Description
This is the story of the 9500 year-old prehistoric village of Catalhoyuk in south-central Turkey, the largest early farming village ever discovered. Catalhoyuk dates from the very origins of civilization, when Paleolithic hunter-gatherers began cultivating the land and settling into permanent communities. The book relates the adventures of controversial British archaeologist James Mellaart, who discovered the site in 1958 and dug it over four seasons in the early 1960s before being kicked out of Turkey by the authorities for his alleged involvement in the celebrated scandal known as "The Dorak Affair." The story picks up again in the early 1990s, when archaeological rebel Ian Hodder returns to Catalhoyuk with a new team and the latest tools of archaeological science. Whereas Mellaart was convinced that a Mother Goddess was worshipped at Catalhoyuk--a claim that has made it the Mecca of the feminist spirituality movement--Hodder's team has somewhat more nuanced ideas about the nature of Neolithic revolution here. In 17 lively and gripping chapters, the author tells the story not only of the archaeological discoveries, but relates the lives of the archaeologists themselves and what drives them to search for the mysteries of the past. And an Epilogue brings readers up to date on the thrilling finds of the 2004 season.
