Modes of religiosity at Çatalhöyük

Research at Çatalhöyük reveals that the emotional intensity of rituals is inversely proportional to their frequency, suggesting two distinct modes of religiosity: high-arousal, low-frequency rituals (e.g., rites of passage) and low-arousal, high-frequency rituals (e.g., daily blessings). This finding challenges conventional assumptions about ritual dynamics in prehistoric societies. By analyzing fragmentary evidence from Çatalhöyük, the study reconstructs how religious knowledge was constituted, transmitted, and transformed over time, while also exploring the social and political implications of ritual performance. The approach combines cross-cultural anthropological insights with specific data from Çatalhöyük to assess the plausibility of different interpretations.

Whitehouse, H., & Hodder, I. (2010). Modes of religiosity at Çatalhöyük. Religion in the Emergence of Civilization, 122–145. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511761416.005