The Seasonality of Wetland and Riparian Taskscapes at Çatalhöyük

Abstract

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Variable kinship patterns in Neolithic Anatolia revealed by ancient genomes

“…91,92 Wild animal species, including aurochs, also formed part of the diet, and in the later occupation phases (6500-5950 cal BC) there is evidence for the herding of domesticated cattle. 92,93 Between 1993 and 2017 the skeletal remains of over 700 individuals had been recovered from stratified Neolithic contexts at Ç atalhö yü k. 4 Primary inhumations (n = 471 individuals) placed beneath the floors of houses are the dominant burial type at the site. 2,40 Individuals were typically buried in narrow oval pits under the eastern and northern platforms of the central room, although prenates, neonates and infants were also recovered from within side rooms and near ovens and hearths.…”

A microbotanical and microwear perspective to plant processing activities and foodways at Neolithic Çatalhöyük

“…There are reports in Turkey for the collection of these plants for matting and crafting in late autumn and winter [ 192 , 201 – 203 ]. The same temporality can be suggested for Çatalhöyük due to the on-site presence of juvenile micro-mollusks, which may have arrived at the households along with water plant roots, and that show a growing stage that occurs between the end of summer and mid-autumn, [ 74 , 204 ]. This season also coincides with the time of the year when carbohydrates in Typha and Cyperaceae USOs are at the highest levels [ 205 , 206 ], making this the most convenient period for the collection of these plants for both crafting and food.…”

“…Despite that the tools examined represent only a small portion of the whole grinding tools assemblage at the site, our work made evident the wide spectrum of plant resources, both domesticated and wild, that the people of Çatalhöyük were using. The wild plant resources were collected from the different ecological niches present in the surrounding landscape and the gathering of such resources followed a seasonal calendar that took into consideration the labor bottlenecks from the cultivated fields (see also [ 74 ]). These resources were as important as the domesticated ones; they were used as a complement the main diet but they were also utilized as condiments, medicines and for producing crafts.…”

“…During its habitation, the site was located in a highly dynamic and seasonal landscape dominated by the Çarşamba river, which originates in the Taurus Mountains and flows to the north towards the Konya Plain. At Çatalhöyük the river runs through the East (Neolithic) and West (Chalcolithic) mounds forming multiple channels, branches and a combined set of seasonal wetlands, ponds and islands [ 72 – 74 ]. This alluvial landscape provided environmental niches dominated by marshy plants such as reeds ( Phragmites spp.)…”

Holistic approaches to palaeohydrology: Reconstructing and modelling the Neolithic River Çarşamba and the riverscape of Çatalhöyük, Turkey

“…Thirdly, the local relief of islands in the channels combined with the relatively low flood depths across the channel belt would have produced relatively low flow shear stresses, and thus be unlikely to erode plants during the growing periods of crops, and flooding would have been for relatively short periods of time in most years. These interpretations are also compatible for evidence of use of both dry and wet environments in agricultural resources (Bogaard et al, 2021), as well as domesticated and wild animals, and other wild plant resources (Wolfhagen et al, 2020(Wolfhagen et al, , 2021, and the relative locations of riparian and steppe plants (Collins et al, 2018) although to note their interpretation is based on specific locations in De Meester (1970) which have been superseded by the discussions above.…”