, Aşıklı Höyük and Boncuklu, we discover that siblings and parent-offspring pairings were frequent within domestic structures, which provides the first direct indication of close genetic relationships among co-burials. In contrast, in the 7th millennium BCE sites of Çatalhöyük and Barcın, where we study subadults interred within and around houses, we find close genetic relatives to be rare. Hence, genetic relatedness may not have played a major role in the choice of burial location at these latter two sites, at least for subadults. This supports the hypothesis that in Çatalhöyük and possibly in some other Neolithic communities, domestic structures may have served as burial location for social units incorporating biologically unrelated individuals. Our results underscore the diversity of kin structures in Neolithic communities during this important phase of sociocultural development.
The Odd, the Unusual, and the Strange: Bioarchaeological Explorations of Atypical Burials, 2020
Çatalhöyük is most well-known for its Neolithic and Chalcolithic occupations, but the site also s... more Çatalhöyük is most well-known for its Neolithic and Chalcolithic occupations, but the site also served as a cemetery during the Bronze Age, as well as the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods. During the Neolithic, Çatalhöyük was both a settlement and a cemetery, with the dead buried under the floors of houses. In later periods, however, the site appears to have been used exclusively for burials. This paper discusses several examples of non-normative/irregular burials at Çatalhöyük, including ones characterized by spatial segregation, unconventional body positioning, orientation and grave inclusions. We examine two Neolithic burials: one of a mature male buried with a sheep and another of a young male with a congenital deformity; a Roman period double burial with an atypical grave orientation, and an isolated twentieth-century burial of a woman from the local village of Küçükköy, which represents the last known burial at the site. Osteobiographical information and sociocultural context are used to assess the significance of each burial. In addition to outlining the social and biological factors that influence the funerary treatment of individuals within a particular cultural context, we also question how normative and non-normative burials are defined in the archaeological record.
The use of human teeth for ornamental purposes is archaeologically documented from the European U... more The use of human teeth for ornamental purposes is archaeologically documented from the European Upper Palaeolithic, and, sporadically, during the subsequent Mesolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. To date, no examples of this practice are available for the Near East during this time frame. This contribution presents three human teeth from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (Central Anatolia, Turkey; 7100–6000 cal BC) that appear to have been modified for use as pendants. Macroscopic, microscopic and radiographic analyses confirm the modification and use of two out of three of these finds. The two confirmed pendants were likely extracted from the skeletonised remains of mature and old adults, carefully drilled, and worn for a variable period of time. The rarity of such artefacts in the prehistoric Near East suggests a profound symbolic meaning for this practice and these objects, and provides new insights into the funerary customs and symbolic importance of the use of human body parts during the Neolithic of the Near East.
The early village at Çatalhöyük (7100-6150 BC) provides important evidence for the Neolithic and ... more The early village at Çatalhöyük (7100-6150 BC) provides important evidence for the Neolithic and Chalcolithic people of central Anatolia. This article reports on the use of lipid biomarker analysis to identify human coprolites from midden deposits, and microscopy to analyse these coprolites and soil samples from human burials. Whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) eggs are identified in two coprolites, but the pelvic soil samples are negative for parasites. Çatalhöyük is one of the earliest Eurasian sites to undergo palaeoparasitological analysis to date. The results inform how intestinal parasitic infection changed as humans modified their subsistence strategies from hunting and gathering to settled farming.
The retrieval and re-deposition of elements of the human skeleton, especially the skull (i.e., cr... more The retrieval and re-deposition of elements of the human skeleton, especially the skull (i.e., cranium and man-dible), is a common feature of Neolithic Near Eastern funerary practices. A complicated sequence of subfloor inhumations involving both primary and secondary burial treatments at Çatalhöyük demonstrates the range of funerary practices encountered at the site and elsewhere in the Neolithic Near East. This particular sequence of burials culminated in a stratigraphically verified case of post-inhumation skull removal from a primary intra-mural inhumation. However, the retrieval of crania and skulls from primary burials cannot account for the total number of re-deposited crania and skulls found in a variety of depositional contexts at the site. Based on increasing evidence for an extended interval between death and burial at Çatalhöyük, the removal and circulation of skulls from unburied bodies as part of a multi-stage funerary rite is proposed as another method for obtaining them, operating in parallel with their retrieval from primary intramural burials. These divergent practices, and the range of contexts from which secondarily deposited skeletal elements are recovered, reflect multiple funerary treatments and intentions likely tied to social distinctions that remain poorly understood. In order to begin to fully understand the social and cosmological meaning(s) of the Neolithic "skull cult, " however, we must first distinguish between what are essentially equifinal processes in the archaeological record. This work will involve careful attention to the spatiotemporal contexts in which isolated skeletal elements are found, in addition to meticulous osteological and taphonomic analyses of the bones themselves.
