The Goddess and the Bull: Catalhoyuk: An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilization (Hardcover)

by Michael Balter (Author) "LATE IN THE AFTERNOON of November 10, 1958, a green Land Rover lurched down a narrow dirt road in south central Turkey, about thirty miles..." (more)
Key Phrases: excavator diary, faunal team, human remains team, Near East, Ian Hodder, Neolithic Revolution (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"(Balter's) book is foremost about a site that offers unique insights into the origins of our own civilization." -- Ian Tattersall, Curator, American Museum of Natural History

"(Balter) has produced a compelling read, one that achieves the double act of educating and entertaining." -- Science Magazine

"A canny narrative history of a wondrous archaeological site, full of personality and personalities, and ripe with thoughtful conjecture." -- Kirkus Reviews

"A superb biography of a super archaeological site!" -- Bruce Trigger, James McGill Professor, Department of Anthropology, McGill University, Montreal

"This valuable, engaging study of a major site...will delight archaeology and anthropology students and their teachers." -- Library Journal --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
"This is a clear and detailed account of how archaeological methodology and different avenues of scientific investigation (archaeobotany, micromorphology and physical anthropology) can be combined to help us understand cultural, religious, and ideological contexts at Çatalhöyük. Balter’s vivid image of a functioning archaeological community is a unique perspective that is thoroughly enjoyable." —Katie Jaye-Lipton, Minerva

"Balter uses the personlities of the people who have excavated the Turkish archaeological site of Catalhoyuk to draw in his reader and to help understand the passion, decisions and dedication that it takes to work for years at an archaeological site.... The Goddess and the Bull is the wonderful true story of one of the largest and most populated Neolithic settlements.... Highly recommended for undergraduates, because the book does a wonderful job of explaining various archaeological theories in a way that is easy to understand." —Melissa Aho, Anthropology Review Database

"The dawn of civilization means here the beginnings of living in cities and the emergence of complex social and symbolic systems. The author, a celebrated scientific journalist of Science, perceptively explores the way in which the archaeological record is interpreted over time. His study retraces some fifty years of excavation at Çatalhöyük, one of the largest Neolithic settlements in central Turkey’s Konya Plain, which was discovered in 1958 by British archaeologist James Mellaart. This 9,500 old prehistoric village, which was inhabited for a thousand years and whose population is estimated to have been approximately 8,000 at its peak, is made of well preserved mud-brick houses in which artworks depict leopards, vultures, bulls and 'Mother Goddesses'. Balter’s skillfully crafted report should be of interest to semioticians not so much for his descriptions of the artifacts as for his vivid rendering of the archaeological process. His main focus is indeed on the archaeologists themselves, who are not mere names appended to scientific articles or books reporting data and interpretations, but embodied minds embedded in institutions and complex webs of influences. Each one is introduced by a life story and his/her involvement with Çatalhöyük is described in both intellectual and emotional terms. But, perhaps more importantly, this book dramatizes the theoretical and methodological changes that occurred during the last fifty years in archaeology. The paradigm shifts from 'traditional' to 'New', then from 'Processual' to 'Post-processual' archaeology are lucidly explained as well as their consequences in the field. Balter exemplifies, without using the word, the semiotic turn in archaeology, the explicit quest for the meanings that prehistoric artifacts had for the people who made them and used them." —Semiotix

"(Balter) has produced a compelling read, one that achieves the double act of educating and entertaining." —Science Magazine

"All in all, this book is an exciting read. Balter knows his stuff and anyone interested in the origins of civilization and the ultimate foundations of the modern world we live in will enjoy and learn from it. Besides that, there is basically an undergraduate education in archaeological theory included." —Political Affairs --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (December 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743243609
• ISBN-13: 978-0743243605
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #449,931 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Digging up a story, April 18, 2008

By	Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

What would it have been like to live there? A high plain, holding a marshland framed by distant hills. The flat countryside allowed access to various resources and links to other communities. Cattle roamed in places, but at some point, these were brought under human control. In the meantime, there were sheep, goats and pigs to complement stands of barley and early wheat. Although this might describe countless villages of today, this was something more like a town or "settlement". Well populated for a millennium, this was a community inhabited by up to 8 000 people at one time. And the time was over nine thousand years ago at a place now known as Catalhoyuk. World-famous now, the story of this ancient settlement is graphically portrayed in this comprehensive account.

