Archive for the 'Discoveries' Category

Digshotep, the patriarch of a Late 17th dynasty Middle Kingdom, upper middle class, Egyptian family rests under a palm on his new country estate. His lot in life has improved tremendously since he planted those first ‘new fangled’ grape vines in his back garden. In just a few years he had developed Thebes first small commercial winery.

The royals seem to like the sweet, cloying stuff and are willing to pay a premium for it. Though it will never take the place of good Egyptian beer.

Life seems to be bright, the beer flows, the kids are just finishing their education, and the only personal dark spot is his relationship with his son, Amenhotep, who has now reached the age of 18.

Four years previously, Amenhotep had graduated from scribe training at the Shrine of Thoth, and with honors. He also received his cherished admission to the advanced school in Karnak Temple, where he was still receiving honors.

However, Seqenenra Tao II was now on the throne in Thebes, and there were rumblings of war with the Hyksos in the North.

Just as Digshotep had wanted, Amenhotep was socially networking nicely with the high officials of the court who were also taking classes, as well as some of the younger members of the Royal Family.

One of his closest friends at school, and one who had great influence on him was the Royal Butler, which in the Egyptian court means he was also one of the king’s main advisors. He was a man in his late fifties who believed in returning to school as frequently as he could. He was a priest and architect, a leading academic in anatomy and an expert in math. His hero was the great Imhotep, also a priest, physician, mathematician, and the 4th dynasty architect of the first Egyptian pyramid, the Step Pyramid of Zoser at Saqqara.

This is where the conflict between Amenhotep and Digshotep started to simmer.

Digs had dreams of his son rising high in temple or court, perhaps even both. But thanks to the influence of the Royal Butler, Amenhotep wanted to study anatomy and become a physician.

“Pure quackery,” yelled the old man. “You think mixing up piles of hippopotami dung sweetened with milk and honey actually cures somebody instead of killing them? Do you want old men puking all over you? Do you want widows dragging you in front of the king’s court accusing you of killing their husbands? And your hands will always stink.

“Why can’t you be more like your sister? She has joined a troop of temple dancers. She’s second lead in the Karnak choir. She’s cultivating her friendships with the Royal Princesses and has even been seen hanging on the arm of the king’s younger son, Amose. She’s at least trying to make something respectable of herself and get ahead in the world. And her hands won’t stink like some common cattle barn mucker.”

“Dad, I wash my hands a lot, ok?

“You have been healthy all your life. I think about all you know about modern medicine is old-wives-tales, and the stories your nurse used to tell you in order to scare you into washing behind your ears. You really haven’t had that much exposure to the healing arts.

“There is a lot more to medicine than honey drizzled hippo poop. Though it has its place. And I don’t stick my hands in it. That’s what post-grads are for.

“Up-to-date medicine is a mix of observational science, magic, faith healing, properly used spells and more. We have gone far beyond kissing it to make the hurt go away then spreading on the doo-doo. Though some people still practice that simplicity, and even then a few get the order of the procedure backwards.

“We have totally modernized. We no longer have the archaic separation of physician, priest and magician. It is now all one discipline, and better because of it.

“If you were to cut your foot on a broken pot, I would apply a paste of fruit and honey, then I would put a bandage over it, then I would say the proper incantation, and last I would give you a magical amulet to keep until the cut was healed. See what I mean? We now address medicine on every level, not just the old-fashion cover it up and hope for the best.

“We also encourage people to keep bathing, shaving their head and body hair, and maintaining dietary restrictions against raw fish, any kind of pork, and other animals that are unclean to eat. Temple and palace precincts are forbidden to the uncircumcised, those who eat unclean foods and those with any body hair. That’s why even foreign embassys are greeted in the palace courtyard and never permitted inside till they have met with our cleanliness standards.

“Remember the young prince from Babylon who came to study at Karnak Temple? As high ranking as he was, he was not permitted in the classroom till he shaved his elaborate beard and hair, threw away his abominable woolen clothing, and was circumcised to acknowledge the covenant between Egypt and its gods.