The project 3D-Digging at Çatalhöyük started in 2009-10 as on site digital experiment with the sc... more The project 3D-Digging at Çatalhöyük started in 2009-10 as on site digital experiment with the scope to digitally record in 3 dimension every phase of excavation in different areas of the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, using different technologies such as laser scanning and image-based modeling. The final goal of the project is to make the excavation process virtually reversible in a simulation environment at different levels, from tablet and laptop computers to immersive visualization systems. In the last two years the project focused on two main documentation levels: macro-scale (area-wide survey of the whole East mound including North and South shelters) by laser scanning; micro-scale (the Neolithic house B89) by image-based modeling. All the burials discovered on the East Mound are also systematically documented in 3D via image-based modeling technique (Photoscan and MeshLab); all the data generated through this digital documentation process is eventually integrated in GIS format (ArcGIS, QGIS). Indeed, the entire excavation on the East mound is recorded in 3D and georeferenced in the same virtual space in the site’s GIS. The project has also introduced 3D stereo visualization systems during the archaeological fieldwork in order to interact with 3D directly on site. In 2012 the introduction of tablet PCs has also contributed to reconfigure the documentation process introducing digital drawing, field notes, mapping and 2D documentation in a digital format compatible with the site’s GIS and database directly in the trench. Ultimately, the use of 3D technologies on site both as teaching and research aids as long with the post processing and implementation of all the fieldwork data in an integrated collaborative visualization systems generate a new digital workflow for archaeological interpretation.
The vast majority of primary burials at Neolithic C ¸ atalhöyük (Central Anatolia, Turkey, 7100–6... more The vast majority of primary burials at Neolithic C ¸ atalhöyük (Central Anatolia, Turkey, 7100–6000 cal BC) are recovered from beneath house floors, with burials in external spaces extremely rare. Excavations at C ¸ atalhöyük in 1998 brought to light a young adult male buried in a midden (a burial location observed so far for only 4 out of 440 individuals), showing a suite of pathological features affecting the entire skeleton. The observed pathological changes include perimortem and antemortem fractures, proliferative and resorptive areas, thinning of the bone cortex, and localized areas of disorganized spongy bone invaded by fibrous tissue. We propose a differential diagnosis by considering a set of conditions: Paget's disease, osteomyelitis, hyperparathyrhoidism, Ollier's disease, fibrosarcoma, and fibrous dysplasia. The severity and distribution of the observed skeletal changes are consistent with a diagnosis of polyostotic fibrous dysplasia, a possibly debilitating and disfiguring condition. This, together with an unusual depositional context, may suggest a socially-mediated reaction to this individual's infirmity.
During the Neolithic, mortuary practices in the Near East sometimes involved intramural burial an... more During the Neolithic, mortuary practices in the Near East sometimes involved intramural burial and often some type of removal or caching of the bony elements of the head. Reports of defleshing are described in the literature, but there is little published evidence for other surface modifications of human remains. In his 1960s publications on the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük, James Mellaart proposed that individuals were defleshed by vultures prior to intramural interment. This hypothesis was predominantly based on the discovery of wall paintings of large rap-torial birds hovering over headless bodies, coupled with the various states of disarticulation of many of the human remains excavated on site, including 'headless' bodies (those missing the cranium and mandible), as well as isolated crania and other skeletal elements. Despite these observations, subsequent osteological analysis has failed to show definitive taphonomic evidence of such practices. However, current forensic work on human decomposition has shed new light on the effects of vulture defleshing on human remains. Initial results indicate that vultures are adept at soft tissue removal, defleshing a body in a matter of hours over the course of several visits. Moreover, the skeleton can be left largely articulated (at least initially) and display limited skeletal marks from the defleshing process. In light of these recent taphonomic studies , the possibility of vulture defleshing at Çatalhöyük is re-visited here. In many subfloor burials, body position, skeletal articulation, and skeletal completeness are consistent with a taphonomic signature of defleshing prior to interment. Furthermore, defleshing would have facilitated body part removal and may have been necessary for intramural interments. This re-assessment of mortuary treatments at Çatalhöyük may provide a new way of evaluating the skeletal assemblage at the site and can serve as a model for the interpretation of vulture iconography in the ancient Near East.
A programme of archaeological investigation took place on Fin Cop hillfort, in the Derbyshire Pea... more A programme of archaeological investigation took place on Fin Cop hillfort, in the Derbyshire Peak District, during the summers of 2009 and 2010. In total fifty test-pits and eight trenches were excavated, revealing evidence for a Mesolithic quarry site, and sporadic evidence for Neolithic and Beaker period activity. An assemblage of Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age ceramics was recovered from the interior of the fort in association with rock-cut pits testifying to occupation of the hilltop prior to the construction of the hillfort rampart. The hillfort rampart construction took place in the period 435–390 cal. BC (68% probability) and was destroyed before its completion, probably by the mid-fourth century cal. BC, when large numbers of women and children were disposed of in the ditch together with the demolition material from the fort’s wall. The defensive character of the monument and the evidence for a violent end to the site appear to indicate, on current evidence, that the fort was sacked.
