An Ancient City’s New Find
September 29, 2016
Archaeologists excavating at Çatalhöyük, an ancient town in present-day Turkey, have recently discovered a unique 8,000-year-old figurine buried beneath the floor of a home. The figurine is one of only a few intact (unbroken) examples of such sculptures ever found in the region. The discovery provides a fascinating glimpse into the ritual life among citizens of Çatalhöyük, one of the world’s earliest known cities.
Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Credit: WORLD BOOK map
People lived at Çatalhöyük between about 7,200 and 5,500 B.C., during the Neolithic Period (New Stone Age). During this period, the first farming communities arose in the ancient Middle East. Archaeologists estimate that ancient Çatalhöyük had a population between 5,000 and 10,000 people. Many consider it to be the world’s first true city. The people grew grain and herded sheep and goats. Çatalhöyük is famous for the spectacular art preserved inside the houses. Archaeologists have discovered thousands of small figurines at Çatalhöyük. Many are found broken from sites that appear to be refuse dumps for the town. Almost all of the figurines are fashioned from clay and depict animals, such as antelope, cattle, lions, and leopards. A smaller number of clay figurines are fashioned into human forms, and of these, the vast majority represent females. Human female figures are often depicted with greatly oversized breasts and buttocks, which may represent fertility. Human figurines carved from stone (the newly found figurine is made from marble) are uncommon at the site, and undamaged examples are even more unusual.
Archaeologists with the international Çatalhöyük Research Project discovered the new figurine this summer during excavations at one of the site’s earliest houses. The figurine depicts a woman with exaggerated physical features. It is about 18 inches (45 centimeters) long and carved from a single piece of marble. It weighs about 2 pounds (1 kilogram). The figurine was discovered in a niche (small space) in the floor of a house, covered with a large, flat piece of obsidian (volcanic glassy rock), a valuable stone for the citizens of Çatalhöyük. Archaeologists believe the figurine was intentionally placed in this spot, perhaps as part of a fertility rite or other ritual. They suggest the figurine may represent a mature woman of great wisdom or a family matriarch. Archaeologists believe such wise older women held high social status in Çatalhöyük society.
The site of Çatalhöyük is largely unpopulated today. The remains of the ancient city were covered up long ago. Today, archaeologists continue to excavate and make new discoveries at the site, which exists as two large mounds rising over the surrounding plains. Archaeologists do not fully understand why Çatalhöyük declined toward the end of the 5000’s B.C.
