Published today in Science, the study was conducted by archaeologists and biological anthropologists from the Çatalhöyük Research Project, led by Ian Hodder, in collaboration with a genetics team from the Department of Biological Sciences at the Middle East Technical University (METU) and the Department of Anthropology at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey. The team analyzed the DNA of 400 skeletons excavated from the UNESCO World Heritage site, which was occupied between 7000 and 9000 years ago. Their findings illuminate genetic relationships among the buried individuals and offer new insights into longstanding debates about gender and kinship in ancient societies. Hundreds of skeletons of all ages and sexes have been discovered beneath the floors of domestic structures at the site.
When Çatalhöyük was first excavated in the 1960s, it generated excitement with its abundant female figurines. The site was one of the world’s earliest full-time farming communities and appeared to represent an egalitarian social order.
A communal type of family?
The team made a surprising discovery while examining genetic ties among individuals buried in the same homes. “In early Çatalhöyük, burials often involved biologically related individuals. But in later periods, people buried together were frequently not genetically related,” explains Eren Yüncü, a postdoctoral researcher at METU.
“So we asked whether these individuals had also lived together, and we found that their diets were similar. That suggests they were closely connected during life,” adds co-author Elifnaz Eker, a graduate student at METU.
“Non-biological kinship and inclusive households are not uncommon in human societies,” says archaeologist and anthropologist Camilla Mazzucato, a study co-author currently based in Turin, Italy.
Matriarchies vs. Patriarchies
Çatalhöyük’s prominent female figurines, with their full-bodied forms and commanding poses, have long inspired theories of Neolithic matriarchies in Anatolia. This contrasts with increasing evidence of male-dominated social structures in Neolithic and Bronze Age Europe. “Elite burials are often male. In some settlements, boys were given more meat. Archaeogenetic studies also show that many of these societies were patrilocal. Men stayed in their native villages, while women moved out,” explains METU MSc student and co-author Muhammed Sıddık Kılıç.
Maternal connections in Çatalhöyük houses
So how did Çatalhöyük compare? “We found that genetic links within buildings were largely through women, mainly mothers,” says Kılıç. “This suggests that women tended to remain in their childhood homes into adulthood, while men left. "It is the opposite of the European pattern,” adds Yüncü.
Gifts for the girls
Another striking finding came from the analysis of burial goods associated with infants and children. Ayça Doğu, a PhD student at METU, examined the distribution of items such as beads, bracelets, bowls, baskets, pigments, and stone tools. “We were stunned. Baby girls received five times more grave goods than boys, across all time periods. No one expected this,” she reports.
Hard work for change
The findings suggest that the community of Çatalhöyük followed many female-centered customs. The powerful female figurines may reflect this cultural orientation. Graduate student Merve Nur Güler highlights how distinct this is from the male-oriented Neolithic societies of Europe, which themselves trace their origins to Anatolia.
This research brought together 47 experts, including geneticists, archaeologists, and biological anthropologists, from Turkey and 10 other countries over the course of 12 years. One of the co-authors, Damla Kaptan, who worked on the project as a postdoctoral researcher at METU, emphasized the intensity of the lab work: “Without a lab robot, processing 400 skeletons involves an enormous amount of manual labor,” she said.
For more please visit: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adr2915