The project “3D-Digging at Çatalhöyük” started in 2009 as an on-site digital experiment to record... more The project “3D-Digging at Çatalhöyük” started in 2009 as an on-site digital experiment to record every phase of an archaeological excavation in 3D, using different technologies such as laser scanning, computer vision, and photogrammetry. The end goal was to make the excavation process virtually reversible in a simulated environment from laptop computers to 480 THEME 6 virtual immersive systems. Since the beginning, when the 3D recording project was initiated, the Çatalhöyük GIS geodatabase has been used as the main repository and display space for the Computer Vision (CV) data captured on site. During the course of excavations, georeferenced CV and laser scanning models are imported to the GIS geodatabase and integrated with other spatially related data, equally stored and arranged in the geodatabase. The ability of GIS of integrating, displaying and analyzing diverse data sets within a single environment makes them an ideal tool for facilitating archaeological interpretation and the optimal place for 3D data to be used in the interpretation process. 3D interaction and visualization allow very detailed analyses of all the stratigraphic relations in the 3D space and a more advanced reconstruction of all the archaeological excavations. In short, all the process can raise new research questions.
The bioarchaeological record of human remains viewed in the context of ecology, subsistence, and ... more The bioarchaeological record of human remains viewed in the context of ecology, subsistence, and living circumstances provides a fundamental source for documenting and interpreting the impact of plant and animal domestication in the late Pleistocene and early to middle Holocene. For Western Asia, Ç atalhöyük (7100-5950 cal BC) in central Anatolia, presents a comprehensive and contextualized setting for interpreting living circumstances in this highly dynamic period of human history. This article provides an overview of the bioarchaeology of Ç atalhöyük in order to characterize patterns of life conditions at the community level, addressing the question, What were the implications of domestication and agricultural intensification, increasing sedentism, and population growth for health and lifestyle in this early farming community? This study employs demography, biogeochemistry, biodistance analysis, biomechanics, growth and development, and paleopathology in order to identify and interpret spatial and temporal patterns of health and lifestyle under circumstances of rapid population growth and aggregation and changing patterns of acquiring food and other resources. The record suggests that the rapid growth in population size was fueled by increased fertility and birthrate. Although the household was likely the focus of economic activity, our analysis suggests that individuals interred in houses were not necessarily biologically related. Predictably, the community employed resource extraction practices involving increased mobility. Although oral and skeletal indicators suggest some evidence of compromised health (e.g. elevated subadult infection, dental caries), growth and development of juveniles and adult body size and stature indicate adjustments to local circumstances.
Recent bioarchaeological analyses at the Neolithic Anatolian site of Çatalhöyük have revealed con... more Recent bioarchaeological analyses at the Neolithic Anatolian site of Çatalhöyük have revealed considerable variation in skeletal completeness, preservation, articulation, and flexion among burials. Furthermore, organic remains from burnt contexts demonstrate that many bodies were tightly bound and wrapped using cordage, matting, textile, and animal hides. Some of the observed variation is suggestive of a period of delay between death and final burial for certain individuals, likely as part of a multi-stage funerary rite, perhaps seasonal in nature. It appears that some bodies may have been processed in such a way as to facilitate their temporary storage prior to burial. We examined bone samples from 57 Çatalhöyük individuals using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging techniques to determine whether specific funerary treatments can be associated with specific patterns of microstructural preservation. As endogenous gut bacteria released into the body at the onset of putrefaction are believed by some researchers to be responsible for particular patterns of microscopical focal destruction (MFD) observed in cortical bone, the lack of such bio-erosive features has been used to infer anthropogenic treatments aimed at reducing soft tissue body mass. A previous study of skeletal material from Çatalhöyük claimed to identify bacterial bioerosion in rib thin sections but did not make use of SEM. In the present study, our analyses reveal limited evidence for bacterial MFD, which highlights the fact that standard light microscopy is insufficient for properly documenting microbial bioerosion. While there is a range of variation among other taphonomic variables observed in the current study, it is difficult to associate this variability with specific human interventions. Furthermore, the complex role of local environmental and depositional factors must also be taken into account. As such, caution must be taken when using the presence/absence of bioerosion in human bone alone to assess ancient funerary practices.
