Çatalhöyük (English: Chatalhoyuk; /ˌtʃɑːtɑːlˈhuːjʊk/; Turkish pronunciation: [tʃaˈtaɫhœjyc]; also spelled Çatal Höyük and Çatal Hüyük; from Turkish "çatal" meaning "fork" and "höyük" meaning "mound") is a large mound formed by human activity over many years. It is an ancient settlement from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods in southern Anatolia. The settlement existed from about 7500 BC to 5600 BC and was most active around 7000 BC. Çatalhöyük is located near the Konya Plain, southeast of the modern city of Konya (ancient Iconium) in Turkey, about 140 km (87 miles) from Mount Hasan, a volcano with two cone-shaped peaks. It is known for its large size, a social structure that appears to have been equal among people, and its importance as a well-preserved example of early Neolithic human settlements.
In July 2012, Çatalhöyük was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Archaeology
The site of Çatalhöyük includes two mounds separated by an old riverbed that no longer carries water.
The site was discovered in 1958 by British archaeologist James Mellaart during a survey of the Konya Plain. Mellaart later led excavations there from 1961 to 1965. These excavations showed that this area of Anatolia was a center of a highly developed society during the Neolithic period. The work uncovered 18 layers of buildings, each representing different stages of the settlement and historical periods. Some experts strongly suggest that certain wall paintings and drawings of figurines, used in other studies, were not real but created by Mellaart.
Mellaart was banned from Turkey due to his role in the Dorak affair, where he published drawings of Bronze Age artifacts that later disappeared. After this event, the site was not studied for many years until 1993, when British archaeologist Ian Hodder, then at the University of Cambridge, began new excavations. Hodder’s work continued until 2018. The first two seasons focused on surface surveys, with actual digging starting in 1995. Hodder, who had studied under Mellaart, selected the site to test his theory of post-processual archaeology. The project has always focused on using digital tools and methods, such as computer technology and community involvement, to study the site.
At the Western Mound, where Mellaart had only dug two small areas in 1961, Jonathan Last and Catriona Gibson excavated in 1998. In 2006, two teams began work on the Western Mound: one led by Burçin Erdoğu and the other by Peter Biehl and Eva Rosenstock. Excavations at the site are now led by Ali Umut Türkcan from Anadolu University.
In August 2025, archaeologists led by Prof. Dr. Arkadiusz Marciniak from Poznań University discovered a structure called the “House of the Dead” or “Spiritual House.” The building contained the remains of 20 people buried beneath the floor, suggesting it was used for rituals. The discovery also included a large ceremonial building with painted walls and 14 platforms, as well as a smaller building covered in plaster.
Artifacts from the Neolithic layers at the site include textiles, which are rare in early settlements. Most were found in burial areas, often burned and broken. Many stone tools, mostly made of obsidian, were discovered, including blades, flakes, projectile points, scrapers, daggers, and sickle blades. Neolithic skeletons were also found, many from burials inside the walls of buildings or from secondary burials, where remains were moved after death. Over 2,500 clay figurines, mostly of animals and 187 of humans, have been uncovered. These figurines were only partially fired, not fully baked.
Culture
Çatalhöyük was made up only of homes, with no clear public buildings. Some larger rooms had beautiful paintings on the walls, but the purpose of other rooms is still unknown.
Early estimates said the population was between 5,000 and 7,000 people. Later studies, using new ideas about how homes were arranged and data about how buildings were used, suggest that about 600 to 800 people lived at Çatalhöyük East during the Middle phase (6700–6500 BC). Genetic research from 2025 shows that families were organized based on matrilocality and matrilineality, meaning homes were passed from mothers to daughters.
The site had many homes grouped closely together. People relied on neighbors for help, trade, and marriage. Homes were made of mudbrick and packed tightly in a maze-like pattern. No streets or footpaths connected the homes, which were clustered like a honeycomb. Most homes were entered through holes in the ceiling or side doors, reached by ladders or stairs. Roofs acted as streets, and the ceiling openings were the only way smoke from fires escaped.
Inside homes, plastered walls and raised platforms were common. These areas may have been used for daily tasks. Most homes had two rooms for cooking and crafting, with hearths and ovens on the south wall. All walls and platforms were covered with smooth plaster. Smaller rooms were used for storage and accessed through low openings.
Homes were kept very clean. Archaeologists found little trash inside, but middens (waste areas) outside the ruins held sewage, food waste, and ash from burning wood, reeds, and animal dung. In good weather, people may have done daily tasks on rooftops, which may have been used as a shared space. Later, large communal ovens were built on rooftops. Over time, homes were rebuilt on top of rubble, creating the mound. Up to eighteen layers of homes have been found.
People buried their dead inside the village. Human remains were found under floors, hearths, platforms, and beds. Early burials included family members, but later burials had more unrelated individuals, suggesting changes in family structure. Bodies were bent tightly and placed in baskets or wrapped in reed mats. Some graves had disarticulated bones, which may have been left outside before being buried. In some cases, skulls were removed and possibly used in rituals, as some were found elsewhere. A woman’s grave had spinning tools, and a man’s grave had stone axes. Some skulls were painted with ochre, a practice seen in other Neolithic sites. Male bodies were decorated with cinnabar, while female bodies were associated with azurite and malachite.
