Overview

In this book Dr Lilian Dogiama considers the role of hunting at the Neolithic community of Çatalhöyük and its significance in shaping personal and communal identities by focusing on its stone projectile points. Wild faunal remains indicate that hunting remained in practice, even though domesticated animals and plants comprised the staple diet of the people of Çatalhöyük. Hunting and the 'wild' are venerated in the site's iconography, while obsidian projectile points -as the only surviving parts of hunting weapons- were ubiquitous in the site. The author uses a plethora of attributes that include depositional context, use wear, impact damage, fragmentation, raw material and various techno-morphological characteristics to analyse the projectile points from the site. Her findings indicate that the Çatalhöyük projectile point assemblage consisted of two groups that were used and treated in very distinct ways. The first group comprised projectile weapons that were used in hunting and exhibit clear signs of actual use, whereas the second group consisted of bifaces that were likely reserved for ceremonial purposes given their pristine condition and special mode of deposition. Drawing from her analysis and ethnographic examples Dogiama argues that hunting was not merely an alternate subsistence strategy but an arena where symbolic expression and social identities could be performed and negotiated.

Full Product Details

Author:   Lilian Dogiama
Publisher:   BAR Publishing
Imprint:   BAR Publishing
ISBN:  

9781407358246

ISBN 10:   1407358243
Pages:   162
Publication Date:   24 February 2023
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

List of figures and charts List of tables 1. Introduction 1.1 The Research Topic 1.2 Theoretical Background 1.3 Book Outline 2. Çatalhöyük: Background to the Site 2.1 Aims of the Chapter 2.2 Location and Environment 2.3 Çatalhöyük: History of Excavation 2.3.1 1960s: James Mellaart's Campaigns 2.3.2 1990s to the Present: The Çatalhöyük Research Project 2.4 ÇRP Excavation Areas 2.5 Chronology and Stratigraphy 2.5.1 Levels of the South Area 2.5.2 Levels of the North Area 2.6 A General Overview of Çatalhöyük 2.7 Subsistence Economy: Animals and Plants 2.8 Brief Overview of the Chipped Stone Assemblage 2.9 Burials 2.10 The Social World of Çatalhöyük 2.10.1 Mellaart's Çatalhöyük: Its Religion, Social Structure and Achievements 2.10.2 Re-evaluations and Reinterpretations: The Current State of Affairs 2.11 Change and Continuity 2.12 Importance of the Site in the Wider Context of the Anatolian Neolithic 3. The Interpretative Scope of Projectile Points in the Near East and Çatalhöyük 3.1 Projectiles in Near Eastern Archaeology 3.1.1 Projectiles as Chronological Markers 3.1.2 Projectiles as Regional, Cultural and Ethnic Markers 3.1.3 Projectiles as Indicators of Subsistence Practices and Inter-Personal Violence 3.2 Previous Research on the Çatalhöyük Projectile Assemblage 3.2.1 The Mellaart Excavations (1961-1965) 3.2.2 1993 to Present 4. Hunting in Agropastoralist Societies: From Çatalhöyük to Ethnographies around the World 4.1 The Nature of Hunting at Çatalhöyük 4.2 The Significance of Hunting to Farming Societies 4.2.1 Hunting as a Risk-Buffering Mechanism 4.2.2 The Social Value of Wild Meat 4.2.3 Animism and Human-Animal Relations 4.2.4 Sex, Gender Identities and Hunting: The Battle of the Sexes over Meat 4.3 To Hunt or Not to Hunt? Some Concluding Remarks 5. Defining and Identifying Projectile Points 5.1 A Note on Point Terminology Used at Çatalhöyük 5.2 Terminology Used for Projectile Points and Weapons Associated 5.3 Building a Case for Projectiles through Impact Fractures 5.4 Introducing the Issue of Projectile Point Classification 5.5 A Brief Review of the Various Methods Employed 6. Methodology 6.1 The Recording System 6.2 The Çatalhöyük Excavation Methodology and Recording System 6.3 The Variables 6.3.1 Identifiers 6.3.2 Contextual Information 6.3.3 Lithic Raw Material 6.3.4 Blank Form, Typology, Integrity, Cortex 6.3.5 Metric Attributes 6.3.6 Form 6.3.7 Retouch 6.3.8 Artefact Condition, Use-Wear Traces, Impact Damage 6.3.9 Final Interpretation and Outcome of Analysis 7. The Çatalhöyük Projectile Point Assemblage 7.1 Different Resolutions of Time 7.2 General Overview of the Material: Technological Categories Explained 7.2.1 Technological Categories through Time 7.3 Two Groups of Projectiles 7.3.1 Group A Projectiles: Points 7.3.2 Group B: Bifaces 7.4 Distinguishing between Arrowheads and Spearheads 7.4.1 Group A Projectiles 7.4.2 Group B Bifaces 7.4.3 Use of Arrowheads and Spearheads through Time 7.5 Comparison of Group A and Group B: Interpretations 7.6 The North-South Divide 8. Point Taken: Conclusions and Interpretations 8.1 New Information on the Çatalhöyük Projectile Assemblage 8.2 The Weapons of Çatalhöyük 8.3 Group A Projectiles: The Actual Hunting Weapons 8.4 Group B Bifaces: An Interpretation 8.5 Appraisal of Initial Aims against Results Bibliography Appendix A. Additional Graphs and Tables A.1 Bifaces A.2 Biface Preforms A.3 Points A.4 Point Preforms A.5 Impact Byproducts A.6 Points with Secondary Use A.7 Byblos Points A.8 Amuq Points A.9 Jericho Points A.10 Nizzanim Points A.11 Abu Maadi Points A.12 Herziliya Points