The use of wood, dung and other biomass fuels can be traced back to early prehistory. Whilst the ... more The use of wood, dung and other biomass fuels can be traced back to early prehistory. Whilst the study of prehistoric fuel use and its environmental impacts is well established, there has been little investigation of the health impacts this would have had, particularly in the Neolithic period, when people went from living in relatively small groups, to living in dense settlements. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, is one of the earliest large ‘pre-urban’ settlements in the world. In 2017 a series of experiments were conducted to measure fine particulate (PM 2.5) emissions during typical fuel burning activities, using wood and dung fuel. The results indicate that both fuels surpassed the WHO and EU standard limits for indoor air quality, with dung fuel being the highest contributor for PM 2.5 pollution inside the house, producing maximum values >150,000 μg m. Maximum levels from wood burning were 36,000 μg m. Average values over a 2-3 hour period were 13-60,000...
Peopling the Landscape of Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 2009-2017 Seasons, 2021
The latest research on funerary practices at Neolithic Çatalhöyük from the final round of publica... more The latest research on funerary practices at Neolithic Çatalhöyük from the final round of publications of the Çatalhöyük Research Project (1993-2017). … Read more
The social organization of the first fully sedentary societies that emerged during the Neolithic ... more The social organization of the first fully sedentary societies that emerged during the Neolithic period in Southwest Asia remains enigmatic, mainly because material culture studies provide limited insight into this issue. However, because Neolithic Anatolian communities often buried their dead beneath domestic buildings, household composition and social structure can be studied through these human remains. Here, we describe genetic relatedness among co-burials associated with domestic buildings in Neolithic Anatolia using 59 ancient genomes, including 22 new genomes from Aşıklı Höyük and Çatalhöyük. We infer pedigree relationships by simultaneously analyzing multiple types of information, including autosomal and X chromosome kinship coefficients, maternal markers, and radiocarbon dating. In two early Neolithic villages dating to the 9th and 8th millennia BCE, Aşıklı Höyük and Boncuklu, we discover that siblings and parent-offspring pairings were frequent within domestic structures, which provides the first direct indication of close genetic relationships among co-burials. In contrast, in the 7th millennium BCE sites of Çatalhöyük and Barcın, where we study subadults interred within and around houses, we find close genetic relatives to be rare. Hence, genetic relatedness may not have played a major role in the choice of burial location at these latter two sites, at least for subadults. This supports the hypothesis that in Çatalhöyük and possibly in some other Neolithic communities, domestic structures may have served as burial location for social units incorporating biologically unrelated individuals. Our results underscore the diversity of kin structures in Neolithic communities during this important phase of sociocultural development.
The Odd, the Unusual, and the Strange: Bioarchaeological Explorations of Atypical Burials, 2020
Çatalhöyük is most well-known for its Neolithic and Chalcolithic occupations, but the site also s... more Çatalhöyük is most well-known for its Neolithic and Chalcolithic occupations, but the site also served as a cemetery during the Bronze Age, as well as the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods. During the Neolithic, Çatalhöyük was both a settlement and a cemetery, with the dead buried under the floors of houses. In later periods, however, the site appears to have been used exclusively for burials. This paper discusses several examples of non-normative/irregular burials at Çatalhöyük, including ones characterized by spatial segregation, unconventional body positioning, orientation and grave inclusions. We examine two Neolithic burials: one of a mature male buried with a sheep and another of a young male with a congenital deformity; a Roman period double burial with an atypical grave orientation, and an isolated twentieth-century burial of a woman from the local village of Küçükköy, which represents the last known burial at the site. Osteobiographical information and sociocultural context are used to assess the significance of each burial. In addition to outlining the social and biological factors that influence the funerary treatment of individuals within a particular cultural context, we also question how normative and non-normative burials are defined in the archaeological record.
The use of human teeth for ornamental purposes is archaeologically documented from the European U... more The use of human teeth for ornamental purposes is archaeologically documented from the European Upper Palaeolithic, and, sporadically, during the subsequent Mesolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods. To date, no examples of this practice are available for the Near East during this time frame. This contribution presents three human teeth from Neolithic Çatalhöyük (Central Anatolia, Turkey; 7100–6000 cal BC) that appear to have been modified for use as pendants. Macroscopic, microscopic and radiographic analyses confirm the modification and use of two out of three of these finds. The two confirmed pendants were likely extracted from the skeletonised remains of mature and old adults, carefully drilled, and worn for a variable period of time. The rarity of such artefacts in the prehistoric Near East suggests a profound symbolic meaning for this practice and these objects, and provides new insights into the funerary customs and symbolic importance of the use of human body parts during the Neolithic of the Near East.
