The Goddess and the Bull: Catalhoyuk--An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilization - Softcover

Balter, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1598740695 ISBN 13: 9781598740691

Publisher: Routledge, 2009

Synopsis

Veteran science writer Michael Balter skillfully weaves together many threads in this fascinating book about one of archaeology’s most legendary sites― Çatalhöyük. First excavated forty years ago, the site is justly revered by prehistorians, art historians, and New Age goddess worshippers alike for its spectacular finds dating almost 10,000 years ago. Archaeological maverick Ian Hodder, leader of the recent re-excavation at this Turkish mound, designated Balter as the project’s biographer. The result is a skillful telling of many stories about both past and present: of the inhabitants of Neolithic Çatalhöyük and the development of human creativity and ingenuity, as revealed in the recent excavation; of James Mellaart, the original excavator, whose troubles off the mound eventually overshadowed his incisive work at the site; of Hodder and his intense, brilliant crew who marveled and squabbled over the meaning of finds in dusty trenches while attempting to reintepret Mellaart’s work; and of the recent history of the theory and methods of archaeology itself. Part story of the human past, part soap opera of modern scholarly life, part textbook on the practice of modern archaeology, this book should appeal to general readers and archaeological students alike.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Thousands of years before the pyramids were built in Egypt, a great civilization arose on the Anatolian plains. The Goddess and the Bull details the dramatic quest by archaeologists to unearth the buried secrets of this huge, spectacularly well-preserved early farming settlement.

Here lie the origins of modern society—the dawn of art, architecture, religion, the nuclear family—even the first tangible evidence of human self-awareness, the world’s oldest mirrors. Some archaeologists have claimed that a Mother Goddess was first worshipped at Çatalhöyük, which is now a site of pilgrimage for Goddess worshippers from all over the world. The excavations here have unearthed the seeds of the Neolithic Revolution, when prehistoric humans first abandoned the hunter-gatherer life they had known for millions of years, invented farming, and began living in houses and communities.

Michael Balter, the excavation’s official "biographer," brings readers behind the scenes, providing the first inside look at the remarkable site and its history of scandal and thrilling scientific discovery. He tells the human story of two colorful men: British archaeologist James Mellaart, who discovered Çatalhöyük in 1958 only to be banned from working at the site forever after a fabulous Bronze Age treasure he had found earlier disappeared without a trace; and Ian Hodder, a path-breaking archaeological rebel, who reinvented the way archaeology is practiced and reopened the excavation after it lay dormant for three decades. Today Hodder leads an international team of more than one hundred archeologists who continue to probe the site’s ancient secrets.

Balter pulls the curtain on romantic notions about archaeology to reveal the true story behind modern excavations—the thrill of history-making scientific discovery as well as the crushing disappointments, the community and friendship, the love affairs, and the often bitter rivalries between warring camps of archaeologists. Along the way, Balter describes the cutting-edge advances in archaeological science that have allowed the team at Çatalhöyük to illuminate the central questions of human existence.

From the Inside Flap:

Veteran science writer Michael Balter skillfully weaves together many threads in this biography of the excavation one of archaeology’s most legendary prehistoric sites— Çatalhöyük, Turkey.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1598740695
• ISBN 13: 9781598740691
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432