“We are the cleanest and healthiest nation in the world. You and mom are now both over sixty years old. That’s more than 30 years beyond the average lifespan in some other countries and many of our people reach that mark and more. In fact, our normal lifespan, including the lowest classes and slaves is well over forty years.

“Our modern medicine makes the difference.

“Besides, if the king has his way, we will soon be marching north to meet the Hyksos threat. The army will need all the trained physicians it can get. He is already calling on the military recruiters to drag in all the able-bodied men they can round up. One way or the other, I will be going. Being a trained scribe and academic will not keep me out of the infantry. The only way I can avoid that would be to enlist voluntarily and use my education to give me ‘officer’ status. At least I would be able to sleep in a tent, instead of on the ground with only the stars as a shelter.”

Digs merely grunted. Why go on? He knew he had already lost this argument. All he could do would be wish for the best and hope the gods would see fit to end the coming war early. Whatever Amun wants, Amun gets.

He turned slowly and gave his son a serious look. “We are going back to the townhouse in Thebes in a few days. On your way back to Karnak, would you stop by Iggys and let him know the air conditioner is on the fritz again? The pads are drying out too fast and it’s not cooling the air.”

Physician - painting by HM Herget - National Geographic October 1941

Till next time

Digs

For more information about life in ancient Egypt: http://www.archaeolink.com/ancient_egyptian-civilization.htm

This will be one of several posts about daily life in ancient Egypt.

While Egypt was a conservative civilization and the daily round did not change all that much in three thousand years, there was still enough difference between eras that articles about middle and upper class life during the Old Kingdom and Greco-Roman Egypt would reflect changing attitudes and styles. Plus there is that cultural hiccup known as the Amarna period.

So, we will begin in the middle somewhere. How about middle class, late Middle Kingdom Thebes;17th dynasty? (Some scholars call this the Second Intermediate Period, a term which applies to the whole country. But since we are dealing with the Theban region, we are culturally still Middle Kingdom.)

During much of this time, Egypt maintained a social element almost missing from many other ancient civilizations; a fairly large and thriving “middle class.”

Some things never seem to change.

The middle class Egyptian family had to worry about house payments. Dad went to the office to work each day. Mom may have rehearsed with, and sang in a temple choir. And they were trying to put enough aside to give their kids a good education.

Then there were the unexpected expenses, such as the air-conditioner breaking down or fixing a clogged drain from the back yard swimming pool, not to mention that the ice maker is on the fritz again.

Such were the visitudes of life in surburban Thebes during the Late Middle Kingdom.

First, we had better get that air-conditioning fixed. It looks like it will be a scorcher of a day. Try to get a plumber to make a house call at dawn. And little Amenhotep is going to be late for school again if he doesn’t get his butt out the door.

The air conditioning should be fairly easy to repair - if the man ever shows up.

Ancient Egyptian air conditioning systems were along the line of what we might call “swamp coolers” today; they were evaporative units ( malqaf ).

During most of the year, the wind in Egypt is from the north. That provided two ongoing bonuses. The Egyptians could “float” downstream ( south to north ) and with the wind from the north, could use sails to get back up the river again ( north to south ). It also meant that ‘wind catchers’ could be placed on top of various buildings, such as homes, and as long as the north wind blew, it provided a steady stream of air into the interior. The Egyptians then placed pads of water soaked linen in the path of the moving air and the evaporation cooled the air before it entered the house. Some of these units had roof tanks which were filled with water and a slow drip kept the pads moist - - thus the need for our plumber.

This line copy of an ancient Egyptian drawing of a house shows two date palms behind the house and the triangles on the roof are the air catchers, the “air conditioning” units - malqaf. - - image courtesy United Nations University http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80a01e/80A01E0c.htm

The broken ice maker worked along the same principle. Egyptian winters can be downright cold. So cold at times that frozen buckets of water have been observed as far south as Aswan. Throughout the Delta and the northern Nile Valley, there are occasional winter cold snaps accompanied by light frost and even snow.

