The Goddess and the Bull : Çatalhöyük: An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilization

Veteran science writer Michael Balter skillfully weaves together many threads in this fascinating book about one of archaeology's most legendary sites— Çatalhöyük. First excavated forty years ago, the site is justly revered by prehistorians, art historians, and New Age goddess worshippers alike for its spectacular finds dating almost 10,000 years ago. Archaeological maverick Ian Hodder, leader of the recent re-excavation at this Turkish mound, designated Balter as the project's biographer. The result is a skillful telling of many stories about both past and present: of the inhabitants of Neolithic Çatalhöyük and the development of human creativity and ingenuity, as revealed in the recent excavation; of James Mellaart, the original excavator, whose troubles off the mound eventually overshadowed his incisive work at the site; of Hodder and his intense, brilliant crew who marveled and squabbled over the meaning of finds in dusty trenches while attempting to reintepret Mellaart's work; and of the recent history of the theory and methods of archaeology itself. Part story of the human past, part soap opera of modern scholarly life, part textbook on the practice of modern archaeology, this book should appeal to general readers and archaeological students alike. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 8 Preface to the Paperback Edition 10 Introduction 16 1. “It’s Neolithic” 22 2. A Prehistoric Art Gallery 36 3. The Dorak Affair 51 4. Ian Hodder 70 5. Reurn to Çatalhöyük 89 6. On the Surface 106 7. At the Trowel’s Edge 130 8. Dear Diary 149 9. The Neolithic Revolution 172 10. The Domesticated Human 188 11. Fault Lines and Homecomings 211 12. Burning Down the House 233 13. “Always Momentary, Fluid and Flexible” 251 14. The Long Season 267 15. ’Till Death Us Do Part 287 16. Taming the Wild 307 17. The Goddess and the Bull 324 Epilogue 346 Notes 354 Bibliography 384 Acknowledgments 398 Index 402 Takes you inside the trenches of one of the world's most important archaeological excavations and the biggest prehistoric village ever discovered: 9,500 year old Catalhoeyuek, in south-central Turkey. This book details the dramatic quest by archaeologists to unearth the buried secrets of this spectacularly well-preserved early farming settlement.