Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Getting to the Bottom of It All: A Bayesian Approach to Dating the Start of Çatalhöyük

  • Published:
Journal of World Prehistory Aims and scope

Abstract

A new radiocarbon dating program, conceived at the outset within a Bayesian statistical framework, has recently been applied to the earliest levels of occupation on the Neolithic East Mound at Çatalhöyük in central Turkey. Çatalhöyük was excavated by James Mellaart from 1961 to 1965 and new excavations directed by Ian Hodder started in 1993. In 2012 the site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. However, the precise dating of the site has remained insecure, bracketed somewhere between the late eighth and the early sixth millennium BC calibrated. In a new dating program reported on here, dates previously obtained from the site have been allied with new dates to produce a series of models that could be evaluated statistically and in relation to taphonomic considerations. The preferred model puts the earliest excavated layers at Çatalhöyük 200 years later than previously thought. The implications of this later dating for local continuity and for the spread of pottery are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akkermans, P. M. M. G., Cappers, R., Cavallo, C., Nieuwenhuyse, O. P., Nilhamn, B., & Otte, I. (2006). Investigating the Early Pottery Neolithic of northern Syria: New evidence from Tell Sabi Abyad. American Journal of Archaeology, 110, 123–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aurenche, O., Galet, P., Régagnon-Caroline, E., & Évin, J. (2001). Proto-neolithic and Neolithic cultures in the Middle East: The birth of agriculture, livestock raising and ceramics 12,500–5500 cal. B.C. Radiocarbon, 43, 1191–1202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baird, D. (2010a). The Boncuklu Project: Investigating the beginnings of agriculture, sedentism and herding in central Anatolia. Anatolian Archaeology, 16, 11–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baird, D. (2010b). Was Çatalhöyük a centre? The implications of a Late Aceramic Neolithic assemblage from the neighbourhood of Çatalhöyük. In D. Bolger & L. C. Maguire (Eds.), Development of pre-state communities in the ancient Near East (pp. 207–216). Oxford: Oxbow Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baird, D. (2012). The Late Epipalaeolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic of the Anatolian Plateau, 13,000–4000 BC calibrated. In D. T. Potts (Ed.), Blackwell’s companion to Near Eastern archaeology (pp. 431–465). Oxford: Blackwell.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Baird, D., Fairbairn, A., Martin, L., & Middleton, C. (2012). The Boncuklu project: The origins of sedentism, cultivation and herding in central Anatolia. In M. Özdoğan & N. Başgelen (Eds.), Neolithic in Turkey: New excavations, new discoveries (pp. 219–244). Istanbul: Arkeoloji v Sanat Yayinlari.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bar-Yosef, O., & Meadow, R. H. (1995). The origins of agriculture in the Near East. In T. D. Price & A. B. Gebauer (Eds.), Last hunters, first farmers: New perspectives on the transition to agriculture (pp. 39–94). Santa Fe: School of American Research Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayliss, A., & Bronk Ramsey, C. (2004). Pragmatic Bayesians: A decade integrating radiocarbon dates into chronological models. In C. E. Buck & A. R. Millard (Eds.), Tools for constructing chronologies: Tools for crossing disciplinary boundaries (pp. 25–41). London: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bayliss, A., Farid, S., & Higham, T. (2013). Time will tell: Practising Bayesian chronological modelling on the East Mound. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Çatalhöyük excavations: The 2000–2008 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 7. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara, Monograph 46; Monumenta Archaeologica 29 (pp. 53–89). Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute for Archaeology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayliss, A., & Whittle, A. (Eds.). (2007). Histories of the dead: Building chronologies for five southern British long barrows. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 17(Suppl).

