Author Archives: cnesathurai

Post-humanism in Çatalhöyük

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The flat ontology of the Neolithic society of Çatalhöyük gives us insight into the value of post-humanism as an archeological approach. Flat ontologies and post-humanism are interconnected frameworks that renounce anthropocentrism (Harris and Cipolla 2009). Flat ontologies reject the ranking of different beings, believing them to be all of equal importance. Post-humanism believes that we are not in opposition to nature and non-human animals. Instead, we must understand ourselves in relation to other animals and plants and understand them as beings of agency. While processualists are interested in the economic benefits of animals, post-processualism looks at the dynamic relationship between beings. Donna Haraway believes that we become humans with, rather than against, animals. Archeologists are beginning to grant plants and animals a different role in the past (Harris and Cipolla 2009, 169). Approaching archeology by looking for flat ontologies and applying post-humanist theory can help us gain a broader understanding of joint plant, animal, and human communities.

Figure 1. Stone figurines of animals in Çatalhöyük. Photograph from the Çatalhöyük Research Project.

Çatalhöyük’s burial grounds indicate that they were deeply interrelated with sheep. Çatalhöyük buried their dead in graves under their houses. When excavating, archeologists found a grave with a man and a lamb buried side by side in lot one-hundred and twelve on the North platform (Russel and Düring 2006). We know this burial was not a sacrifice because in Çatalhöyük, sacrificed animals did not have the same burial practices as humans and were never buried beside them. The burial of the lamb was very deliberate and indicates it had quasi-human status (figure 2). The lamb was placed on organic remnants believed to be a mat with their feet in the air. Burying the lamb in this position means their legs would have had to be held the entire time the soil was added. In Çatalhöyük, burial sites were often disturbed to bury more bodies. However, this grave was never disturbed. Sheep were not necessarily domesticated like other animals, and archeologists believed the man was a shepherd with a close relationship with the lamb. The crane dance and the burial at Çatalhöyük illustrate a dynamic relationship of reverence and respect for animals that challenges anthropocentrism.

Figure 2. Diagram of burial of lamb and human in Space 112. Diagram from Nerissa Russel and Bleda Düring.

Çatalhöyük’s burial grounds indicate that they were deeply interrelated with sheep. Çatalhöyük buried their dead in graves under their houses. When excavating, archeologists found a grave with a man and a lamb buried side by side in space one-hundred and twelve on the North platform (Russell and Düring 2006). We know this burial was not a sacrifice because in Çatalhöyük, sacrificed animals did not have the same burial practices as humans and were never buried beside them. The burial of the lamb was very deliberate and indicates it had quasi-human status (figure 2). The lamb was placed on organic remnants believed to be a mat with their feet in the air. Burying the lamb in this position means their legs would have had to be held the entire time the soil was added. In Çatalhöyük, burial sites were often disturbed to bury more bodies. However, this grave was never disturbed. Sheep were not necessarily domesticated like other animals, and archeologists believed the man was a shepherd with a close relationship with the lamb. The crane dance and the burial at Çatalhöyük illustrate a dynamic relationship of reverence and respect for animals that challenges anthropocentrism.

Further reading:

https://academic.oup.com/florida-scholarship-online/book/31462/chapter-abstract/289648496?redirectedFrom=fulltexthttps://www.catalhoyuk.com/archive_reports/2004/ar04_17.html

References:

Ferrando, Francesca. 2016. “Humans Have Always Been Posthuman: A Spiritual Genealogy of Posthumanism.” In Springer eBooks, 243–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-3637-5_15.

Gargett, Katrina. 2017. “Was There a Belief in the Mother Goddess at Çatalhöyük?” Çatalhöyük Research Project. September 13, 2017. https://www.catalhoyuk.com/node/736.

Harris, and Cipolla. 2007. “Multi-Species Archeology.” 2007.

Russell, Nerissa, and Bleda S. Düring. 2006. “Worthy Is the Lamb : A Double Burial at Neolithic Çatalhöyük (Turkey).” Paléorient 32 (1): 73–84. https://doi.org/10.3406/paleo.2006.5171.