The early village at Çatalhöyük (7100-6150 BC) provides important evidence for the Neolithic and ... more The early village at Çatalhöyük (7100-6150 BC) provides important evidence for the Neolithic and Chalcolithic people of central Anatolia. This article reports on the use of lipid biomarker analysis to identify human coprolites from midden deposits, and microscopy to analyse these coprolites and soil samples from human burials. Whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) eggs are identified in two coprolites, but the pelvic soil samples are negative for parasites. Çatalhöyük is one of the earliest Eurasian sites to undergo palaeoparasitological analysis to date. The results inform how intestinal parasitic infection changed as humans modified their subsistence strategies from hunting and gathering to settled farming.
The retrieval and re-deposition of elements of the human skeleton, especially the skull (i.e., cr... more The retrieval and re-deposition of elements of the human skeleton, especially the skull (i.e., cranium and man-dible), is a common feature of Neolithic Near Eastern funerary practices. A complicated sequence of subfloor inhumations involving both primary and secondary burial treatments at Çatalhöyük demonstrates the range of funerary practices encountered at the site and elsewhere in the Neolithic Near East. This particular sequence of burials culminated in a stratigraphically verified case of post-inhumation skull removal from a primary intra-mural inhumation. However, the retrieval of crania and skulls from primary burials cannot account for the total number of re-deposited crania and skulls found in a variety of depositional contexts at the site. Based on increasing evidence for an extended interval between death and burial at Çatalhöyük, the removal and circulation of skulls from unburied bodies as part of a multi-stage funerary rite is proposed as another method for obtaining them, operating in parallel with their retrieval from primary intramural burials. These divergent practices, and the range of contexts from which secondarily deposited skeletal elements are recovered, reflect multiple funerary treatments and intentions likely tied to social distinctions that remain poorly understood. In order to begin to fully understand the social and cosmological meaning(s) of the Neolithic "skull cult, " however, we must first distinguish between what are essentially equifinal processes in the archaeological record. This work will involve careful attention to the spatiotemporal contexts in which isolated skeletal elements are found, in addition to meticulous osteological and taphonomic analyses of the bones themselves.
The project 3D-Digging at Çatalhöyük started in 2009-10 as on site digital experiment with the sc... more The project 3D-Digging at Çatalhöyük started in 2009-10 as on site digital experiment with the scope to digitally record in 3 dimension every phase of excavation in different areas of the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, using different technologies such as laser scanning and image-based modeling. The final goal of the project is to make the excavation process virtually reversible in a simulation environment at different levels, from tablet and laptop computers to immersive visualization systems. In the last two years the project focused on two main documentation levels: macro-scale (area-wide survey of the whole East mound including North and South shelters) by laser scanning; micro-scale (the Neolithic house B89) by image-based modeling. All the burials discovered on the East Mound are also systematically documented in 3D via image-based modeling technique (Photoscan and MeshLab); all the data generated through this digital documentation process is eventually integrated in GIS format (ArcGIS, QGIS). Indeed, the entire excavation on the East mound is recorded in 3D and georeferenced in the same virtual space in the site’s GIS. The project has also introduced 3D stereo visualization systems during the archaeological fieldwork in order to interact with 3D directly on site. In 2012 the introduction of tablet PCs has also contributed to reconfigure the documentation process introducing digital drawing, field notes, mapping and 2D documentation in a digital format compatible with the site’s GIS and database directly in the trench. Ultimately, the use of 3D technologies on site both as teaching and research aids as long with the post processing and implementation of all the fieldwork data in an integrated collaborative visualization systems generate a new digital workflow for archaeological interpretation.
The vast majority of primary burials at Neolithic C ¸ atalhöyük (Central Anatolia, Turkey, 7100–6... more The vast majority of primary burials at Neolithic C ¸ atalhöyük (Central Anatolia, Turkey, 7100–6000 cal BC) are recovered from beneath house floors, with burials in external spaces extremely rare. Excavations at C ¸ atalhöyük in 1998 brought to light a young adult male buried in a midden (a burial location observed so far for only 4 out of 440 individuals), showing a suite of pathological features affecting the entire skeleton. The observed pathological changes include perimortem and antemortem fractures, proliferative and resorptive areas, thinning of the bone cortex, and localized areas of disorganized spongy bone invaded by fibrous tissue. We propose a differential diagnosis by considering a set of conditions: Paget's disease, osteomyelitis, hyperparathyrhoidism, Ollier's disease, fibrosarcoma, and fibrous dysplasia. The severity and distribution of the observed skeletal changes are consistent with a diagnosis of polyostotic fibrous dysplasia, a possibly debilitating and disfiguring condition. This, together with an unusual depositional context, may suggest a socially-mediated reaction to this individual's infirmity.