While temperatures going below freezing are rare, winter nights can still get close to that mark. Once again we deal with evaporative cooling to get the job done. When temperatures are near freezing, a combination of breezes and very low humidity can lower the temperature of a very shallow pan of water enough that a skim of ice will form on the surface. Actually our broken ice maker is no more than a crack in the bottom of the ceramic ice making tray ( jar ) which should be an easy repair. If we can get enough made ahead, we can wrap it in an insulating material, bury it, and it will keep quite a while. Nothing like fruit juice, milk and honey whipped into crushed ice on a hot afternoon.

You will find more about ancient Egyptian ice making here: http://www.bookrags.com/sciences/sciencehistory/the-advent-of-mechanical-refrigerat-scit-05123456.html

I wonder if that kid has made it to school yet. He is enrolled in an intermediate class for scribes at the Thoth Shrine. If he does well enough there, he might be able to make it into the advanced classes at Karnak Temple. The Pharaoh’s own sons study there and it would be a good opportunity for social networking. It won’t be cheap. Certainly hope he winds up being more than a simple clerk in a temple supply room.

Now to get to work on that clogged pool drain. That pool was one of the best ideas ever. Great place for the kids to splash around in ( no crocodile danger from swimming in the river ) we can grow fish and water lilies. It also irrigates a wonderful garden.

And my dear Nefert tried to say we didn’t need one.

We now grow our own onions and garlic, melokyiah greens, fava beans, dates, figs, and pomegranates. Next year maybe we’ll try one of those new fangled grape vines.

Now that there is the garden, Nefert wanted something colorful too. So, in addition to the water lilies and lotus blooms, there is a line of oleander bushes along one wall and something new from Crete called roses. What a lovely smell.

I’ll bet he stopped to watch a ball game again, instead of going to classes. It seems all he wants to do is hang around a ball field, eat long sausages wrapped in bread and drink beer. At least it is our national beverage. Might be our national pastime too. ( sausage and beer vendors were a common sight at Egyptian sporting events )

If he did, I’ll tan his hide when he gets home. After all, “a boy’s ear is on his back.” - (quote from a student exercise for scribes.)

Now to get little Amenirdis ready for her dance class. She’s not so little anymore. She’s studying written language right along with the boys, and keeping ahead of most of them too.

We have made sure the girls in our family received good educations too. In this day and age, if a woman wants a good position in a palace, temple or merchant accounting house, she has to be able to read and write. Otherwise, she will just wind up being some guy’s personal adornment with no real life of her own - or selling flowers, and other things, on the street corner.

Did I mention that my dear Nefert is a priestess and one of the lead singers at the new chapel at Karnak?

Because of her added income, we now have a new indoor bathing slab and comode room. No more running to the river to clean up or to the outside pits in the middle of the night. Modern technology is wonderful.

Remodeling the rest of the house too. We have just finished covering the walls with fresh whitewashed plaster and a local artist is painting one wall with flying ducks.

image courtesy University College London

We have four rooms now, including the new bathroom. Sleeping quarters for Nefert and me, a large “family room” where the kids sleep and we entertain, plus a combination grainery, pantry, storeroom. We still do most of the cooking outside.

Which reminds me, I have to cut this short. Dan and his tribe are coming by later to play a game of senet ( sort of like backgammon ). We will probably play by the pool. They’d eat us out of house and home if I let them get near the pantry.

Painting by HM Herget - October 1941 National Geographic magazine

We also have another large social affair coming up we need to save food and money for. We now have a handful of deceased relatives encoffined and stored under the floor of the “family room.” We will get together with the neighbors, and their deceased relatives, to hire a funerary priest to perform the rites and move our late relatives to their permanant houses of eternity. It seems only the very rich have the means to throw a funeral every time someone in their family dies. The rest of us have to make do with “group rates.”

Now, where is that game board? Dan’s at the door and I haven’t even picked up the beer yet.

Gotta run

Digshotep

Additional resources for daily life in ancient Egypt:

http://www.archaeolink.com/ancient_egyptian-civilization.htm

This post has been submitted to digg.com - Digg This Post

A huge amount of recent material has been placed on the internet and indexed by search engines, but recent material is greatly over-represented.

Philipp Lenssen searched for references to every year from 1000 to 2100, and plotted the results.

Philipp’s google-years page gives a feel for the timespan we’re searching when we Google for something.

Techtor left a comment about the Cahokia post which I answered in that section. However, I think it deserves a wider audience.

Techtor’s comment: - - “but I’ll not be surprised to know if there was a US before the US was actually founded (well, something to that effect).”

Well, yes there was - the Iroquois Confederation.

I’m not going to write much about it because I doubt there is much more that I could say that isn’t already in these websites. Except for one thing, about the position of women in the Iroquois Confederation, because it provides a glimpse of the philosophy on which it was based.

It was a long battle for women to be allowed to vote in the United States. This “enlightened European based bastion of freedom” was determined to keep women as second class citizens.
_____

THE INDIAN WOMEN: We whom you pity as drudges
reached centuries ago the goal that you are now nearing

We, the women of the Iroquois
Own the Land, the Lodge, the Children
Ours is the right to adoption, life or death;
Ours is the right to raise up and depose chiefs;
Ours is the right to representation in all councils;
Ours is the right to make and abrogate treaties;
Ours is the supervision over domestic and foreign policies;
Ours is the trusteeship of tribal property;
Our lives are valued again as high as man’s.

From The Six Nations: Oldest Living Participatory Democracy on Earth - http://www.ratical.org/many_worlds/6Nations/

There is a ton of information jam-packed into the website above. I recommend it to any who might be interested in the subject.
The Constitution of the Iroquois Nations: The Great Binding Law. Gayanashagow - http://www.iroquoisdemocracy.pdx.edu/html/greatlaw.html

Well, I lied, one other thing I’ll write about is a character many in the English speaking world have known about since childhood. In fact, he was probably as responsible for the founding of the Iroquois Confederation as anybody - Hiawatha.

Hiawatha was a real person, not just a poem or a Disney cartoon character. I am going to editorialize here a bit.

Hiawatha was among the greatest of men ever to have lived on the North American Continent.

The poem about him by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was in its own way a tribute, accurate or not. But when the Disney animators turned him into nothing more than a cutesy cartoon character, it was sort of like making George Washington no more than the equal of Micky Mouse. - End of editorial. - The following is quoted from my response to Techtor in the comments section:

“And for those of you who are familiar with the poem about Hiawatha, he actually lived and became the spiritual leader of the Haudenosaunee.

“Tadadaho” is the title for that position and is still used for the leagues spiritual leader. It means “The 50th Chief.”

Today Hiawatha’s current successor in that position of spiritual leadership is Sid Hill of the Onondaga nation.”

“Hiawatha and the Iroquois Confederation” - http://www.markshep.com/nonviolence/Hiawatha.html

Hiawatha lived during the 15th century according to most sources, though some have him as early as the 12th century.

If anybody would like to read the poem, all 22 chapters of it are here: - http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/LonHiaw.html

I still cry at the end.

Not all great civilizations have left monuments in stone, fantastic art, towers reaching to the heavens, or even crumbling mud brick foundations.

Some have merely left their good reputations. And that may be a better memorial than many empty piles of stone and mud.

Digs

Pyramids topped with gleaming temples, basketball courts and other play fields, elaborate beading and feathering, organized streets and plazas, even the homes of the wealthier elevated for a better view.

Sounds like a good introduction to a story about the Maya or Aztec. But it is not.

It is about the Native American metropolis known as Cahokia, located in the American Midwest.

The civilization involved may very well be as high as those found in Mexico and Central America, the main visual difference being that the people of Cahokia, living on the Mississippi flood plain, built with packed earth, timber and thatching, rather than with stone.

The main technological difference being that the civilizations to the south had developed a means of writing (glyphs) and are classed as “historic” civilizations, where the people of Cahokia had not, thus “prehistoric.”

For about 500 years, Cahokia was the major hub of a prehistoric civilization that, at its peak, spread from Minnesota to Florida and across the southeast.

The city covered about six square miles and had a population of up to 20,000. Houses were arranged in neat streets and around open plazas. Cahokia was a planned city with elaborate public buildings and elite residences at its core.

The people of Cahokia enjoyed “widespread commerce; stratified social, political, and religious organization; specialized and refined crafts; and monumental architecture.” - quote from Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site - http://www.cahokiamounds.com/welcome.html

What finally happened to the Cahokians is unknown, but the decline seems to have been gradual. It began in the 1200s and the site had been abandoned by 1400 CE.

However, we can safely say that about 800 years ago when the population was at its peak, Cahokia was one of the largest urban centers in the world. A massive wooden wall enclosed the heart of the city. Within that wall were the most important structures and the most elite neighborhoods.

The most impressive buildings at Cahokia were the temples and homes of the rulers, the grandest being the 5000 square foot home of the great chief atop the city’s central pyramid, Monks Mound. This structure probably had a combined use both religious and private residence.

There is also speculation that this building atop the central earthen pyramid had its roof and walls covered with sheets of mica, at least at some point in its history. Because of the reflective nature of that mineral, and depending on the angle of the sun, this structure would have glittered over the city in colors ranging from mother-of-pearl to pure gold. Another name for Cahokia is “City of the Sun” and with the golden light of sunrise and sunset reflecting in a blaze of glory from the mica covered temple, it may have seemed that the sun himself truly dwelled the heart of the city.

Cahokia was governed by a four-tiered socio-political hierarchy. The highest power was the chief who was also thought to be the brother of the sun. Just under the chief were his immediate family and friends who formed the elite class. These in turn controled the heads of family clans, who in turn directed the commoners. Status, gender, age and kinship all determined the role of each person.

Cahokian agriculture produced squash, pumpkins, sunflowers and corn. They also gathered nuts and berries such as pecans, hickory nuts, and blackberries, fished and hunted.

The Cahokians developed several leisure activities including music, song, and dance, along with games of chance and skill. In their free time, they played guessing games with shells, gambled with dice, and youngsters entertained themselves by attempting to catch hollow bones on the tips of a pointed stick to which the hollow bones were tethered. The main sport at Cahokia was “chunkey,” in which two players threw javelins at a rolling, concave stone, trying to mark the place where it would come to a stop. It seems a type of basketball was also played.

Archaeologists classify Cahokian civilization as “Mississippian” Culture.

For additional information:

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site - From National Park Service - http://www.cr.nps.gov/worldheritage/cahokia.htm

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site - From cahokiamounds.com http://www.cahokiamounds.com/welcome.html

Cahokia - From Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahokia

Cahokia Mounds Photo Gallery - From Archaeoblog - http://jqjacobs.net/blog/cahokia.html

Metropolitan Life on the Mississippi - From Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/march/12/cahokia.htm

Image courtesy of Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Till next time

Digs

While in the last post we explored Catal Huyuk, the world’s oldest known city, we will now head to the Far East to explore a civilization even older. No city is involved this time, at least no city older than Catal, but other cultural artifacts demonstrating early civilization, and even some small settlements, are certainly much older.

Are you ready for 500,000 years older? Yep, that is half a million years.

While we are not ready to call this a “civilization” yet, the sheer age of the settlement makes it a worthwhile place to begin our study of a later prehistoric civilization known as Jomon.

“A archeological find in Kantho Dsitrict[sic] announced on Feb 21 may shake up established theories about Homo erectus. Huts thought to be 500,000 years old and built by primitive humans were found in Saitama Prefecture-Kantho Dsitrict,[sic] the prefectural board of education said. The discovery that strongly suggests Homo erectus constructed buildings is likely to overturn the established theory that they were constantly on the move hunting for food without staying in one place, experts said.” You may want to read more about this: - http://www2.inforyoma.or.jp/~mitsubo/english/english_news.html

You may also wonder why a find of that magnitude is not widely known outside of Japan. It is a sad affair for Japanese archaeology that very little attention is paid to it outside the country, though they are doing exciting things, not only in Japan, but worldwide. Waseda University is conducting marvelous research projects in Egypt, but we hear mostly about American and European researchers instead.

I hope that situation changes and the sooner the better.

Now we will jump forward in time to about 16,500 BCE and the beginnings of the culture and civilization known as Jomon, in Japan.

In the beginning, Jomon was a ceramics society. While agriculture and metal technology reached Japan rather late, pottery technology developed quite early. “Jomon” is, in fact, the name of the era’s pottery and that name is applied to the culture as well.

The Odai-Yamamoto site has yielded 46 pottery sherds that have been dated by the radiocarbon method to 16,500 BCE.

Along with the sherds, there was found a stone tool assemblage which included axes with polished stone edges, stone drills, arrow heads and shaft smoothers.

By the end of this earliest Jomon period, several types of pottery had been developed and found at various locations in Japan.

It must also be noted, that while pottery is found at this time in early Japan, it is not a well developed technology. It is usually very rough and poorly fired. And, there is not very much of it.

But that was only the beginning of what later developed into a full fledged prehistoric civilization.

By about 5000 BCE, Jomon villages begin to take on a more long-term nature. While evidence points to most of these settlements being relatively sedentary, evidence does not imply that they were used year round. Study of lithic assemblages from various settlement sites suggest that the villages only had seasonal occupation. Jomon civilization was still generally a hunter, gatherer society. In fact, the Jomon Culture is said to be one of the most affluent hunter-gatherer civilizations to ever exist.

While evidence does point to limited plant cultivation during the final Jomon era in parts of Japan, its impact was minimal. First of all, these plants only supplemented the daily diet, while a large percentage of the daily calories are still believed to be gotten from hunting and gathering.

Contrary to much popular belief, a hunter-gatherer culture does not necessarily equate with a primitive and backward civilization. For a non-agricultural society, the Jomon diet was quite extensive and varied; rich in fact.

The Jomon use of plants, land animals and fish varied greatly with time and location. Hunting was mostly with a bow and arrow. Fishing included the use of hooks and lines, nets and traps, and spears. Later in Jomon civilization, an excellent harpoon technology appeared. Plant harvesting included digging sticks for roots, and grinders and querns for the many kinds of nuts and seeds that were available.

There was an extremely wide range of land animals, fish, plants, shell fish, molluscs and birds. A generalized list of the foods of the Jomon would give deer and boar, sea bream, sea perch, and other types of fish, chestnuts, walnuts and acorns, clams and oysters, tuna and sea mammals. The Jomon people used almost all available food plants and animals, taking a sustainable number of those things they liked and using the rest to fill out their diet. There is growing evidence that, at least in some times and some regions, the Jomon ‘managed’ their natural resources for best productivity and for sustainable exploitation. Ancient Japan was so naturally rich and abundant there was no real need for an agricultural society to emerge.

A variety of crafts and ritual objects were also created during the Joman. Red and black lacquerware was developed. Ritual ceremonial centers and stone circles were constructed.

One of the largest, and now one of the best known Jomon sites is Sannai Maruyama. You will find an extensive amount of information about it here:
http://apti.net.pref.aomori.jp/sannai-en/sannai.html - From AOMORI Prefectural Government

For additional Jomon information:

Yayoi and Jomon - From Richard Hooker - http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCJAPAN/YAYOI.HTM

Jomon Period - From Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jomon

Jomon Japan.org - http://www.jomonjapan.org/

Till next time

Digs

When the term “prehistoric civilization” is used, for some, perhaps even many, it creates visions of Atlantis, or some other “fabulous” place, perhaps even civilizations surpassing our own. “Alternative” or “fringe” archaeology even tries frequently to make known historic civilizations older than they really are, or at least artifacts from them. The controversy about the age of the Great Sphinx is just one example. Some try to place its creation several thousand years earlier than current accepted knowledge. (it isn’t older, it dates from Egypt’s 4th Dynasty - and there is no controversy within the ranks of ‘orthodox’ Egyptologists)

But even without the help of the alternative theorists and fringe archaeology, there really were civilizations and cities which predate the historic (written) record of humanity.

We will begin with the archaeological record of Catal Huyuk (or Catal Hoyuk - Chat-al Hoo-yook) a temple city in prehistoric Anatolia and the central hub of a Neolithic civilization.