James Mellaart was investigating "mounds" in Turkey, coming to Catalhoyuk in 1958. Mounds in flat places are certain signs of human habitation. First surface scrapings led Mellaart to serious excavating and the settlement began to emerge. Not only was this an ancient community, but it was large and complex. The dead were buried under house floors, domesticated animals were put on ovens for dinner, and walls were decorated with bulls' horns, while figurines interpreted as women or goddesses were scattered about. Hence, the title of this book. Both the bulls and the figurines remained in central roles as excavations proceeded and attempts to understand the inhabitants' society were debated.

Mellaart, embroiled in a scandal over some Neolithic "treasures" was ultimately banned from the site by the Turkish government. Years later, another archaeologist, Ian Hodder, was granted permits to continue the work. He launched a decades-long programme, utilising hundreds of excavators, preparators and specialists in a variety of fields to sift the evidence on what Catalhoyuk was and how its people might have lived. Michael Balter couldn't interview those folks, but he details the lives of those working the site over the years with intimate - and articulate - skill. From the site's chief Hodder through the various specialists to the locals involved, he weaves an intricate tapestry of active, and interactive, lives. The result is many small portraits forming a large picture centred on this spectacular settlement.

Hodder's choice as team leader brought a serious archaeological debate into closer focus. For a long time, archaeology had simply meant digging - find the site, unearth whatever artefacts were revealed and leave interpretation to the philosophers. A key point, however, continually intruded - when did humans domesticate plants and animals and where did they do it? How did agriculture change human society? Did people form communities before or after they learned to farm? Balter examines these questions thoroughly as he relates Hodder's career and how Catalhoyuk influenced his thinking and that of others in the discipline. Hodder's role proved essential in dealing with a movement known as "The New Archaeology" founded by Lewis Binford and others. It was to be a more scientific approach to digs, adding elements of "ethnoarchaeology" - greater focus on the inhabitants than just pots and middens. What was unearthed was to be considered as evidence of social behaviour.

As Balter explains, the evidence modified both the core New Archaeology and Hodder's own revisions of it. Close examination of the evidence emerging from the dig demonstrated that no simple conclusions could be drawn. The marshland around the community provided rich soil for tilling and animals for food and fuel. Dung was commonly burned in cooking ovens - it's better than wood for temperature control. But that meant the people wandered great distances to gather it. These findings, seemingly mundane, prove the real clues to how people lived. Houses are also indicative. Why were they deliberately burned [as many were]? Was it a signal of the end of a family line? What was the role of men contrasted to the women? "Mother Goddess" cults have emerged, particularly in the US, stemming from Mellaart's original discoveries, but Hodder's team discounts their premise, insisting sexual equality seemed to be the norm at Catalhoyuk.

In all, Balter has provided an exquisite overview of the science and practices of archaeology. By heavily personalising his account, he has firmly dispelled any notion of "white coat" scientists or excavators removed from "real life". Instead, he depicts how the lab can support the diggers, and the trowel-wielders in turn, bring ancient times into today's world. An excellent book, dealing with many levels of research and life, presented with clarity and an obvious affection for the subjects. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read for the dabbler or the professional, January 5, 2005

By	Matthew Krohn "Archaeological Field Tech" (New Hampshire, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Michael Balter is a writer for Science magazine, and does a very good job of writing a book which is interesting on many levels. Not only is the book informative, but skillfully written so as to be enjoyable. The book begins with a history of the excavations at Çatalhöyük carried out by James Mellaart in the 1960's. By the fourh chapter, it is discussing the events leading up to the site being reopened by the eminent archaeologist Ian Hodder, who has assembled an all-star team to determine the feasibility of a new archaeological methodology. Part biography, part adventure, it is one of the few works of non-fiction which I have been unable to put down.