During the Neolithic, mortuary practices in the Near East sometimes involved intramural burial an... more During the Neolithic, mortuary practices in the Near East sometimes involved intramural burial and often some type of removal or caching of the bony elements of the head. Reports of defleshing are described in the literature, but there is little published evidence for other surface modifications of human remains. In his 1960s publications on the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük, James Mellaart proposed that individuals were defleshed by vultures prior to intramural interment. This hypothesis was predominantly based on the discovery of wall paintings of large rap-torial birds hovering over headless bodies, coupled with the various states of disarticulation of many of the human remains excavated on site, including 'headless' bodies (those missing the cranium and mandible), as well as isolated crania and other skeletal elements. Despite these observations, subsequent osteological analysis has failed to show definitive taphonomic evidence of such practices. However, current forensic work on human decomposition has shed new light on the effects of vulture defleshing on human remains. Initial results indicate that vultures are adept at soft tissue removal, defleshing a body in a matter of hours over the course of several visits. Moreover, the skeleton can be left largely articulated (at least initially) and display limited skeletal marks from the defleshing process. In light of these recent taphonomic studies , the possibility of vulture defleshing at Çatalhöyük is re-visited here. In many subfloor burials, body position, skeletal articulation, and skeletal completeness are consistent with a taphonomic signature of defleshing prior to interment. Furthermore, defleshing would have facilitated body part removal and may have been necessary for intramural interments. This re-assessment of mortuary treatments at Çatalhöyük may provide a new way of evaluating the skeletal assemblage at the site and can serve as a model for the interpretation of vulture iconography in the ancient Near East.
A programme of archaeological investigation took place on Fin Cop hillfort, in the Derbyshire Pea... more A programme of archaeological investigation took place on Fin Cop hillfort, in the Derbyshire Peak District, during the summers of 2009 and 2010. In total fifty test-pits and eight trenches were excavated, revealing evidence for a Mesolithic quarry site, and sporadic evidence for Neolithic and Beaker period activity. An assemblage of Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age ceramics was recovered from the interior of the fort in association with rock-cut pits testifying to occupation of the hilltop prior to the construction of the hillfort rampart. The hillfort rampart construction took place in the period 435–390 cal. BC (68% probability) and was destroyed before its completion, probably by the mid-fourth century cal. BC, when large numbers of women and children were disposed of in the ditch together with the demolition material from the fort’s wall. The defensive character of the monument and the evidence for a violent end to the site appear to indicate, on current evidence, that the fort was sacked.
The project “3D-Digging at Çatalhöyük” started in 2009 as an on-site digital experiment to record... more The project “3D-Digging at Çatalhöyük” started in 2009 as an on-site digital experiment to record every phase of an archaeological excavation in 3D, using different technologies such as laser scanning, computer vision, and photogrammetry. The end goal was to make the excavation process virtually reversible in a simulated environment from laptop computers to 480 THEME 6 virtual immersive systems. Since the beginning, when the 3D recording project was initiated, the Çatalhöyük GIS geodatabase has been used as the main repository and display space for the Computer Vision (CV) data captured on site. During the course of excavations, georeferenced CV and laser scanning models are imported to the GIS geodatabase and integrated with other spatially related data, equally stored and arranged in the geodatabase. The ability of GIS of integrating, displaying and analyzing diverse data sets within a single environment makes them an ideal tool for facilitating archaeological interpretation and the optimal place for 3D data to be used in the interpretation process. 3D interaction and visualization allow very detailed analyses of all the stratigraphic relations in the 3D space and a more advanced reconstruction of all the archaeological excavations. In short, all the process can raise new research questions.
The bioarchaeological record of human remains viewed in the context of ecology, subsistence, and ... more The bioarchaeological record of human remains viewed in the context of ecology, subsistence, and living circumstances provides a fundamental source for documenting and interpreting the impact of plant and animal domestication in the late Pleistocene and early to middle Holocene. For Western Asia, Ç atalhöyük (7100-5950 cal BC) in central Anatolia, presents a comprehensive and contextualized setting for interpreting living circumstances in this highly dynamic period of human history. This article provides an overview of the bioarchaeology of Ç atalhöyük in order to characterize patterns of life conditions at the community level, addressing the question, What were the implications of domestication and agricultural intensification, increasing sedentism, and population growth for health and lifestyle in this early farming community? This study employs demography, biogeochemistry, biodistance analysis, biomechanics, growth and development, and paleopathology in order to identify and interpret spatial and temporal patterns of health and lifestyle under circumstances of rapid population growth and aggregation and changing patterns of acquiring food and other resources. The record suggests that the rapid growth in population size was fueled by increased fertility and birthrate. Although the household was likely the focus of economic activity, our analysis suggests that individuals interred in houses were not necessarily biologically related. Predictably, the community employed resource extraction practices involving increased mobility. Although oral and skeletal indicators suggest some evidence of compromised health (e.g. elevated subadult infection, dental caries), growth and development of juveniles and adult body size and stature indicate adjustments to local circumstances.
