Material Geographies of House Societies: Reconsidering Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey

Neolithic Çatalhöyük was organized around multi-family House Societies, where members resided in clusters of similarly sized buildings, deeply connected to ancestral narratives and genealogical histories. These houses featured elaborate room decorations reflecting past, future, and family themes, with the dead embedded beneath floors as living ancestors. The study challenges traditional views by emphasizing social scales beyond single-family households, suggesting that multi-family Houses served as foundational organizational units in Neolithic villages.

Kuijt, I. (2018). Material Geographies of House Societies: Reconsidering Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 28(4), 565–590. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0959774318000240