Russell, Nerissa, and Kevin J. McGowan. 2003. “Dance of the Cranes: Crane Symbolism at Çatalhöyük and Beyond.” Antiquity 77 (297): 445–55. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003598x00092516.

What Feminist Archaeology Reveals about the Lives of Women in El Argar

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Meaningful archaeological research occurs when we remove our preconceived notions. Historically, academics assumed women have always been passive and subordinate actors within the political world: this stems from the belief that women are biologically suited for caregiver roles rather than leadership roles (Murr and Zayas 2023). Feminist Archaeology focuses on decentering the Western and male analysis by considering women as active agents within their communities.

Figure 1. Aerial view of the remains of La Almoloya where the El Argar lived and where grave 38 was found. Photograph by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

The Bronze Age tomb of El Argar, discovered in the Iberian Peninsula in 2014, illustrates the necessity to approach archeology using methodical and empirical observations rather than assumptions. Grave 38 is a mid-seventeenth-century B.C. ceramic jar-like tomb containing two human remains (Lull and Herrada 2021). Pelvic and cranial structures indicated that one was of a woman, aged 25 to 30, and the other was a man, aged 30 to 40. Burial sites are important because they help us understand the values of a culture. The two remains were buried under an elaborate structure, believed to be a political building, indicating they were likely part of the ruling class (Figure 1) (Pinkowski 2021). The woman is adorned with beaded necklaces, rings, hair pins, and a silver diadem (Figure 2). The man has notably fewer possessions and is lying beside a simple dagger.

Figure 2. The silver Argaric diadem from El Argar tomb. Photograph by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

Without feminist archeology, it would be easy to assume that the female was the romantic partner of a male political figure and that she had been buried with silver jewelry because she was considered beautiful (Geggel 2021). This dismisses her potential importance and prevents us from understanding their social structures more deeply. Grave 38 challenges our previous belief that the women of El Argar were not leaders. When we approach the site from a more neutral and empirical perspective, we see that the female was buried after the death of her partner, indicating that her influence must have extended past his presence. Women generally had more lavish burials than men, indicating their societal importance. The diadem she was buried with is large, extending from her forehead to her nose. It would have been polished to allow those facing her to see their reflection: archeologists believe this was intended to have a threatening effect indicating her authority. A silver awl was buried beside her, indicating she could have been a political leader in the large linen textile industry.

Grave 38 challenges our understanding of El Argar’s social structure. It was previously believed that men were buried with daggers because they played an important role in political decisions (Geggel 2021). However, the location of the tomb and objects buried with the woman disprove such a belief. It is now believed that men of the ruling class were reinforcing political decisions, but women played an essential role in making them. A neutral and feminist approach to examining this site revealed a wealth of information about this society’s social and political structures that would be impossible without approaching archaeology from an empirical perspective.

Further reading

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/11/bronze-age-burial-site-in-spain-suggests-women-were-among-rulers

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/ancient-woman-powerful-european-leader-4000-year-old-treasure-suggests

References

Geggel, Laura. “’Powerful, maybe even frightening’ woman with diadem may have ruled in Bronze Age Spain.” Live Science. March 12, 2021. https://www.livescience.com/diadem-bronze-age-burial-spain.html.

Lull, Vicente et. al. March 11, 2021. “Emblems and spaces of power during the Argaric Bronze Age at La Almoloya, Murcia.” A Review of World Archaeology 95 (380): 329-348. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/emblems-and-spaces-of-power-during-the-argaric-bronze-age-at-la-almoloya-murcia/B27A3C7AD23625DD39C6D4F2C3981C2F.

Murr, Isabel., and Zayas, Elliot. “Engendering the Past: Practices and Potentials of an Explicitly Feminist Archaeology.” Barnard College. (n.d.). https://barnard.edu/engendering-past-practices-and-potentials-explicitly-feminist-archaeology. 

Pinkowski, Jennifer. “She Was Buried With a Silver Crown. Was She the One Who Held Power?” The New York Times. March 11, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/11/science/bronze-age-tomb-women.html