Bright paintings and figurines are found throughout the settlement. Clay figurines of women, like the Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük, were found in upper levels. Although no temples have been found, graves, murals, and figurines suggest a religion with symbolic meaning. Rooms with many of these items may have been shrines or meeting places. Common images include men with erect phalluses, hunting scenes, red paintings of extinct aurochs and stags, and vultures attacking headless figures. Carved images, such as lionesses facing each other, are also found on walls.
Animal heads, especially from cattle, were mounted on walls. A painting of the village with Hasan Dağ’s twin peaks in the background is often called the world’s oldest map and first landscape painting. However, some archaeologists, like Stephanie Meece, argue it may instead show a leopard skin and a decorative design, not a map.
Religion
A feature of Çatalhöyük is its female figurines. Mellaart, the first archaeologist to study the site, believed these carefully made figurines, carved from materials like marble, limestone, schist, calcite, basalt, alabaster, and clay, represented a female deity. A male deity also existed, but statues of the female deity are much more common. After a certain layer of the site, called Level VI, no male deity statues were found. So far, eighteen layers have been identified. These figurines were mostly found in areas Mellaart thought were shrines. One statue shows a goddess sitting on a throne with two lionesses beside her. It was found in a grain bin, which Mellaart suggested might have been a way to protect the food supply or ensure a good harvest.
Mellaart studied nearly 200 buildings over four seasons. Ian Hodder, the current archaeologist, spent an entire season studying just one building. In 2004 and 2005, Hodder and his team found that some of Mellaart’s ideas were incorrect. They discovered only one figurine similar to the Mother Goddess style Mellaart described. Most figurines did not look like the Mother Goddess. Hodder said the site shows little evidence of a society led by men or women.
The figurines have full breasts with hands resting on them, and the stomach is rounded in the center. There is a hole at the top where the head is missing. When turned around, the arms are very thin, and the back shows a clear image of bones, possibly a skeleton or a very thin person. The ribs, spine, shoulder blades, and hip bones are visible. This figurine might represent a woman becoming an ancestor, a woman connected to death, or a symbol of life and death together. The lines on the body might show wrapping instead of bones. This figurine is unique and could change how people understand Çatalhöyük’s society and its art. It is possible that female images were linked to death as much as to roles like motherhood.
In an article in the Turkish Daily News, Hodder said Çatalhöyük was not a matriarchal society. He explained that men and women had similar social status and power. He noted that the number of male and female skulls found was almost the same, suggesting equal importance. In another article in the Hürriyet Daily News, Hodder said men and women were treated equally.
In a September 2009 report, Hodder described how Çatalhöyük was first studied in the 1960s with careful methods but without modern science tools. Mellaart, who led the 1960s excavations, had many ideas about the site’s organization and daily life. Since the mid-1990s, new studies have shown different ideas about Çatalhöyük. One well-known idea was that the site was famous for the Mother Goddess. However, recent findings show little evidence of a Mother Goddess or a female-led society. This is one example of how modern science is changing old beliefs.
Lynn Meskell explained that the original excavations found 200 figurines, but new studies have uncovered 2,000. Most of these show animals, and fewer than 5% show women.
Estonian folklorist Uku Masing suggested in 1976 that Çatalhöyük might have been a hunting and gathering society, and the Mother Goddess figurine did not represent a female deity. He thought it might take longer to create symbols for agricultural rituals. His ideas were later written about in the paper "Some remarks on the mythology of the people of Çatal Hüyük."
Economy
Çatalhöyük has strong evidence that people lived in a fair and equal society. No houses with special features, such as those that might belong to leaders or religious groups, have been found. Recent studies also show little difference in social roles between men and women, as both received similar nutrition and seemed to have equal status, similar to earlier Paleolithic cultures. Children watched adults in homes to learn about rituals, building, and making items like statues and beads. The layout of Çatalhöyük may reflect close family relationships. The site shows two groups of people living on opposite sides of the town, separated by a gully. Because no nearby towns were found, this separation likely marked two groups of related families who married within their groups. This could explain how the settlement grew so large.
Pottery and tools made from obsidian were important industries. Obsidian tools were likely used and traded for items like sea shells from the Mediterranean and flint from Syria. Historian Murray Bookchin noted the lack of hierarchy and economic inequality, suggesting Çatalhöyük was an early example of a system where resources were shared equally. However, a 2014 study argued the situation was more complex. While cooking tools and some stone tools were evenly shared, other items like quern-stones and storage units were not. People had personal possessions, but shared tools also existed. The study suggested Çatalhöyük may have become less equal over time, with wealth passing more often between generations.
In the upper layers of the site, evidence shows people were improving skills in farming and raising animals. Early grains found in the Eastern Mound suggest the cultivation of several wheat types, which helped ensure food supplies even if some crops failed. Female figurines were found in storage bins holding cereals like wheat and barley, possibly representing a goddess who protected the grain. Peas, almonds, pistachios, and fruit from nearby hills were also grown. Bread and porridge were made, and dome-shaped ovens were used in early layers of the site.
Remains of cattle and sheep were found, along with signs of animal pens and dung, showing these animals were raised or managed. Protein found on pottery indicates cow milk was consumed at the Western Mound. Hunting remained an important food source, including fish, birds, and small mammals like foxes and hares.
Museum
In 2023, a museum was built on the site by the Konya municipality. In October 2024, a bookshop and a cafe were added to the site. Non-Turkish visitors pay five euros per person to enter. There are many interactive information kiosks, some of which offer information in English and Turkish. Detailed information about the discoveries is available in eight rooms, including an underground model of a typical home used by people 90 centuries ago.