Probing religion at Çatalhöyük

A groundbreaking interdisciplinary study at Çatalhöyük, Turkey, challenges conventional explanations for the Neolithic transition to complex societies by highlighting the pivotal role of spirituality and religious ritual. From 2006 to 2008, an international team of natural scientists, archaeologists, anthropologists, philosophers, and theologians collaborated on-site, integrating field observations with laboratory analyses. This unique approach revealed that spiritual practices likely facilitated social organization, economic shifts, and cognitive developments during this transformative period. The study underscores the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in reinterpreting the emergence of civilization in Anatolia and the broader Middle East.

Hodder, I. (2010). Probing religion at Çatalhöyük. Religion in the Emergence of Civilization, 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511761416.001