Middens, Waste Disposal, and Health at Çatalhöyük

Bibliographic Data

ID4587541
AuthorsLisa-Marie Shillito (0000-0002-6176-531X, Newcastle University), Helen Mackay (0000-0001-5516-1109, Durham University)
Year2020
Volume83
Issue3
Pages168-174
Publication date2020-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNear Eastern Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1094-2076 • E-ISSN: 1557-5594
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/710134
OpenAlexW3088284934
LanguageSV
Citations received2
References cited26

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

Archaeology · Environmental health · Geography · Household waste · Human health · Midden · Waste disposal · Waste management · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Engineering · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Medicine · Paleopathology and ancient diseases

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