The emergence of social inequality in the human past is the subject of long-running debates among... more The emergence of social inequality in the human past is the subject of long-running debates amongst archaeologists and anthropologists. Social evolutionary narratives that posit a unilineal increase in social inequality and complexity from the end of the Palaeolithic to the emergence of early state societies are being increasingly challenged, yet they are difficult to dispel. They are based in large part on the historical context in which archaeology and anthropology emerged as disciplines in the modern West. This legacy has come under sustained critique, leading scholars to question not just the social evolutionary underpinnings, but our definitions of social inequality as well. Recent research has not only problematized the idea that hunter-gatherers were consistently egalitarian during the Palaeolithic, but also whether social inequality was present in Neolithic and subsequent societies and how it manifested itself.
Given these critiques, archaeologists and anthropologists must rethink how social inequality should be identified and approached by considering the specific circumstances and conditions under which fluid and flexible forms of hierarchy may emerge and how they may have become more permanent and lasting. The transition to agriculture in Southwest Asia and its arrival in Europe is still seen as a key moment that may have engendered the establishment of more permanent and strict social hierarchies. There is now increasing evidence, however, that various forms of social difference may have existed well before the emergence of fully sedentary agropastoralist societies.
This session invites papers focusing on a wide spectrum of material correlates associated with social inequality in the archaeological record between the Late Upper Paleolithic and Early Bronze Age such as funerary practices, resource abundance, demography, settlement patterns etc.
Excavations conducted between 2007 and 2013 at the Ptolemaic-Roman cemetery site at Quesna, locat... more Excavations conducted between 2007 and 2013 at the Ptolemaic-Roman cemetery site at Quesna, located in the western Delta of Egypt, have revealed the skeletal remains of 151 individuals. During these excavations, two individuals buried with above average stature and completely unfused epiphyses were discovered in separate burials. One individual was interred in a mudbrick tomb containing additional, non-affected decedents. The other was interred discretely in an unusual position in relation to other burials in the cemetery, and with a large number of funerary amulets. In this presentation we propose and evaluate two potential etiologies for the observed osteological conditions: one genetic, involving disruption of normal endocrinal functions, and the other cultural, involving the excision of the testes (i.e. castration) at an early age. An exploration of the skeletal and historical evidence for the presence of eunuchs in Ancient Egypt is also presented. Regardless of the etiology, however, these individuals would likely have appeared sexually ambiguous in life, and this presumably had far-reaching social implications involving gender roles, identity and mortuary treatment.
This paper presents the results of a spatiotemporal study of a burnt building at the site of Çata... more This paper presents the results of a spatiotemporal study of a burnt building at the site of Çatalhöyük, South Central Turkey. Burnt structures are interesting on the site because of the unusual pattern of deposition of material culture at the final point of closure, as well as the potential for extraordinary preservation of organic remains not usually found elsewhere on the site. Using Building 77 (B.77) as a case study we have integrated specialist data relating to the material culture found in the final burning event, and its earlier occupation sequence, into a temporally enabled version of an intra-site GIS.
This experimental appending of stratigraphic temporal data onto the spatial data is an unusual and innovative way to articulate space in time. Through the study and analysis of the material culture in relation to its spatiotemporal context we hope to gain some insight into the social identity of the building’s residents throughout the life cycle of the structure. We use spatiotemporal animations to present the results of this collaborative study as a type of ‘visual biography’, more dynamic and nuanced than conventional phasing, that might be used to underpin and illustrate a social narrative of the building.
The cultural use of pigments in human societies is associated with ritual activities and the crea... more The cultural use of pigments in human societies is associated with ritual activities and the creation of social memory. Neolithic Çatalhöyük (Turkey, 7100-5950 cal BC) provides a unique case study for the exploration of links between pigments in burials, demographic data and colourants in contemporary architectural contexts. This study presents the first combined analysis of funerary and architectural evidence of pigment use in Neolithic Anatolia and discusses the possible social processes underlying the observed statistical patterns. Results reveal that pigments were either applied directly to the deceased or included in the grave as a burial association. The most commonly used pigment was red ochre. Cinnabar was mainly applied to males and blue/green pigment was associated with females. A correlation was found between the number of buried individuals and the number of painted layers in the buildings. Mortuary practices seem to have followed specific selection processes independent of sex and age-at-death of the deceased. This study offers new insights about the social factors involved in pigment use in this community, and contributes to the interpretation of funerary practices in Neolithic Anatolia. Specifically, it suggests that visual expression, ritual performance and symbolic associations were elements of shared long-term socio-cultural practices.
