THE CATAL HOYUK COMPUTER SEARCH

http://www.smm.org/catal/
Complete the following:
Introduction
1. What is Catal Hoyuk and how old is the place?
Catal Hoyuk is a site that has remains of a Neolithic town. It’s 8000-10000 years old.

2. What does Catal Hoyuk mean and where is it located?

Catal Hoyuk means “forked town”. It is located in central Turkey.

3. Why are archeologists studying Catal Hoyuk today?

It’s the remains of a Neolithic town. They’re studying it to be able to know more about
the people and how they lived.

4. Who is James Mellaart?

James Mellaart is the man who started the excavations. He originally had to
stop digging at the site but began years later.
Activities
Explore the activities associated with Catal Hoyuk and answer the following questions:

5. Which section of the website did you most enjoy exploring? Why?
The cooking game. I love to cook. It made me gain more knowledge of what they eat
on a daily basis. It was also fun because it was like you were actually cooking from a
virtual perspective, of course.

6. What surprised you the most about Catal Hoyuk as you explored the activities?
How similar we were to the Neolithic people.
We still eat the foods they eat. They had house just like us. They were of course not
as modernized, but other than that, we’re really similar.

7. List 5 facts about the housing in Catal Hoyuk.

The houses were enclosed.

The houses were basic and small.

Some people shared fireplaces with their neighbors.

Houses were like huts.

They were small houses made of mud and stone.

 8. Explain the process describing how Catal Hoyuk earned its name? (In other
words, what process led to its current name?)

Catal Hoyuk got its name because of their mounds that came from the Catal Hoyuks
building and rebuilding their mud brick houses.

9. What were they eating in Catal Hoyuk?

Meat, fruits, and water.

10. Using the timeline, place these events in chronological order:

a) Catal Hoyuk civilization- 4
b) Lascaux cave paintings created- 1
c) The Great Pyramids are built- 5
d) The Last Ice Age - 2
e) Jericho Settlement- 3
f) James Mallaart discovers Catal Hoyuk-7
g) The first Olympic Games - 6
h) The wheel is invented. -8

11. What nearby river supported life in Catal Hoyuk? From where did it originate?

The Carsamba river. The river flows downhill. It originated in the Tarus mountains.

12. What was the Alluvial Fan?

Where there was lots of fertile soil and thriving vegetation. To sum it up, the Alluvial Fan
was the fertile soil around the Carsamba River.

Comics
13. Read three of the Comics. Tell me which ones you read and what you learned from
each.

1) The burial.

They were very careful with their dead. They didn’t stuff the body in the hole, instead
they gently placed the baby down on it’s back in a curled up formation. I also learned that
they decorated the body with bracelets and beads.

2) The goddess.

They worshipped a goddess. I learned that they had religion with them. They worshipped
something or someone similar to a god.

3) The daggers.

The daggers they used had handles that could signify animals or people. The ends were
different. Some were stone and some were copper. I learned that it is a mystery how the
dagger was used.

Mysteries
14. Select three mysteries. Briefly describe each mystery and tell me what
conclusions you made about each mystery.

The burial mystery was not very mysterious. It was about how the Neolithic people were
buried. They were placed in a fetal position. Some mothers were found to have children
in their arms. They were buried on mats.

There dinner was based off of meat and grains. They used spices and herbs. They showed
us what they ate and let us virtually create a meal.

The last one was clay balls.

Clay balls were supposed to warm water up.

Artifacts
15. Explore the artifacts page. Write a brief description for each of the following
Catal Hoyuk artifacts.

Murals: Murals are drawings made with berries. The picture signify things.

Human Remains: Human remains are the bones of past humans from long ago.

Pottery: Pottery is an object made with clay. Clay can be found underground.

Obsidian: Obsidian is a dark material used for weapons.

Animal Bones: Animal bones are the remains of animals.

Figurines: Figurines are impressions of people made with non-living material.

Chipped Stone Tools: Chipped stone tools are made out of pieces of grain and material
compacted to make a tool. It is mixed with stone.

Worked Bone: A worked bone is a bone is carved into different objects.

Ground Stone Tool: A ground stone tool is made by carving stone into a tool shape.

The Archaeological Process

16. Which job would be of greatest interest to you? Explain why.

Conservation.

They shield and protect the artifacts. They also observe the surroundings to make sure
everything is okay. It would be fun to protect the precious artifacts.

17. Why were the dead buried under the floor?

That was actually a common practice in the ancient world. No one can really say with
certainty because there may have been more than one reason for it. One common
suggestion was that it was to keep the family circle intact, so to speak, but Catalhuyuk
blew that out of the water because they determined that the people buried under the
floor weren't related, which raises even more question.

18. What are some theories behind the uses for the clay balls found at Catal Hoyuk?

Some theories behind clay balls are that they were used for slingshot to hunt animals. Another
theory was it was used for cooking. Also, researchers used high-tech equipment and 3D
modelling to look inside the balls and found that they contained tokens in a variety of geometric
shapes. It is possible that the shapes conveyed numbers used in counting different types of
products which were exchanged. If that's the case, it may be possible to crack the code by
uncovering how token types cluster and vary.
TOUR
19. Take one of the virtual tours. Report your impressions.

Student Opinion
20. If you were suddenly forced to live in Catal Hoyuk today, what would be your
greatest adjustment?

If I was suddenly forced to live in Catal Hoyuk today, my greatest adjustment would be
the cooking. You have to walk out of the house to get water and the food is very different.
Also, I can’t cook. I’ve been to an African simulation in Florida. We had to fetch water.
They way they lived is really similar to most African lifestyles now.