Posted inStone Age Archaeology

Fewer than 1000 People Lived in Çatalhöyük: Researchers Reassess the Population of Neolithic Villages

A recent interdisciplinary study combining archaeology and ethnography has cast doubt on historical population estimates for Neolithic villages, specifically in Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Historically, it has been claimed that this settlement housed between 3,500 and 10,000 people. However, new research suggests that these numbers are a significant overestimation. Using a review of the distribution of residential […]

Posted inStone Age Archaeology

The inhabitants of Çatalhöyük were already experiencing typically urban problems 9,000 years ago

Around 9,000 years ago, the inhabitants of Çatalhöyük in central Turkey were among the earliest humans to experience some of the dangers of modern urban living. Çatalhöyük was one of the first large agricultural communities in the world and housed between 3,500 to 8,000 people at its peak. New research shows that residents faced overcrowding, […]