The book serves well to provide a degree of transparency to the Çatalhöyük excavations that I've never seen before. Many of the excavators are put under a microscope, just as one of the specialists, Wendy Matthews, does to fragments of the houses they excavate. Indeed, this may be a useful metaphor: in understanding the meaning of the houses unearthed, we need to understand how it was constructed; to understand the conclusions reached by the Çatalhöyük team, we need to know the makeup of the crew.

I n an email I sent earlier today to the author, I commented that the book "feels similar to an adventure novel along the lines of a Clarke novel, except that it
is all real." I hold to this. The book as a whole is an exciting read, and it's rather a relief to sometimes read about an archaeological project without having to stop and reflect deeply every two pages. This is not to say that the book doesn't stimulate the mind. It is, however, written so as not to be a burden.

Having read a small variety of different books on archaeological theory, I can also recommend the book as a good way of introducing oneself to the varied archaeological positions in archaeology. He writes an artful, and only slightly biased, history of theory. Most chapters are filled with background. It is also the first book I have read to describe the methodological differences created by the postprocessual archaeological approach, and the real-world consequences of managing a team by that approach. As a student who is planning to enter graduate school in archaeology next fall, this is especially useful and thought-provoking.

Even if one simply wishes to explore the intricacies of a site, without any archaeological background, "The Goddess and the Bull" is an exciting book. It also lays out enough groundwork and knowledge of the site's participants to be able to usefully glean additional information from the excavation's website, Çatalhöyük Excavations. As an area studies book, it lacks the extreme amounts of data normally accompanying such a book. It also shouldn't be used as a primary source. I would be surprised, however, if either of these were Balter's goals. Indeed, it may contribute something more to the field, that maybe more archaeologists should be aware of: by writing about the site in a narrative, one might be able to understand the site much more than if one simply read about feature placement, artifact scatters, and other such "raw" data.

It's a fair presentation of the site and I would recommend it to anyone of any interest level in archaeology, a professor, undergraduate student, or dabbler, or even anyone simply looking for a good read.

27 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Through A Glass, Darkly, January 2, 2005

By	William Holmes "semloh2287" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"The Goddess and the Bull" is a fasinating and well written book, enjoyable at many levels. Michael Balter began thinking about Catalhoyuk when Science magazine assigned him to write a story about the excavations back in 1998. He became fascinated by the subject, found reasons to go back to the dig to write follow up articles, and eventually became the excavation's official biographer.

The story begins with James Mellaart's discovery of the mound at Catalhoyuk and the stunning realization that it was Neolithic (New Stone Age) from top to bottom--to use Mellaart's phrase, no "filthy Roman muck" cluttered this site. Balter describes the excavation of the site in the 1960s, the excitement about the discovery of "Goddess" figurines, Mellaart's expulsion from Turkey in the aftermath of the mysterious Dorak Affair, and the long hiatus between Mellaart's departure in 1965 and the arrival of Ian Hodding's team in 1993. The narrative offers many insights about the debates among "processual" and "post-processual" archaeologists, as well as the backgrounds of the many interesting people who choose to live and dig at Catalhoyuk year after year.

But the stars of the book are Catalhoyuk and its people. What do we know about these villagers, those generations that occupied the site for nearly 1,000 years? Did they worship bulls or goddesses? Were their cattle domesticated or wild or something in between? Why did they bury their dead beneath the floors of their houses? Why did they bury and sometimes burn their houses, only to build new structures on top of the old, over and over again? And why did they choose to live together in such large numbers in the middle of what was then a marsh?

There may never be any final answer to any of these questions, or to the myriad of other questions raised by Catalhoyuk and other Neolithic sites. Still, half the pleasure is in the journey, and Balter has done an excellent job of describing a journey that is truly marvelous.