  • Beaumont, W., Beverly, R., Southon, J. R., & Taylor, R. E. (2010). Bone preparation at the KCCAMS laboratory. Nuclear Instruments and Methods Research, B268, 906–909.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogaard, A., & Isaakidou, V. (2010). From megasites to farmsteads: Community size and the nature of early farming in the Near East and Europe. In B. Finlayson & G. Warren (Eds.), Landscapes in transition: Understanding hunter-gatherer and farming landscapes in the Early Holocene of Europe and the Levant (pp. 192–207). London: Levant Supplementary Series & CBRL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowman, S. (1990). Radiocarbon dating. London: British Museum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brock, F., Higham, T., Ditchfield, P., & Bronk Ramsey, C. (2010). Current pretreatment methods for AMS radiocarbon dating at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit (ORAU). Radiocarbon, 52, 103–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronk Ramsey, C. (1995). Radiocarbon calibration and analysis of stratigraphy: The OxCal program. Radiocarbon, 36, 425–430.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronk Ramsey, C. (2009a). Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates. Radiocarbon, 51, 337–360.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronk Ramsey, C. (2009b). Dealing with outliers and offsets in radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon, 51, 1023–1045.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronk Ramsey, C., & Hedges, R. E. M. (1999). Hybrid ion sources: Radiocarbon measurements from microgram to milligram. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, B123, 539–545.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronk Ramsey, C., Higham, T., & Leach, P. (2004). Towards high precision AMS: Progress and limitations. Radiocarbon, 46, 17–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronk Ramsey, C., Pettitt, P. B., Hedges, R. E. M., Hodgins, G. W. L., & Owen, C. D. (2000). Radiocarbon dates from the Oxford AMS system: Archaeometry Datelist 30. Archaeometry, 42, 459–479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, T. A., Nelson, D. E., Vogel, J. S., & Southon, J. R. (1988). Improved collagen extraction by modified Longin method. Radiocarbon, 30, 171–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buck, C. E., Cavanagh, W. G., & Litton, C. D. (1996). The Bayesian approach to interpreting archaeological data. Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buck, C. E., Kenworthy, J. B., Litton, C. D., & Smith, A. F. M. (1991). Combining archaeological and radiocarbon information: A Bayesian approach to calibration. Antiquity, 65, 808–821.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buck, C. E., Litton, C. D., & Smith, A. F. M. (1992). Calibration of radiocarbon results pertaining to related archaeological events. Journal of Archaeological Science, 19, 497–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buitenhuis, H. (1997). Aşıklı Höyük: A ‘protodomestication’ site. Anthropozoologica, 25(26), 655–662.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caneva, I. (2014). Mersin-Yumuktepe in the seventh millennium BC: The social dimension of technological changes. In P. Biehl & E. Rosentstock (Eds.), 6000 BC. Times of change in the Near East and Europe (in preparation). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter, T., Conolly J., Spasojević A. (2005). The chipped stone. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Changing materialities at Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 1995–1999 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 5. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara, Monograph 39 (pp. 221–283, 467–533). Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

  • Carter, T., & Milić, M. (2013). The chipped stone. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Substantive technologies at Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 2000–2008 seasons. Çatalhöyük Reseach Project Volume 9. British Institute at Ankara Monograph 48; Monumenta Archaeologica 31 (pp. 417–478). Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cauvin, J. (2000). The birth of the gods and the origins of agriculture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cessford, C. (2001). A new dating sequence for Çatalhöyük. Antiquity, 75, 717–725.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cessford, C. (2005). Absolute dating at Çatalhöyük. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Inhabiting Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 1995–1999 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 4. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara Monograph 38 (pp. 65–99). Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cessford, C. (2007). Level Pre-XII. E-A and Levels XII and XI, Spaces 181, 199 and 198. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Excavating Çatalhöyük: South, North, and KOPAL Area reports from the 1995–1999 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 3. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara Monograph 37 (pp. 59–101). Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christen, J. A. (1994). Summarizing a set of radiocarbon determinations: A robust approach. Applied Statistics, 43, 489–503.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doherty, C. (2013). Sourcing Çatalhöyük’s clays. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Substantive technologies at Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 2000–2008 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 9. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara Monograph 48. Monumenta Archaeologica 31 (pp. 51–66). Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute for Archaeology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Düring, B. S. (2010). The prehistory of Asia Minor: From complex hunter-gatherers to early urban societies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Düring, B. S. (2013). Breaking the bond: Investigating the Neolithic expansion in Asia Minor in the seventh millennium BC. Journal of World Prehistory, 26(2), 75–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farid, S. (2007). Level X relative heights, buildings 23 18 and building 9. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Excavating Çatalhöyük: South, North, and KOPAL Area reports from the 1995–1999 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 3. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara Monograph 37 (pp. 103–137). Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farid, S. (2008). A review of the Mellaart level system and the introduction of a new phasing system at Çatalhöyük 2008. Çatalhöyük 2008 Archive report (pp. 15–28). Retrieved January 23, 2011 from http://www.catalhoyuk.com/downloads/Archive_Report_2008.pdf, Çatalhöyük Research Project.

