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Çatalhöyük Ethnoarchaeological Field Study Summer 1996

by Nurcan Yalman

This year I concentrated on the village of Türkmen Camilli. I focused on methods of construction and the social reasons for building a new house.

The first section of the study proved unsuccessful as only one new mudbrick building was being constructed and we were unable to observe construction from the beginning due to permit and transportation problems. The second part of the study was carried out by conducting interviews in the village.

The following points emerged. A new house is constructed when the family becomes too large for it after marriage or the birth of more children. Either the parents or the children may be the ones to move to the new house; If a building is showing signs of age and wear, it is perceived to be easier to construct a new house than to repair an old one. In Türkmen Camilli village there are 3 districts. Families do not necessarily build the new house in the same district as the old one. They are concerned about ‘independence’.The location of the new house seems to be affected by the need for more space, gardens around it. Preference is given to locations away from the central village, in the countryside, and to a location far away from the old house.

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