Middens, Waste Disposal, and Health at Çatalhöyük

Shillito, Lisa-Marie; Mackay, Helen

doi:10.1086/710134

Middens, Waste Disposal, and Health at Çatalhöyük

Shillito, Lisa-Marie; Mackay, Helen

Authors

Lisa-Marie Shillito

Dr Helen Mackay helen.mackay@durham.ac.uk
Assistant Professor

Abstract

The transition from a mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a settled way of living is one of the most significant processes in human history. There were undeniable benefits to this process, with increased food security and longer lifespans, but there were also negative consequences associated with an increased density of living. At Çatalhöyük we have over one thousand years of continuous occupation from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to Chalcolithic period (7100–5700 BCE). The settlement changes from a dense agglomeration in its earliest phase, where individual buildings are constructed wall to wall with no gaps or streets between them, to a more open nucleated settlement towards the end of the occupation. Large numbers of people living in a fixed location inevitably leads to the production of large amounts of waste. One of the most significant consequences of these activities is the creation of “pollution,” both in the physical environment, and the decline in air quality.

Citation

Shillito, L., & Mackay, H. (2020). Middens, Waste Disposal, and Health at Çatalhöyük. Near Eastern Archaeology, 83(3), 168-174. https://doi.org/10.1086/710134

Journal Article Type	Article
Online Publication Date	Sep 1, 2020
Publication Date	2020-09
Deposit Date	Oct 7, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Sep 1, 2021
Journal	Near Eastern Archaeology
Print ISSN	1094-2076
Electronic ISSN	2325-5404
Publisher	American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR)
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	83
Issue	3
Pages	168-174
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1086/710134