News Archive

Cows at Catalhoyok – University of Reading

Sophisticated scientific techniques have revolutionised the interpretation of evidence from archaeological sites. There has, for instance, been an increasing awareness that archaeological sediments are records of human behaviour and micro-environment. A new internationally funded interdisciplinary project is investigating outstanding developments in early agriculture and human settlement which were accomplished at the large Neolithic site of Catalhoyuk in central Turkey from c7400 to 6,200BC.

Cattle were first domesticated during the lifetime of this settlement. Many of the tightly packed and elaborate buildings were adorned with cattle heads and horns plastered into sculptures on walls; wall paintings of hunting scenes and death, paintings and sculptures of 'Mother Goddesses'. Since the site was excavated in the 1960s many questions have arisen relating to the complexity of this settlement and its rich material culture and early agricultural ecology. Many are being investigated by a team led by Professor Ian Hodder of Cambridge and Stanford Universities.

At Reading's Department of Archaeology, Dr Wendy Mathews is developing microscopic and micro-chemical analysis of traces of activities, since few artefacts are left on floors to indicate what different rooms or areas were used for. She has found that lenses of charred and ashy materials accumulated around ovens, thick layers of packing were laid in storage areas and bins, mud plaster floors and trampled deposits or mat impressions occur in the centre of large rooms and multiple layers of white plaster were applied to walls and raised platforms.

Microscopic analysis of sequences of deposits in large resin-impregnated thin sections is enabling identification of well-defined domestic and ritual activity areas within these complex buildings, as well as roofed animal pens within the heart of the settlement. Reading's interdisciplinary strengths, particularly in soil science, sedimentology and agriculture make it an ideal context in which to develop these studies.

For further details, please contact Sue Rayner or Carol Derham on 0118 378 8004/5 Fax 0118 378 8924.