  • Farid, S. (2013). Timelines: Phasing Neolithic Çatalhöyük. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Humans and landscapes of Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 2000–2008 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 8. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara Monograph 47; Monumenta Archaeologica 30 (pp. 91–129). Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • French, D. H., Hillman, G. C., Payne, S., & Payne, R. J. (1972). Excavations at Can Hasan III 1969–1970. In E. S. Higgs (Ed.), Papers in economic prehistory (pp. 181–190). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuller, D. Q., Willcox, G., & Allaby, R. G. (2011). Cultivation and domestication had multiple origins: Arguments against the core area hypothesis for the origins of agriculture in the Near East. World Archaeology, 43, 628–652.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Göktürk, E. H., Hillegonds, D. J., Lipschutz, M. E., & Hodder, I. (2002). Accelerator mass spectrometry dating at Çatalhöyük. Radiochimica Acta, 90, 407–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodder, I. (1997). ‘Always momentary, fluid and flexible’: Towards a reflexive excavation methodology. Antiquity, 71, 691–700.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodder, I. (2006). Çatalhöyük: The Leopard’s Tale: Revealing the mysteries of Turkey’s ancient ‘town’. London: Thames & Hudson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodder, I. (Ed.). (2007). Excavating Çatalhöyük: South, North, and KOPAL Area reports from the 1995–1999 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 3. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara Monograph 37. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodder, I. (Ed.). (2010). Religion in the emergence of civilisation: Çatalhöyük as a case study. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodder, I. (Ed.). (2013). Çatalhöyük excavations: The 2000–2008 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 7. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara, Monograph 46; Monumenta Archaeologica 29. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute for Archaeology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodder, I., Cessford, C., & Farid, S. (2007). Chapter 1: Introduction to Methods and Approaches. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Excavating Çatalhöyük: South, North, and KOPAL Area reports from the 1995–1999 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 3. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara Monograph 37 (pp. 3–24). Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodder, I., & Meskell, L. (2011). A ‘curious and sometimes a trifle macabre artistry’: Some aspects of symbolism in Neolithic Turkey. Current Anthropology, 52, 235–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kozlowski, S. K., & Aurenche, O. (2005). Territories, boundaries and cultures in the Neolithic Near East. Lyon: Maison de l’ Orient méditerranée-Jean Pouilloux.

    Google Scholar 

  • Last, J. (2005). Pottery from the East Mound. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Changing materialities at Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 1995–1999 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 5. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara, Monograph 39 (pp. 101–138). Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marciniak, A., Barański, M. Z., Bayliss, A., Czerniak, L., Goslar, T., Southon, J. R., & Taylor, R. E. (2015). Fragmenting times: Interpreting a Bayesian chronology for the late Neolithic occupation of Çatalhöyük East, Turkey. Antiquity, 89, 154–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marciniak, A., & Czerniak, L. (in preparation). Late Neolithic at Çatalhöyük East: Excavations of upper levels in the Team Poznan area. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press.

  • Matthews, W. (2005). Micromorphological and microstratigaphic traces of uses and concepts of space. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Inhabiting Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 1995–1999 Seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 4. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara Monograph 38 (pp. 355-398). Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mellaart, J. (1963). Excavations at Çatal Hüyük, 1962: Second preliminary report. Anatolian Studies, 13, 43–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mellaart, J. (1964). Excavations at Çatal Hüyük, 1963: Third preliminary report. Anatolian Studies, 14, 39–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mellaart, J. (1966). Excavations at Çatal Hüyük, 1965: Fourth preliminary report. Anatolian Studies, 16, 165–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mellaart, J. (1967). Çatal Hüyük: A Neolithic town in Anatolia. London: Thames & Hudson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, A. M. T. (1995). The inception of potting in Western Asia and its impact on economy and society. In W. K. Barnett & J. W. Hoopes (Eds.), The emergence of pottery: Technology and innovation in ancient societies (pp. 39–53). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newton, M. W., & Kuniholm, P. I. (1999). Wiggles worth watching—marking radiocarbon work: The case of Çatal Höyük. In P. P. Betancourt, V. Karageorghis, R. Laffineur, & W.-D. Niemeier (Eds.), Meletemata: Studies in Aegean archaeology presented to Malcolm H. Weiner as he enters his 65th year. Aegaeum 20 (pp. 527–537). Liège: Université de Liège.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nieuwenhuyse, O. P., Akkermans, P. M. M. G., & van der Plicht, J. (2010). Not so coarse, nor always plain: The earliest pottery of Syria. Antiquity, 84, 71–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Özbaşaran, M. (1999). Musular: A general assessment on a new Neolithic site in Central Anatolia. In M. Özdoğan & N. Başgelen (Eds.), Neolithic in Turkey: The cradle of civilization. New discoveries (pp. 147–156). Istanbul: Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayınları.