Western Anatolia has been a crucial yet elusive element in the Neolithic expansion from the Ferti... more Western Anatolia has been a crucial yet elusive element in the Neolithic expansion from the Fertile Crescent to Europe. Using 30 new palaeogenomes from Anatolia c.8000-6000 BCE we describe the early Holocene genetic landscape of Western Anatolia, which reveals population continuity since the late Upper Pleistocene. Our findings indicate that the Neolithisation of Western Anatolia in the 7 th millennium BCE was a multifaceted process, characterised by the assimilation of Neolithic practices by indigenous groups and the influx of populations from the east, their admixed descendants eventually laying the foundations of Neolithic Southeast Europe. Intriguingly, the observed diversity in material culture among Aegean Early Neolithic communities correlates with their geographical distances but not their genetic differences, signifying a decoupling between cultural developments and genetic admixture processes. .
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Papers by Scott D Haddow
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Neolithic and Beaker period activity. An assemblage of Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age ceramics was recovered from the interior of the fort in association with rock-cut pits testifying to
occupation of the hilltop prior to the construction of the hillfort rampart. The hillfort rampart
construction took place in the period 435–390 cal. BC (68% probability) and was destroyed before its completion, probably by the mid-fourth century cal. BC, when large numbers of women and children were disposed of in the ditch together with the demolition material from the fort’s wall. The defensive character of the monument and the evidence for a violent end to the site appear to indicate, on current evidence, that the fort was sacked.
excavation in 3D, using different technologies such as laser scanning, computer vision, and photogrammetry.
The end goal was to make the excavation process virtually reversible in a simulated environment from laptop computers to
480
THEME 6
virtual immersive systems. Since the beginning, when the 3D recording project was initiated, the Çatalhöyük GIS geodatabase
has been used as the main repository and display space for the Computer Vision (CV) data captured on site. During the
course of excavations, georeferenced CV and laser scanning models are imported to the GIS geodatabase and integrated
with other spatially related data, equally stored and arranged in the geodatabase. The ability of GIS of integrating, displaying
and analyzing diverse data sets within a single environment makes them an ideal tool for facilitating archaeological
interpretation and the optimal place for 3D data to be used in the interpretation process. 3D interaction and visualization
allow very detailed analyses of all the stratigraphic relations in the 3D space and a more advanced reconstruction of all the
archaeological excavations. In short, all the process can raise new research questions.
… Read more
Neolithic and Beaker period activity. An assemblage of Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age ceramics was recovered from the interior of the fort in association with rock-cut pits testifying to
occupation of the hilltop prior to the construction of the hillfort rampart. The hillfort rampart
construction took place in the period 435–390 cal. BC (68% probability) and was destroyed before its completion, probably by the mid-fourth century cal. BC, when large numbers of women and children were disposed of in the ditch together with the demolition material from the fort’s wall. The defensive character of the monument and the evidence for a violent end to the site appear to indicate, on current evidence, that the fort was sacked.
excavation in 3D, using different technologies such as laser scanning, computer vision, and photogrammetry.
The end goal was to make the excavation process virtually reversible in a simulated environment from laptop computers to
480
THEME 6
virtual immersive systems. Since the beginning, when the 3D recording project was initiated, the Çatalhöyük GIS geodatabase
has been used as the main repository and display space for the Computer Vision (CV) data captured on site. During the
course of excavations, georeferenced CV and laser scanning models are imported to the GIS geodatabase and integrated
with other spatially related data, equally stored and arranged in the geodatabase. The ability of GIS of integrating, displaying
and analyzing diverse data sets within a single environment makes them an ideal tool for facilitating archaeological
interpretation and the optimal place for 3D data to be used in the interpretation process. 3D interaction and visualization
allow very detailed analyses of all the stratigraphic relations in the 3D space and a more advanced reconstruction of all the
archaeological excavations. In short, all the process can raise new research questions.
Given these critiques, archaeologists and anthropologists must rethink how social inequality should be identified and approached by considering the specific circumstances and conditions under which fluid and flexible forms of hierarchy may emerge and how they may have become more permanent and lasting. The transition to agriculture in Southwest Asia and its arrival in Europe is still seen as a key moment that may have engendered the establishment of more permanent and strict social hierarchies. There is now increasing evidence, however, that various forms of social difference may have existed well before the emergence of fully sedentary agropastoralist societies.
This session invites papers focusing on a wide spectrum of material correlates associated with social inequality in the archaeological record between the Late Upper Paleolithic and Early Bronze Age such as funerary practices, resource abundance, demography, settlement patterns etc.
This experimental appending of stratigraphic temporal data onto the spatial data is an unusual and innovative way to articulate space in time. Through the study and analysis of the material culture in relation to its spatiotemporal context we hope to gain some insight into the social identity of the building’s residents throughout the life cycle of the structure. We use spatiotemporal animations to present the results of this collaborative study as a type of ‘visual biography’, more dynamic and nuanced than conventional phasing, that might be used to underpin and illustrate a social narrative of the building.