ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

1. ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS Life in Neolithic CatalHuyuk

2. high on an upland plain in modern-day Turkey, archeologists have been busy for years uncovering the remains of a Neolithic town • their discoveries give us a peek into the daily lives of people who lived there approximately 8000 years ago • no one knows what these ancient people called their agricultural settlement • situated in south central Turkey, northwest of the Fertile Crescent, it is known today as CatalHuyuk (pronounced “ChatalHooyook,” meaning “Fork Mound”) • the life which Neolithic peoples made for themselves at CatalHuyuk was typical of village living in the ancient Near East around 6500 B.C • homes were constructed from mud bricks dried in the sun • rectangular, not round as at Jericho, these homes did not feature doors, but were entered through a hole in the roof reached by a ladder

3. farming in the fields around CatalHuyuk produced crops of barley, wheat, and field peas • archeologists have uncovered evidence that these fields were irrigated by handmade channels which diverted river water for the thirsty crops • in the surrounding grasslands, the village maintained herds of cattle which provided a ready source of meat, milk, and hides for clothing and storage utensils • not everyone at CatalHuyuk practiced farming and herding • land was so abundant that many people were able to pursue other occupations • craftsmen made tools, weapons, and decorative items from wood, stone, bone, animal skins, and metal • archeological evidence suggests that these ancient people hammered lead ore and copper into jewellery

4. other clues reveal that smiths in this village smelted metal, heating it to temperatures reaching well over 1200 degrees Fahrenheit—quite a trick for such an early settlement • other workers at CatalHuyuk were cloth weavers who made clothing, rugs, and other practical items • in fact, the remnants of cloth found at this ancient Turkish site are some of the oldest discovered by archeologists to date • trade was another important aspect of life at CatalHuyuk • situated near this site is a volcano which provided traders with obsidian, a volcanic glass, which could be sharpened to a razor’s edge and was highly prized by the Hittites

5. in exchange, these ancient businessmen traded for ornamental shells from the Mediterranean Sea and flint from the Far East, which local craftsmen fashioned into ceremonial knives • such trade brought the village of CatalHuyuk into contact with the world • archeologists still remain unclear today about how these people practiced their religion and are uncertain whether a clearly defined class of priests or priestesses, as was common in other Neolithic villages, existed at CatalHuyuk • although life at CatalHuyuk seems primitive by modern standards, this village represented a giant step in creating a world of urban specialists

6. Think About It... • Archeologists and historians generally use three terms to determine whether an ancient culture group had progressed enough to be called a civilization. The three words are cooperation, organization, and specialization. Using a dictionary, define these words on a sheet of paper and describe how the people at CatalHuyuk were accomplishing each. Then, answer this question: Was CatalHuyuk a civilization? Why? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________