Reviews

'This work is the first comprehensive study that focuses only on the Çatalhöyük projectile points. The author's approach can be taken as a reference in lithic studies. Furthermore, this work is an exemplary study that highlights the reasons why hunting can still continue as a practice in an agropastoral society.' Associate Professor Nurcan Kayacan, Istanbul University 'This is a very interesting study that will expand how interpretations of projectile points (arrowheads and spear points), as well as considerations of bifaces, are made. While the named types and morphologies will differ depending on geography and time periods, the approach used in this research by Dogiama would be of great interest to other researchers.' Professor Deborah Olszewski, University of Pennsylvania

'This work is the first comprehensive study that focuses only on the Çatalhöyük projectile points. The author's approach can be taken as a reference in lithic studies. Furthermore, this work is an exemplary study that highlights the reasons why hunting can still continue as a practice in an agropastoral society.' Associate Professor Nurcan Kayacan, Istanbul University 'This is a very interesting study that will expand how interpretations of projectile points (arrowheads and spear points), as well as considerations of bifaces, are made. While the named types and morphologies will differ depending on geography and time periods, the approach used in this research by Dogiama would be of great interest to other researchers.' Professor Deborah Olszewski, University of Pennsylvania  

'This work is the first comprehensive study that focuses only on the Catalhoeyuk projectile points. The author's approach can be taken as a reference in lithic studies. Furthermore, this work is an exemplary study that highlights the reasons why hunting can still continue as a practice in an agropastoral society.' Associate Professor Nurcan Kayacan, Istanbul University 'This is a very interesting study that will expand how interpretations of projectile points (arrowheads and spear points), as well as considerations of bifaces, are made. While the named types and morphologies will differ depending on geography and time periods, the approach used in this research by Dogiama would be of great interest to other researchers.' Professor Deborah Olszewski, University of Pennsylvania

Author Information

Dr Lilian Dogiama received her PhD in Anthropology from McMaster University. She has an MA in Prehistoric Archaeology from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a BA in Archaeology and History of Art from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She specialised in Neolithic and Bronze Age chipped stone tools in the Eastern Mediterranean and was the recipient of the Wenner-Gren Dissertation Fieldwork Grant for her thesis on Çatalhöyük. She has participated in numerous excavation projects in Greece and Turkey spanning from the Palaeolithic to the Early Byzantine period. Her current role is Head of Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging for International Education at Cambridge University Press & Assessment where she has been working since 2015.

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