    Google Scholar 

  • Özbaşaran, M., & Duru, G. (2013). IST (Istanbul) Area of the East Mound. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Çatalhöyük excavations: The 2000–2008 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 7. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara, Monograph 46; Monumenta Archaeologica 29 (pp. 621–658). Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute for Archaeology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Özdoğan, M. (2010). Westward expansion of the Neolithic way of life: Sorting the Neolithic package into distinct packages. In P. Matthiae, F. Pinnock, L. Nigro, & N. Marchetti (Eds.), Proceedings of the 6th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (pp. 883–898). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reimer, P. J., Baillie, M. G. L., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J. W., Bertrand, C. J. H., & Weyhenmeyer, C. E. (2009). IntCal09 and Marine09 radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon, 51, 1111–1150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renfrew, C. (1987). Archaeology and language. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, N., Boyer, P., & Merrick, J. (2007). The KOPAL on-site and off-site excavations and sampling. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Excavating Çatalhöyük: South, North, and KOPAL Area reports from the 1995–1999 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 3. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara Monograph 37 (pp. 553–572). Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, N., Boyer, P., & Parish, R. (1996). Preliminary results of geoarchaeological investigations at Çatalhöyük. In I. Hodder (Ed.), On the surface: Çatalhöyük 1993–1995. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 1. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara Monograph 22 (pp. 19–40). Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santos, G. M., Moore, R. B., Southon, J. R., Griffin, S., Hinger, E., & Zhang, D. (2007). AMS 14C sample preparation at the KCCAMS/UCI facility: Status report and performance of small samples. Radiocarbon, 49, 255–269.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, P. E. (1976). Reflections on four seasons of excavations at Tapeh Ganj Dareh. In F. Bagherzadah (Ed.), Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Symposium on Archaeological Research in Iran (pp. 11–22). Tehran: Iranian Centre for Archaeological Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Southon, J. R., Santos, G. M., Druffel, E. R., Griffin, S., Trumbore, S. E., & Xu, X. (2005). High throughput, high precision 14C AMS with a small accelerator. In International Atomic Energy Agency Symposium on Utilisation of Accelerators, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 5–9 June 2005. IAEA-CN-115-10.