Today, Catal Huyuk, which is the oldest known city ever found, is hardly an impressive sight. Eight thousand years of history have left it a pitted mound in a rolling agricultural plain. Little remains to show that this Neolithic metropolis was a center of civilization, trade, and a development point of ideas for over 2000 years.

The oldest levels of Catal Huyuk yet studied, have been dated to 6,500 BCE, and virgin soil has yet to be reached.

The twelve layers of buildings so far excavated, each representing a different stage in the city’s development, show that the most recent buildings were erected about 5,600 BCE. For some unknown reason the city was abandoned and a new city called Catal Huyuk West was founded several miles away. Catal West has yet to be investigated in any great detail but it seems to have been occupied for another 700 years before it too, was abandoned.

After 4,900 BCE, there are no further Neolithic buildings in the area. The region seems abandoned till much later in history. It also seems reasonable to believe that for several hundred years, perhaps several millennia before 6,500 BCE, the site was was occupied, developed from a village into a town, and finally a city.

During a period of time when a “big town” such as Hacilar may have had up to ten houses, Catal Huyuk was a cosmopolitan city of more than 10,000.

While a city of 10,000 may not seem like much to us who can live in cities of millions, at the time it was the largest known concentration of humans on the planet - there was simply nothing else like it.

“The neolithic civilization revealed at Catal Huyuk shines like a supernova among the rather dim galaxy of contemporary peasant cultures” states James Mellaart, excavator of Catal Huyuk and a leading expert on the ancient Middle East.

Mellart also maps out several village sites stretching over a trade route network reaching for hundreds of miles. The city seems to have been the center of a wide spread population.

While “daily life in Catal Huyuk” material here is thin, we simply don’t know that much about it beyond conjecture, we do know a few things.

The city was colorful, murals have survived to this day and indicate that much of Catal was brightly painted. They created a wide variety of sculptures out of clay and stone, had a sophisticated pottery industry, polished stone tool industry, worked with obsidian, bone and other materials in their daily lives, as well as carrying on an extensive trade.

The houses were made of mud brick and placed close together. As houses were destroyed and new ones built, the city became a terrace of houses rising one above the other. Humanity had built its first man-made mountain. And with the evidence of external muraling and painting, the city may have flashed and glimmered with color above the surrounding plain.

The full lifespan of this prehistoric civilization ranged from about 7000 BCE to 4,900 BCE, some 2,100 years, a time equal to what has passed between Julius Caesar’s Rome and our own. Not bad for a people who could not write.

I hope this opens a door to the fact that civilization did not begin with the great monuments of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

In fact, when the civilization represented by Catal Huyuk had finished its run and faded into history, Egypt and Mesopotamia were still more than a thousand years in the future.

Prehistoric civilization reaches far back into the mists of time. Perhaps even further than we already know.

Till next time

Digs

For additional information see: - Catalhoyuk - http://www.smm.org/catal/

Catalhoyuk Homepage - http://www.catalhoyuk.com/

Focus on Catal Hoyuk - http://www.focusmm.com/civcty/cathyk00.htm

(This photo of Çatalhöyük is copyright the Çatalhöyük Research Project, and is licensed under a Creative Commons License)

So, you want to live in ancient ______? Just fill in the country.

Would you like to float down the Nile with the Pharaohs or listen to the priests chanting in the temple of Amun at Karnak?

Perhaps you would like to discuss philosophy in the schools of ancient Athens or debate politics in the Roman Forum?

Climb the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? View the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan from atop a pyramid (without being the sacrifice of the day, of course)?

Learn to grow maize and pumpkins with the people of Kahokia, the great ancient metropolis of the American Midwest?

Be a priest in ancient Angor, or an architect in the ancient cities of China?

Or, perhaps you would like to try a bit of all of them?

Come with us as we explore “Everyday life in ancient times.”

Each post will present a different civilization. We will explore life from the perspectives of those holding the highest social ranks, the middle classes, and those who’s social ranking is so low they have the ground to hold them up.

Next time we will begin with a prehistoric civilization. There were high achievements in both art and architecture long before writing was invented.

Till Then

Digs