The Çatalhöyük Project, 2020

Sudan & Nubia 5, 2001

ÇATALHÖYÜK 2009ARCHIVE REPORT, 2009

Anatolica, 2017

In I. Hodder (ed.), Peopling the Landscape of Çatalhöyük: reports from the 2009-2017 seasons. British Institute at Ankara, Monograph 53, Catalhöyük Research Project Series Volume 13, 2021

Shells of freshwater molluscs are one of the most ubiquitous categories of finds at Çatalhöyük, being present in every level and type of deposit throughout the sequence of habitation ..... The archaeomalacological investigation of nearly 300 units from the 2009–2017 excavations in the South and North Areas is reported here. Building on earlier work, the study focuses on gathering detailed information to explore a number of mollusc/shell-related issues that demand a full spatio-temporal analysis and attention to the contexts of deposition. In detail, the aims of this phase of research can be summarised as follows: (a) to address taxa representation and relative proportions through time to contribute to the reconstruction of local freshwater environments and discuss human-environmental interactions; (b) to analyse mussel frequencies through time and categories of deposits to obtain a detailed understanding of molluscan food consumption and secondary treatment of food remains; (c) to provide a better understanding of the exploitation of aquatic materials and the seasonality of this activity; (d) to expand the temporal range of shell material with samples from the mid/late levels in order to monitor shifts that may have resulted from changes in the local environments or human practices; (e) to increase the sample of Unio shells for isotope analysis in order to examine the seasonality of molluscan gathering; (f) to shed light into the relationship of the farming community with a ‘wild’ food resource and to understand the social context of molluscan food consumption and of shell deposition; (g) to integrate shell data with information from excavation and the study of other materials to contribute to the understanding of the depositional history of excavated deposits.