Why did humans settle down and start living in cities? What is the relationship between people and things?

Ian Hodder leads the Çatalhöyük Research Project, shedding light on the development of one of the world’s earliest societies, the social and economic organization of the settlement, and the transformation from hunting and gathering to agriculture and civilization. In recent research, he has built theories about how human entanglement with material things draws humans down certain evolutionary and historical pathways while at the same time constraining choices that can be made.

Excavation in TP Connection
Excavation in TP Connection
The TP Connection trench is reopened next to the South Shelter, exposing many late Byzantine burial cuts excavated the previous season.
Local Site Workers at Çatalhöyük
Local Site Workers at Çatalhöyük
Zekeriya, Huseyin and Mevlüt take a break from working in the TP Connection trench.
Site Documentation with Tablets
Site Documentation with Tablets
Maciej assists Selma filling out unit recording sheets as tablets are integrated are integrated into the workflow.
Excavation in South Area
Excavation in South Area
Human remains specialists join the excavators in the South Area to record and lift burials under the floors of building 43.
Site Documentation with Tablets
Site Documentation with Tablets
Kate and Renata fill out records directly into the site database using a tablet.
Excavation Around Building 43
Excavation Around Building 43
The team excavates in the South Area on buildings in multiple levels to better understand the stratigraphy.
Tourists Visiting the South Area
Tourists Visiting the South Area
Tourists regularly visit Çatalhöyük, taking in the many levels of the excavation under the South Shelter.
Excavating Last Traces of Building 77
Excavating Last Traces of Building 77
Burcu and Arek asses a recently exposed burial from Building 77 with Duygu and Allison before it is fully exposed.
Comparing Notes in the North Area
Comparing Notes in the North Area
Arek and Kerim discuss the excavation of a building under the North Shelter while Robert takes note.
First Days at Çatalhöyük 2015
First Days at Çatalhöyük 2015
Clouds over the mound looking towards the North Area and the Dig House
TP Connection Area - 2015 Beginning
TP Connection Area - 2015 Beginning
Çatalhöyük team members inspecting the TP Connection excavation area at the beginning of the 2015 season.
TP Connection Area - 2015 Beginning
TP Connection Area - 2015 Beginning
Çatalhöyük team members inspecting the TP Connection excavation area at the beginning of the 2015 season.
View From The Top at Çatalhöyük
View From The Top at Çatalhöyük
View east towards the mountains across the Konya Plain.
South Area Excavation - 2015 Beginning
South Area Excavation - 2015 Beginning
Looking down over South excavation pre-2015 season
South Area Excavation - 2015 Beginning
South Area Excavation - 2015 Beginning
Looking down over South excavation pre-2015 season
East Mounds at Çatalhöyük
East Mounds at Çatalhöyük
Looking south towards the higher southern East Mound at Çatalhöyük.
Dig House - Çatalhöyük 2015
Dig House - Çatalhöyük 2015
Clouds over the dig house looking through the slope between the North and South areas of the East Mound.
Opening Up South Shelter 2015
Opening Up South Shelter 2015
Today our workmen opened the side panels of the South Shelter as the Çatalhöyük team prepares for the 2015 excavation season.

Çatalhöyük Research Project

Since 1993, Ian Hodder has been directing the international team of archaeologists that is excavating Çatalhöyük, a 9,000-year-old site in Turkey and one of the world’s first urban centers. Thousands of people lived in this large settlement, and the excavations are designed to learn more about the life of its inhabitants and the development of complex social systems, and to place the spectacular art and artifacts from the site in their full environmental, economic, and social context.

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