  • Stevanović, M. (2012). Neolithic excavation in the BACH Area, Çatalhöyük 1997–2003. In R. Tringham & M. Stevanović (Eds.), House lives: Building, inhabiting, excavating a house at Çatalhöyük, Turkey: Reports from the BACH Area, Çatalhöyük, 1997–2003 (pp. 23–98). Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stuckenrath, R., & Lawn, B. (1969). University of Pennsylvania radiocarbon dates XI. Radiocarbon, 11, 150–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stuckenrath, R., & Ralph, E. K. (1965). University of Pennsylvania radiocarbon dates VIII. Radiocarbon, 7, 187–199.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stuiver, M., & Polach, H. A. (1977). Reporting of 14C data. Radiocarbon, 19, 355–363.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stuiver, M., & Reimer, P. J. (1993). Extended 14C data base and revised CALIB 3.0 14C age calibration program. Radiocarbon, 35, 215–230.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tringham, R., & Stevanović, M. (Eds.). (2012). Last House on the Hill: BACH Area Reports from Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vandiver, P. B. (1987). Sequential slab construction: A conservative southwest Asiatic ceramic tradition, ca. 7000–3000 BC. Paléorient, 13, 9–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verhoeven, M. (2006). Megasites in the Jordanian Pre-Pottery Neolithic B. Evidence for ‘proto-urbanism’. In E. B. Banning & M. Chazan (Eds.), Domesticating space: Construction, community, and cosmology in the late prehistoric Near East (pp. 75–79). Berlin: ExOriente.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward, G. K., & Wilson, S. R. (1978). Procedures for comparing and combining radiocarbon age determinations: A critique. Archaeometry, 20, 19–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whittle, A., Healy, F., & Bayliss, A. (2011). Gathering time: Dating the early Neolithic enclosures of southern Britain and Ireland. Oxford: Oxbow.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu, X. M., Trumbore, S. E., Zheng, S., Southon, J. R., McDuffee, K. E., Luttgen, M., & Liu, J. C. (2007). Modifying a sealed tube zinc reduction method for preparation of AMS graphite targets: Reducing background and attaining high precision. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, B259, 320–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yalman, N., Tarkan, D., & Gültekin, H. (2013). The Neolithic pottery of Çatalhöyük: Recent studies. In I. Hodder (Ed.), Substantive technologies at Çatalhöyük: Reports from the 2000–2008 seasons. Çatalhöyük Research Project Volume 9. British Institute for Archaeology at Ankara Monograph 48; Monumenta Archaeologica 31 (pp. 147–182). Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute for Archaeology.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The dating program on which this article is based was made possible by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation; the research at Çatalhöyük is also funded by The British Institute in Ankara, the National Geographic Society, Yapı Kredi, Boeing, Shell, Hedef Alliance and Stanford University. The NERC-AHRC Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Dating Service (ORADS) is acknowledged for providing funding for dating the Celtis samples (NF/2002/2/4). We thank Lisa Yeomans for identifying articulating bone groups from the archive, and the staff of the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit and the Keck Carbon Cycle AMS facility for their all their hard work in the laboratories.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, UK

    Alex Bayliss

  2. Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK

    Fiona Brock

  3. Institute of Archaeology, University College London, 31-34 Gordon Square, London, WC1H OPY, UK

    Shahina Farid

  4. Stanford Archaeology Center, Stanford University, PO Box 20446, Stanford, CA, 94309, USA

    Ian Hodder

  5. Keck Carbon Cycle AMS Facility, University of California, Irvine, B321 Croul Hall, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA

    John Southon & R. E. Taylor

Authors
  1. Alex Bayliss
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Fiona Brock
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shahina Farid
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ian Hodder
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. John Southon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. R. E. Taylor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ian Hodder.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

10963_2015_9083_MOESM1_ESM.tif

Supplementary material 1. Probability distributions of dates from the Hodder deep sounding through Çatalhöyük East. Each distribution represents the relative probability that an event occurs at a particular time. For each of the dates two distributions have been plotted: one in outline, which is the result of simple radiocarbon calibration, and a solid one, based on the chronological model used. Distributions other than those relating to particular samples correspond to aspects of the model. For example, the distribution ‘start mound’ is the estimated date when the mound started to accumulate in the deep sounding. Measurements followed by a question mark and shaded in grey have been excluded from the model for reasons explained in the text, and are simple calibrated dates (Stuiver and Reimer 1993). The large square brackets down the left-hand side along with the OxCal keywords define the overall model exactly (TIF 720 kb)

10963_2015_9083_MOESM2_ESM.tif

Supplementary material 2. Alternative model for the chronology of Hodder deep sounding through Çatalhöyük East, allowing for a variable rate of midden accumulation. The format is identical to that of Fig. 2. The large square brackets down the left-hand side along with the OxCal keywords define the overall model exactly (TIF 846 kb)

10963_2015_9083_MOESM3_ESM.tif

Supplementary material 3. Model 3 showing the calibrated dates on calcified hackberry endocarps (in grey) in the stratigraphic positions from which the samples derived. The format is identical to that of Fig. 2. The large square brackets down the left-hand side along with the OxCal keywords define the overall model exactly (TIF 2309 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bayliss, A., Brock, F., Farid, S. et al. Getting to the Bottom of It All: A Bayesian Approach to Dating the Start of Çatalhöyük. J World Prehist 28, 1–26 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10963-015-9083-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10963-015-9083-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation