Society for American Archaeology

Food, Meals, and Daily Activities: Food Habitus at Neolithic atalhyk

Author(s): Sonya Atalay and Christine A. Hastorf
Source: American Antiquity, Vol. 71, No. 2 (Apr., 2006), pp. 283-319
Published by: Society for American Archaeology
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40035906
Accessed: 17/02/2010 17:08
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless
you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you
may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.
Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=sam.
Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed
page of such transmission.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Society for American Archaeology is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to
American Antiquity.

http://www.jstor.org

FOOD, MEALS, AND DAILY ACTIVITIES:

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHIC CATALHOYUK
Sonya Atalay and ChristineA. Hastorf

Weconsider the daily practices offood preparationand consumptionat the Neolithic Anatolian site of Qatalhoyuk.Wepresent the majorfood activities suggestedfrom the archaeological evidence, including the timingand range of possible ingredients eaten by the residents of this thousand-yearsettlement. Plant, animal, and mineral resources, as well as the food
productionand preparationpractices, are viewed in the context of the seasonal cycle. Thefood-related activities practiced
at (^atalhoyiikwithin each of the seasons are placed into five primary groups: production and procurement,processing,
cooking, presentation,and eating. The daily household acts associated with these categories are discussed in detail. Using
flora, fauna, micromorphological,lithic, ceramic, clay and architecturalevidence, we present a picture of a communitythat
was relativelyhealthy. The residentshad a diet that relied heavily on plantfoodstuffs, with wild plants remainingan important and valuable part of the daily and seasonal food practices throughout.Thepeople of Qatalhoyukate a range of animal products, including meat obtainedfrom domesticated sheep/goats, wild cattle, small and large game, and to a more
limited extent, eggs and waterfowl. Theirsocial life can be seen throughthesefoodways.
Consideramoslos elementosdiarios de preparacionde comiday consumoen el sitio neolitico de Qatalhoyuken Anatolia.Presentamoslas actividadesalimentariasprincipales sugeridaspor la evidencia arqueologica, incluyendoel tiempoy rango de
los ingredientesposiblementeingeridospor los residentesde este asentamientomilenario.Los recursosvegetales,animalesy
minerales, asicomo las prdcticas de producciony preparacionde alimentos,son analizadosen el contextodel ciclo estacional.
Las actividades relacionadascon los alimentos, realizadas en Qatalhoyuken cada estacion se ubican en cinco gruposprincipales: producciony aprovisionamiento,procesamiento,coccion, presentacion e ingesta. Los actos diarios de las unidades
domesticasasociadoscon estas categoriasson discutidosen detalle. Utilizandoevidenciafloristica,faunistica,microformologica,
litica, cerdmica,arquitectonicay de arcilla, presentamosuna imagende una comunidadquefue relativamentesaludable. Sus
habitantestuvieronuna dieta basada mayormenteen vegetales, siendo las plantas silvestres una importantey valiosa parte
de las prdcticas alimentariasestacionales y diarias. Tambiendemostramosque los residentesde Qatalhoyukingirieronun
rango de productosanimales, incluyendocame obtenida a traves del sacrificio de ovejas y cabras domesticadasy salvajes,
asi comopresas de caza mayorymenor,y en menormedida,huevosy aves acudticas.Su vida social puede observarsea traves
de los restos de comida.

morethanany otherhumanactivity,
food intensively creates the individual as
well as the community throughthe daily
practicesof eating.Peoplemusteatto live andthey
do so everyday.It is the ultimatehabituspractice,
as meals structurethe lives not only of the preparers but also of the consumers,formingthe foundation of sociality (Bourdieu 1977). For plant,
animal,and mineralthingsto be eaten,they must
firstbe culturallyconstructed,as theformandstructure of the food presentationdefines the ingredients as edible (Douglas 1997;Meigs 1988).While

humansinitiallyatetheirfood rawandrotted,over
the past 100,000 yearscooking has come to dominatemost cuisines.Evenbeforethe industrialage
of processedfood thathasreachedanapogeein the
past 60 years,people have been processingfoods
in many ways, usuallyto make it more edible, to
increaseits "shelf-life"in additionto increasingthe
varietyof flavorsandtextures.Suchstrategiesvary
by regionand culturalsetting,urbanversusfarmstead, hot versus cool climates, and so on. Thus,
perhapsmorethananyotherdailypracticestudied
by archaeologists,foodways are the most corpo-

Sonya Atalay Culturaland Social Anthropology,Bldg. 110, Main Quad, 450 SerraMall, StanfordUniversity,Stanford,
CA 94305-2145 (satalay@stanford.edu)
Christine A. Hastorf Departmentof Anthropologyand the ArchaeologicalResearchFacility, Universityof CaliforniaBerkeley,Berkeley,CA 94720-1076 (hastorf@berkeley.edu)
AmericanAntiquity,71(2), 2006, pp. 283-319
Copyright2006 by the Society for AmericanArchaeology
283

284

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

real,evocative,quotidian,andfundamental.In the
studyof any cuisine, the conventionsof edibility,
sequence,timing,andlocationof practiceillustrate
how rulesbecome embeddedintothebody andthe
group,throughyearsandgenerationsof dailyroutine. By takinga close look at the rangeof artifactual food remains and their distributions, we
proposethat we can get much closer to the daily
life of the residentsof atalhoyuk, a goal of the
atalhoyukResearchProject.
Food's culturalcategories often include raw,
cooked, and rottedingredients.The complexities
of these processes are ramifiedin all aspects of
humansociety,channeledby typesof mobility,procurement,tending,access to resourcesandto land
as well as familyhistory.Thereis a culturalimportance of food throughits participationin the creationof the largersociety throughthe layeringof
these daily practices.Eatingcreatesstrongevocative experiences,formingdeep memoriesof tastes
and smells that can be held communally. Such
memoriesbringpeoplebackintotheirlives, as was
so famously recorded by Proust (1934; Sutton
2001), triggeredby routinized,identity-forming
actions.Writingaboutthe creationof the French
identity,Barthes links the evocative qualities of
foodstuffsto groupidentityandsocial group,built
throughdaily practice,as food bringsthe memory
of the soil and the Frenchruralpast to contemporaryurbanlife (1979). Thus, the historiesof people's experiencesandthe associatedmemoriescan
be readthroughthe historiesof food use. Recipes
handed down from grandmothers,mothers, and
auntsevoke andmaintainthe memoryof the family, an identity-makingand evoking experience
whateverthe feelings of association.Commensal
actsthereforeweaveindividuals,families,andcommunitiestogetheron a regularbasis,in mentalconstructsas well as throughthepragmaticsof keeping
"foodon the table."Food thereforeis the original
socialglue thatformsthebondsof familyandsociety whilecreatingtheindividual.Throughthestudy
of foods,meals,andpreparations,
we canget closer
to not only daily life but the mentaliteof the past.
Food is dually corporealin that it participates
in the creationof the physicalpersonas well as the
social person(Barthes1979; FarbandArmelagos
1980; Massara 1997). In most settings, organic
intoediblefoodthrough
thingsmustbe transformed
preparationandpresentation,aidinga mentalshift

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

in what can enter the mouth (Falk 1994; Levi

Strauss 1969; Meigs 1988; Rozin et al. 1997).
Acceptableconsumptionand edibilityrules drive
collection andproduction,as whatis perceivedto
be edible will channeleffortsto bringfoods home
to the family (Sahlins 1976;Weismantel1988). In
the end, the body holds the resultsof these social
interactions,of the manymeals andtheirpreparations, not only giving sustenanceand growth,but
also alteringthe memoryof a relationalidentityof
both the food andthe people.This occursthrough
the actions requiredto producemeals, which are
markedin bone andligament,in the bodilygrowth
and lengthof life, as well as in the creationof the
individualsense of self. Thus,the studyof food is
the studyof nutrition,behavior,human-landscape
interaction,a system of signs as well as the study
of socialization into a community.It allows us
entranceintothedailyworldof thepeoplewe wish
to study.
Food socialization begins when children are
born, as family members are woven together
throughdaily mealtime reunions (Meigs 1988).
The old proverb,'The path to a man's heart is
throughhis stomach,"reflectshow food is themost
"embodied"of materialculture.Foodis not only a
physicalfact with caloriesandnutrients,butalso a
social fact linkingproductionto politics,patterned
by storageandmealpreparation,
playedoutin daily
meals and special communityfeasts (Appadurai
1981). In this paper,we applythese tenetsby suggesting thatthrougha detailedstudy of the foodways and cuisine of a long-livedcommunity,one
canlearnmuchaboutthedailysociallife andtempo
in thislong-pastsetting,in additionto someinsights
intothe identityandchangesthatoccurredthrough
time to the individual, family life, and society.
Archaeologistshavebegunto studypastlifeways,
social identities, local symbolism, and political
endeavorsthroughfood with engagingsuccess as
seen in the recent works by Dietler and Hayden
(2001), Wiessnerand Schiefenhovel(1996), Miracle andMilner(2002), andParkerPearson(2003),
to name a few recenteditedvolumes.
We considerlife at the NeolithicAnatoliansite
of atalh6yiikthroughthe elementsof food preparationand consumption,and the potentialmeanings associatedwith these basic acts. We present
the food activitiessuggestedby the archaeological
material,with a specialfocus on the rangeof pos-

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

285

Figure 1. Aerial view of fatalhoyuk's East Mound, taken from the southwest. Copyright atalhdyiik Research Project.

sibleingredientsanddishesthatwerelikelyto have
been eaten at Qatalhoyiik.Identifyingthese small
but regularnutritiveacts should illuminatesocial
life withinthe settlementover time as individuals,
houses, and communities were formed and
reformed(HodderandCessford2004). This informationgets us closer to the lived experiencethat
Bourdieu(1977)soughtwhenhe suggestedstudying
people'slivesby uncoveringhintsof theirhabitus.
The Site and the Project
^atalhoyuk is a 9,000-year-old Neolithic site
locatedin the middle of the KonyaPlain in south
centralAnatolia,260 km south of Turkey'smoderncapitalcity,Ankara,and40 km southeastof the
historiccity of Konya.After its initial settlement
around7200 B.C. (Cessford 2006), the site was
occupied for nearly 1,000 years, growing to 13
hectares.It is comprisedof two mounds:the East
mound,occupiedduringtheEarlyNeolithicperiod,
and the West mound, occupied during the Late
NeolithicandEarlyChalcolithictimes.This study
focuses on the earlierEast mound, which covers
an areaof 450 by 275 metersseen in Figures1 and
2. Excavationshavetakenplace in five areasin and
aroundthe East mound, including South, North,
Bach, KOPALand Summit(includingTP) areas;
however,the dataand conclusionspresentedhere

relyon materialsrecoveredfromonlythreeof these

areas(South,North,andKOPAL).Thesethreesectors have receivedthe bulk of the recentresearch.
Initialexcavationsduringthe 1960s on the East
moundbyJamesMellaart(1962,1963, 1964, 1966,
1967) andrenewedexcavationsby aninternational
researchteam underthe directionof Ian Hodder
(Hodder 1996, 1997, 1998,1999, 2000, 2004,
2005a,b,c, 2006) have revealed many mudbrick
buildingsabuttingeach other,each withredundant
interiorfeaturesincludingovens,hearths,andplatforms,as well as complexart,moldings,andarchitecturalfeatures,which is why many attributethe
house-likearchitectureto expressionsof an active
system of ritualbeliefs. The recentdetailedexcavationsrevealthatthe plasteredfloorsin the buildings had been cleared of most artifacts before
systematicandritualizedclosureandabandonment
(Matthewset al. 1997).A limitedamountof material culturedid remainin situ in primaryand secondarycontexts,includingbothworkedandground
stone,floralandfaunalremains,potteryfragments,
anda numberof otherproducedandcraftedpieces
such as beads, workedbone, clay balls, and figurines (Hodderand Cessford 2004). In addition,
similar material culture remains were found in
nearby middens as well as in the between constructionmaterial,which had been used to fill the
space before a new room was built over the old.

286

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

Figure 2. Contour map of atalhoyuk's East Mound. Copyright (Jatalhoyiik Research Project.

Over 1,000 years, this sequence of living and

rebuildingformed the tell. From these artifacts,
theirdistributions,andthe scholarswho have studied these data, we have winnowed information
aboutNeolithic foodways at Qatalhoyiik.
Five excavationfield seasonshave openedup a
series of buildings, field directed by Roger
Matthewsand ShahinaFarid.All excavatedsedimentwas sievedon sitefromeveryexcavationunit.
The environmentaldata was analyzed from systematically collected sediment samples. Each
newly identified unit was sampled for organic
remainsby thecollectionof soil, averaging30 liters
(between 1 and 60 liters), to maintainplant and
lithic densitiesrequiredfor a representativesample. Datawerecollectedfromeithera threedimensionalpoint-plottedsedimentsample(bulk)orfrom
average(scatter)samplestakenfrom middenand
other mixed areas (Popper and Hastorf 1988).
These soil samples were then systematically
cleanedin mechanizedwaterflotationsystemsby
a team of archaeobotanists(Hastorf 2005a). To
completethistask,theprojectbuilttwo water-pump
flotationmachinesthatprocessedover 3,000 sam-

ples (French197 1;Pearsall2000:49;Watson1976;

Williams 1973).Artifactclasses in additionto the
botanicals,shell,beads,bone, andlithicswere cataloguedand weighed for analysisandcuration.
Threehundredandfifty five unitswere chosen
for detailedand intensiveanalysisby the project.
This discussioncomes fromdetailedspecies identificationsandtaphonomicanalysisfor these chosen excavationunits(Hodder2005a).Theplansfor
buildingsfromwhichthesematerialscome areseen
in Figure3, includingBuildings 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24. This selected
studyuniverseprovidesa temporalandspatialcoverage of the east mound, includingdetailedcontexts within building divisions called spaces and
specific contexts like storage bins, ovens, and
hearths.This type of contextualidentificationis
illustratedin Figure4 of Building 1.
Regional Landscape and
Local Paleoclimatic Conditions
The currentunderstandingof the Neolithic atalhoyiiklandscapeis of a marshareastretchingacross

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

287

Figure 3. Plan of South Area levels VIII, IX, and IX (Buildings 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, and 23). Copyright
(^atalhoyiikResearch Project.

288

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

Figure 4. Plan of North Area Building 1, illustrating internal features and spaces. Copyright atalhoyuk Research
Project.

the KonyaPlain,as the largelakethathadfilledthe

basinin the Pleistoceneretreatedinto patchylakes
andmarshes(Figure5). Thisold lakebedthenbegan
riversthatenteredfrom
siltingupby theintermittent
thesouthernTaurusmountains.Theseriverscreated

alluvialberms,whichprovidedperiodicpatchesof
higherground(Asouti 2005; Robertset al. 2006).
One of these higherdry stretchesholds the settlement,sittingalongthe permanentarsambaRiver,
surroundedby marshywetlands.These wetlands

Figure 5. Environmental Reconstruction of atalhoyuk during a spring flood. Illustrated by John G. Swogger. Copyright
gatalhoyiik Research Project.

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

andmarshyareasextendedfarout to the northand

as much as 13 km southeastward,where a higher
riseprovidedcontinuousdrylandfordifferentstyles
of farmingand grazing(Asouti and Hather2001;
Robertset al. 1999; 2006). Althoughsmall, local
gardensfor freshgreens,cereals,andpulses could
have grownat the edge of the settlement,and the
risesthatemanatedoutfromthemarshyareaswould
haveprovidedpatchydryfarmingforthecerealsas
well as clustersof trees.Furtherafield,the mountainsanduplandswere morethicklyforestedwith
deciduoustrees,predominantlyoak, but also fruit
and nut trees including pistachio, almond, wild
et al. 2005).
apple,andpear(Asouti2005;Fairbairn
Meltingsnowfromthe surroundingmountainsfed
intothe lowlandareain the arsambaRiver,creating frequentspringfloodingduringthe occupation
of the site (Robertset al. 2006).
The landscapeof atalhoyukwas not static.It
underwent both long-term and smaller-scale
changes, before and during human occupation.
Wateras well as sedimentwere importantin daily
life. Thechangingseasonsandpassingyearswould
have broughttransitionto those living at atalhoyiik, most likely throughincreasedsedimentation. Throughouta single year, seasonalchanges
thelocalhydrologicsetting,withrains
transformed
and flooding,possibly quite severe,in the spring,
a dryalmostrainlesssummer,andendingwithcold
wet wintersandseveralinchesof snow accumulation (Robertset al. 2006).
Food Items in their Seasonal Cycle
Overall, the diet of atalhoyuk residents was
healthy;the most ubiquitousailmentwas anemia
(Mollesonet al. 2005). People were omnivorous,
gainingproteinand carbohydratesfrom both animalsandplants(RichardsandPearson2005). The
availablefoodstuffschangedconsiderablythroughoutthe year,freshfood especiallycycling with the
seasons. With autumn-planteddomestic crops
maturingin the spring,harvestingcycled with the
springequinoxfloods andthe startof the warmer,
out-of-doorstimeof year.Wallplasteringevidence
shows that sooting of the interiorwalls stopped
periodically,suggestingthattherewas a move to
preparefood andeatoutof doorswhenthe weather
warmed (Matthews 2005). Carbohydrateswere
gatheredseasonally,with fresh tubersand greens

289

in the spring,grains in early summer,and sweet

fruit into the autumn.Animals were slaughtered
throughoutthe year.
Duringthecold, snowywinter,peopleatestored
grains, legumes, dried fruit, nuts, wine or syrup
sweetener,driedherbaceousplants,andbothdried
and fresh meat.Therewas little fresh food except
meatprovidedby sheep, fish, the winterbirdsand
theireggs, includingthe greatbustard,coots, some
geese, andducks.Thesebirdsandfishmakeuponly
a smallpartof the overallfaunalassemblage,however, and appearto have played a limited role in
the daily diet (RussellandMcGowan2005; Sidell
and Scudder2005). Storageand use of fruitsand
nutsis suggestedby seed clustersespeciallyfound
in the earlier deposits (space 181). Grains and
pulses areubiquitousthroughoutthe deposits,but
surelywereeatenmoreintensivelyduringthe wintermonthswhen otheringredientswere less available.
Spring broughtmany wild fresh items, leafy
greens (like Chenopodiumand LabiataeJ,fresh
club-rushtubersfrom the marshes{Scirpusmaritimus [Hillman 1989:209] also called Bolboschoenus maritimusin Fairbairnet al. 2005),
nettedfish from the riverand marshes(including
carp Cyprinidaeand loaches Cobitidae, Russell
2005), as well as permanent,migratingand summer resident water birds (ducks, grebes, cormorants,andcoots; Russell andMcGowan2005).
By May and June, the winter cereals and pulses
would be ready for harvestingand the fish were
spawning, providing maximal yields. The most
commonlyharvestedwheatwas emmer(T.dicoccum) amongthe threetypes of wheatthatarepresent; second is Triticumaestivum/durumtypes
(nakedwheat).Therewas also a new glumewheat,
einkorn{Triticum
monococcum),as well as thewild
progenitor of einkorn wheat, a crop follower
{Triticumboeoticum)(Martinoliin Fairbairnet al.
2005). Wheatrangesin presencebetween25 to 84
percent.Both wild anddomesticbarley{Hordeum
were less common
distichum/spontaneum-types)
than wheat, with Hordeum vulgare var. nudum
types producedand consumedmore in the earlier
levels of the settlement.Barleywas less common
over time, suggestingthat wheatbecame the preferredcereal (afterlevel VIII, Figure 3.8 in Fairbairnet al. 2005). Small amountsof rye {Secale
cereale) were identified by Martinoli,but, with

290

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

only7 percentubiquity,thisgrainwas notcommon.

Legumesthatcould have sharedthe winterplanting cycle with the wheat were lentils {Lensculinaris) andpeas (Pisumsativum).
The wild edible seed taxa shepherds purse
(Capsella bursa-pastoris)and Erysimumsisymbrioides(also called Sysimbriumtype in Fairbairn
et al. 2005) were foundin clustersin LevelVI and
in one storagebin (Helbaek 1964:122).Fairbairn
et al. (2005) reportthat about 62 percent of the
herbaceousannualsmaturedwhenthe cropsdid in
May/June,makingit easy for themto enterthe settlementwiththe harvest,if not as freshediblesearlier in the spring.Few wild seed taxa endedup in
thestoragebins,however.Thisdistribution
suggests
thattheirconsumptionwas morelikelyto be as first
harvestfood, beforetheprocessingfor storagewas
undertaken,if they were eaten at all.
Summer foods continued to include marsh
plantswith freshherbaceousplants,fish,andclubrushnutlets.These edible nutletsarepresentmore
regularlyacrossthe settlementthanany otheredible plant,with 100 percentubiquity.These nutlets
werelikelyharvestedforfood, althoughthereis no
solid evidencethatthey enteredthe site expressly
forfood, andno clusteredstoresof theseseedshave
been uncovered.They could have been eaten raw
when young and fresh in the springor processed
via poundingand grindingfor laterconsumption.
Their stalks were commonly used for mats and
coiled baskets(Fairbairnet al. 2005; Rosen 2005;
Wendrich2005). The wild protein-richpistachio
nutlets(Pistaciacf teribinthus,also calledlentisk)
andacorn(Quercusspp.)nutsfromthe drierlands
andhillsideswereripeby the end of July(personal
observation;Asouti2005;AsoutiandHather2001;
Helbaek 1964:122-123), making them available
for collectionin late summer.A rangeof summermaturingannual seeded plants could have been
harvestedandeatenfirstas leafygreensin thespring
months, which were also eaten by the domestic
animalsthroughoutthe summer.Across the landscape, bees could have been visited or tendedfor
theirwax andhoney,especiallyduringthe summer
months.
Manyanimalsspentthesummeracrosstheplain
or in the hills. The largeanimalsthatwere hunted
include aurochs (Bos primigenius), red deer
(Cervuselaphus),and the equids (Europeanwild
ass [Equus hydruntinus],onager [E. hemionus],

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

and wild horse [E. caballus] [Russelland Martin

2005]). How nearthe settlementthese were killed
is difficultto discern,but Russell andMartinsuggest that these largergame would have probably
been killed fairly close to the settlementsince all
bodypartsarerepresentedin themiddens.Wildcattle, especiallybulls, were differentiallyconsumed
at feasts. These feasting remainsare less heavily
processedthanthe bone from daily meals, which
is mostly fromdomesticsheep and goats (Russell
and Martin2005:39, 51-56). This differentuse is
seen most clearlyin the aurochbones,whichwere
regularlyincorporatedinto the architecturalfeatures of buildings,suggestingan active, transformativeinterrelationship
with these largeranimals.
Hodderthinksthatthese animalshada connection
with the ancestors,whose bones arealso buriedin
theserooms(HodderandCessford2004). Thereis
a seriesof medium-sizedcarnivoresthatwereconsumed occasionally throughoutthe occupation.
These include fox (Vulpes vulpes) and badger
(Meles meles) (Russell and Martin2005). These
carnivoreswouldhavebeentrappedandbutchered
nearthe site andthentransportedonsitefor further
processingandconsumption.Thesmallerandlesscommonherbivores,suchas thehare(Lepuscapensis), were most likely snared and caught in the
nearbyfields anddryridges.These animalscould
havebeen capturedthroughoutthe yearso it is difficultto place them in a specific season.
The dominantmeatsourcewas sheep,however
(Russell and Martin2005). These animals were
domesticated,penned,and herdedthroughoutthe
occupationof the settlement,as recordedin the
animalbones (Russell andMartin2005) andpenning evidence at the edge of the early settlement
(Matthews2005). Ritual and special meals seem
to stressthe wild taxa, aurochs,and equids;daily
meals relied on the domesticates,furthersupporting Hodder's hypothesisthatbothplantandanimal
domesticates,whilebeingeatenregularly,werenot
the highly chargedbeings in the residents,imagination.Intheearlierphasesespecially,feastingevidence included the largest animals possible,
focusingon male aurochsandequids(Russelland
Martin2005). This trend has been identifiedby
RussellandMartinin primarycontextsthatinclude
concentrationsof densebone thatcome fromonly
a small numberof animals, which received less
processingthan is typical at the site. The animal

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

bone reflects differentfood practicesfor the differenttaxa.

As autumn arrived,more wild fruit became
available,continuallydrawingpeople off the settlementout into the hills andmountains.This was
especiallytrueaboutthehackberryfruits(CeltisL.
cf tournefortii)and the wild almond(Amygdalus
type), with 67 percentpresenceacross the settlement. These two fruits were surely collected for
storage and year-roundconsumption.The lesscommonfruitsarethewildplum(PrunusL), whose
shrubbytypes grow widely, fig (Ficus sp.), sumac
(Rhuscoriaria),berries(e.g. Rubussp.), and perhaps wild apple (Malm sp.), found in one burial
(Mellaart1963).The applepips havenotbeen verified, however,so it is betterto concludethatfruit
was storedin the bowls and boxes of one burial,
but not to specify the species. Some pulses were
also gatheredduringthe August fruitharvest,the
chick peas (Cicer cf. Arietinum), peas, Pisum
elatius (an edible crop weed), Vicia ervilia and
Lathryussativus/cicera,thelastprobablycollected
wild. This was the time to harvesttubers(Scirpus
maritimus) for immediate consumption (Wollstonecroft,personalcommunication2002).
Wild boar (Sus scrofa), like the juniperwood
for houseconstruction,nutsandhackberries,were
broughtback from the mountainforests, further
supportingthat some from the communityventuredto the mountainsperiodically(Asouti 2005;
Richardsand Pearson2005; Russell and Martin
2005). The only consumeddeer species seems to
be the red deer (Cervus elaphus), with all body
partsrepresentedin the KOPALarea.This partof
the settlement,just at the edge of the buildings,is
thoughtto representearly deposits in the overall
occupationsequenceof the site (Figure1).
Russell and Martinnote that later (after level
Pre-XIIB)only antlerandhides got into the site's
deposits, suggestingthat if these forest-dwelling
deerwerehunted,thenthemeatwas butcheredand
probablyeatenoff site, as the huntersonly brought
the hides and antlershome, or that these antlers
were curatedfrom an abandonedpractice.Deer
evidence supportsthe suggestionthat there were
autumnalforaysto the mountainsin searchof the
cool weatherand a rangeof wild food.
Now thatwe have describedthe rangeof foods
availablethroughoutthe seasons, we turn more
specificallyto buildingsand spaces at the site and

291

the daily acts of food practicesthatare evidenced

by the materialsfoundwithinthese buildings.
atalhoyiik's Buildings and Spaces
The structuralform remainsremarkablysimilar,
withrebuildingoccurringon topof previousrooms
throughoutatalhoyiik'soccupationhistory.Figure 3 illustratesa numberof levels andtheirexcavated buildings (with spaces) excavated in the
SouthArea(examplesof the NorthAreabuildings
arein HodderandCessford2004: Figure3), while
Figure6 illustratesBuilding1 fromtheNorthArea,
displayingthe common floor plan of atalh6yiik
buildings.Also illustratedin this figureis how the
k dividedtheirbuildingsinterpeopleof (Jatalhoyii
nally into distinctspaces using wall construction
and platforms.During excavation,buildingsand
spaces were given discretenumbers,using a sitewide consecutivenumberingsystem,startingwith
Building1 andSpace 1. The numberingof the levels or phasesfollows Mellaart'soriginalsequence,
decreasingthroughtime (XIIis the earliestandVI
is the latestbuildingexcavatedin thisproject).Full
descriptionsof the architecturaland internalfeatures and complete excavation history of these
buildings,are publishedin greatdetail elsewhere
(see Hodder2005a, b, c).
Household Food Practices at Qatalhoyiik
From the featuresand materialculturefound in
atalhoyuk'sbuildings,it is clear that a range of
domesticactivitiestook place withinthem including food preparationand cooking, as well as tool
production(Carteret al. 2005; Underbjerg1998),
woodworking (Matthews 2005), and sleeping
(Matthews1999;Rosen2005).People"performed"
theseactivitieswithinthebuildingsduringthecold
winter months, and also on the roofs (Matthews
1999;StevanovicandTringham1998),mostlikely
duringwarmersummerand autumnmonths.The
spacesandpathwaysareplacedsuch thata person
sitting at the oven can see most of what is going
on, furthersuggesting that the centralplatforms
neartheovenwas thefocus of dailyactivities(Hastorf 2005b).
The settlementis consideredremarkabledue to
its early, continuous,and dense occupation,suggestinghouseholdcohesionovermorethana thou-

292

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

Figure 6. Bin and Ceiling Storage. Illustrated by Kathryn Killackey. Copyright gatalhoyiik Research Project.

sandyears.Suchsocialitycouldhavebeennurtured
in a numberof ways. Many anthropologists(and
mothers)have found that it is the meal that most
repeatedlybrings people together, allowing for
social renewaland sharingas well as a venue for

small-scalefamilialpoliticsto be playedout(Curtin
1992;Kahn1986;Meigs 1984;Weismantel1988).
fatalhoyiik thereforeprovidesa rangeof material
with which to envisiondaily food use and its role
as social glue. Cessfordcalculatedthe population

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

size to rangebetween3,500 and8,000 people,with

a minimumestimate somewhere around 1,5002,700. Each household,thoughtto be associated
with a building,hadbetween6 and 8 people associatedwith it (Cessford2005). Eventhe lowercalculationof 2,000 permanentresidentswill allow
for a fairly intensiveuse of the local areaas well
as regular encounters and knowledge of one's
neighbors'daily lives. When looking at the atalhoyiikfood evidence, we gain an overallsense of
communityand family maintenance,with generally good nutritiongainedfroma broadinteraction
withthe landscape.Both wild anddomesticplants
andanimalswere consumedthroughoutthe settlement'sexistence.Geographicallyandartifactually,
thesettlementsuggeststheimportanceof lacustrine
gatheringandhunting,while the floraland faunal
evidence shows regularagriculturalproduction,
along with a steadyuse of the mountains.
Withthe domesticcereals,pulses, andanimals,
tending and control was part of the inhabitants'
lives. These productive activities would have
occurredoff of thesettlementcore.Theirworldwas
an islandwithinrich marshand riparianlife, dotted withcopses, dryfields,andforageareas,rather
thanthe expansiveannuallycroppedfields or the
vast grazinglands we see today.People therefore
were often awayfromthe buildings,eatingoff the
land and bringing back foods to the household
storerooms.Food processing was completed on
andoff the settlement,withmuchconcernoverthe
preparationof food for storage. While there is
strongseasonalityin the fresh food gleanedfrom
the environment,storedfood equilibratedsome of
this seasonality.
The data suggest that the styles of cooking
changedthroughtime but the ingredientsdid not,
illustratinga shiftin mealforms,andperhapsmeal
styles.Theearlierhomecookingstyle,notedin the
southernareaexcavationsof the settlement(Figure 3), seems to have been primarilyboiling by
placingoven-heatedclay balls in basketsor skins
andgrillingor roastingdirectlyin the oven. Later,
afterlevel VII, illustratedin NorthAreaBuildings
1 and5 (Figure4), therewastheadditionof ceramic
cooking vessels, concomitantlywith fewer clay
balls.Thisreflectsmoreboilingof meatsandplants
by directfirecookingusingpotteryandperhapsless
emphasison toastingand drying.While some of
the activitiesassociatedwith food preparationare

293

morevisible thanothers,we have foundthatthere

is quitea completepictureof "foodways"atthesettlement,which we now turnto.
The Food Activities
Themajorityof thefood consumedby theresidents
could have been produced, hunted, or gathered
locally,althoughsome food could have been periodicallybroughtintothesettlementby tradersalong
the known trade networks. There was a steady
amountof nonlocalplantand animalfoods entering the settlement,if one accepts that foodstuffs
beyond20 km areexotic.Thisis surelythecase for
salt. Arlene Rosen (2005) identifiedpalm frond
basketsin Building1 thatcouldhavearrivedempty
but are more likely to have been full of an exotic
treat. Some of the rarermeats also might have
arrivedas gifts or tradeitems.Unlikethe inorganic
materials such as obsidian, white marble, or
seashells, foodstuffs are less easy to source. It is
also possible that long-distancefoodstuffs were
broughtin by the residentsreturningfrom wanderings,suggestedby the variabilityevidencedin
the life-long diets of some residentswhen comparedto the group,as illustratedin the stableisotope results(Richardsand Pearson2005).
Withcarefulstudywe cansee thetracesof many
commensalactivitiesatatalhoyuk.Toexamineas
manyfood practicesas possible, we foundit most
useful to divide these activitiesinto five primary
categories:productionand procurement,processing, cooking,presentation,andeating.Thesedaily
activitiesvaried,dependingon the season as well
as on who wascompletingthetasksrequiredto feed
the people at home; activitieswere not the same
for everyone.We think that these food activities
took place at the household scale, with children
learning individual procedures and distinctive
recipesandproceduresfromparentsandrelations
throughoutthe annualcycle.
Production and Procurement
Farmingand herding are evident from the start.
While it is still being debatedamong the project
members,the most likely place for the dry farming of the cerealsandpulses was along the higher
banksof thearsambaRiverin additionto thealluvium hillock-coveredsanddunes scatteredacross

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

294

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

Activities.
Table 1. Productionand Procurement-Related

Activities

Description

Indirectand
Ethnographic
Data
Site Data

Plant gath- Hackberries,acorns, almonds,

and other nuts and Scirpus
ering
tubers.

Generalplant taxa list

with fruit pieces and nut
shell in certainlocations

Seasonality
Tubers- end of Fall-early
spring.Nuts in late
spring-earlysummer.Fruitsin
late summer-earlyfall.

Tending
plants

Wild trees, herbaceouswild

plant stands, Scirpustuber
clusters in the marshes.
Plantedcrops, both local gardens and furtheraway

Generalplant taxa list

Spring-early summer,autumn.

Planting

Local gardensand crops further away (up to 12 km)

Dry farmingphytoliths

Both winter and springplanting.

Generalplant taxa list.

Both springand autumnharvesting

Lithics and animalbones

Springor summerbefore fall

slaughter(?)

Harvesting Plants from gardensand crops

and transportion
Muralsof
hunting

Hunting

Large mammals

Fishing

Fresh water fish from

CarsambaRiver

Units with high fish

bone. Bone fishing
hooks.

Late winter-early springand

when available

Animal
gathering

Eggs from wild birds and

geese. Honey from wild bees.

Hatchedeggshell in
space 105 and 115

Late winter-early spring

Tending
animals

Locally kept sheep and goat,

possibly Bos and bees.

Penning units

Yearround

Trapping

Birds and small mammals

the plain (Table 1). These raised "islands"would

have provided patches of dry, arable land for
autumnsowing. Spring sowing, restrictedto the
legumes,was also possibleon therenewed,retreating riverbanksdirectly adjacentto the site (Fairbairnet al. 2005;Rosen2005). Suitableareasacross
the plainandin the hills andmountainsto the east
also existed, based on the geography of these
hillocks,andevidenceof herdingas well as thewild
plantandanimalspeciesthatweresteadilybrought
to the settlement(Robertset al. 1999, 2006). Such
patchyuse of the seasonallychangingenvironment
does not alterthe evidencethatsuggestsa remarkable stabilityin food procurementover the centuries.
Crop productionis evident by the rachis and
glume chaff found ubiquitously throughoutthe
excavatedunits(between43 and 100 percentpres-

ence, Fairbairnet al. 2005). Since few culm nodes

are presentin the living quartersand surprisingly
few bladeswith sickle gloss have been uncovered
(Carteret al. 2005; Fairbairnet al. 2005), removing the grain heads was probablycompletedby
beating as well as cuttingthe stalks.While Mellaart found very few sickles on site (1964:105),
Carternotes that they do occur but with variable
distribution
(Carteret al. 2005).Carteret al.'sanalysis showsthatlower,pre-XIIIlevels (atthe edge of
the early community)do indeedhave many sickles, while they are rareor completely lacking in
otherareasof the site.This suggestsa specificform
of curationof sicklesin the laterlevels. Burntdung
fuel reflectswinteranimalfodderingas seen in the
mudbrickevidence that is ubiquitousthroughout
the settlement(Matthews2005). More symbolically,Mellaartnotesthatminiaturegreenstoneaxes

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

and celts are found in female burialsand storerooms(Hamilton1996:248;Mellaart1964:94).We

mightproposethese as being symbolicreflections
of farmingtools with an associateddesirefor success in these activities,illustratedby the cached
grindingstones found in one storagebin and othersfoundin severalstorerooms(Baysal andWright
2005).
Animalswerepennedandfodderedat the edge
of the settlement,most likely during the winter
months.This is suggestedin the earlydunglayers
uncoveredat the site, where there is evidence of
trampleddung (Fairbairnet al. 2005; Matthews
2005). Inone unittherewerebotanicalremainsthat
were dominatedby chaff and strawas from dung,
suggestingthe storedwinnowingremainsfromthe
cerealharvestwere fed to the pennedanimalsduring the wintermonths.Anothersamplecontained
many late summermaturingseeds, suggesting a
summergrazingcomplex.Rosenfoundwild leaves
andgrassphytolithsin some of theburntdung,distinctly showing that some animalsgrazedopportunisticallyin the autumn.It is likelythereforethat
sheep were pennedon and nearthe settlementat
leastperiodically,buttheywerealso herdedout on
the plainas well.
While the site was clearlymade of clay, it also
was madeof rushesandreeds(e.g.,Arundodonax,
Phragmites,Scirpus),as well as fish,birds,tubers,
and eggs, reflectingthe regularuse of the nearby
riverandthe vast marshesextendingout from the
settlement(Matthews2005;Rosen2005;Wendrich
2005). The regular marsh evidence identified
throughoutthesequenceprovidesa glimpseof how
importantthese wetlandswere bothculturallyand
nutritionally.Every household could have had a
punt-likewooden boat, poles, and nets to gather
seeds, tubers,and reeds, as well as to hunt birds
and fish in the marsh.As Russell and McGowan
(2005) surmise,the year-roundextractionof water
birdsclearly illustratesregularmarshuse. Marsh
plantnurturing,harvesting,andthe resultingveghaveoccurredaroundtheworld
etativeproliferation
for millennia (Hillman 1989:226). This is illusNorth
tratedby the Ojibwepeopleof north-central
America,who spreadproductivewild rice to every
lakeshoreacrossthousandsof miles. Therepeople
beat the grain into the up-curvedboats and then
poled home to process and store the grain (Regguinti 1992).This technologyrequiresonly a boat

295

and a pole. While we might not think that living

next to marshesis ideal for a farminggroup,their
settlementlocation suggests that these residents
saw themselvesas lacustrinegatherersas muchas
if notmorethanas agriculturalists.
Theirfoodstuffs
also suggesta healthyamountof wild marshfoods
in theirdiet.
The wild nuts,fruits,andpig remainsfoundon
the site would have been collected mainly in the
late summerand autumnat the edge of the Konya
plain as well as up into the hills and mountainsto
thesouthandwest.Wovenrush,reed,andgrassbaskets couldhavebeen carriedthereandfilledup for
thetriphome.Thesetripswouldhaverequiredseveraldays if not severalweeks andmighthavebeen
whenmost of the familywenttogetherto ancestral
collecting groundsfor the cooler temperaturesas
well. These uplandnuts, berries,and wild meats
would then have provideda mountaincuisine on
these outings, with grilling and raw food consumption. The gathering parties would have
returnedhome with what could be carriedin baskets or on rafts floating downstream, to be
processedand storedthroughthe winter.
The most prevalentof these uplandfoodstuffs
is the hackberry,which has excellentpreservation
and92 percentpresencein all of the analyzedsamples (355 flotationsamples).A series of specific
unitshaveclustersof Celtis(hackberry)stonesthat
can be interpretedas specific human deposition
(Fairbairnet al. 2005). While these mineralized
pericarpsare clearly not directly comparableto
charredremains,theyremindus thattheothernonmineralizedplantsare underrepresented
throughoutthe settlementdeposits.Wecan safely say from
this evidence that hackberrieswere a regularif
small part of the diet. Almonds were also quite
ubiquitousthroughoutthe settlement.This wild
food component,in additionto the marshandfield
foods, is suggestedin the humanbone stableisotopic data,the plantand animalevidence, as well
as the teeth evidence (Molleson et al. 2005;
RichardsandPearson2005).
Processing for Storage
Processingpracticesat (Jatalhoyukvariedby season, with the majority of the work completed
betweenspringand autumn(Table2). In cold and
snowywintermonths,freshanimalsandevenfewer

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

296

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

Table 2. Processing for StorageActivities and Data.

Activities

Description

Drying

Thin meat, fruit and vegetable

slices laid on roof or use of
wooden drying rack

Indirectand
Ethnographic
Data
Local ethnographicdiscussions, personal
observation

Butchering Use obsidian tools for cutting

to divide animal portionsand
to removing meat from bone

Site Data

Seasonality

Filleting cut marks on

bone

Summer-fall, before rains and

after spring flooding,

Faunalbone evidence
shows processing and
consumptionbutchering cuts

Late fall, after kill-off or as

hunted/trappedon small-scale,

Fall, after kill off of sheep/goat

or after large hunt, as they
occur. Similartiming to drying.

Smoking

Similarto drying but done

above a smoky fire

Salting

Meat placed in skins or pits

and covered with salt for several weeks

Local ethnographicdiscussions

Summer-fall (dependenton
Saltsfoundin food
andcooking tradeof salt and its availability)
preparation
areas(Bldg. 17, Sp.170)

Parching
and toasting

Clay balls/objectsheated in
fire, seeds, grains,pulses
thrownonto woven trays that
sit over the clay balls.

Local ethnographicobservation, comparison

with hearthsat
Asiklihoyuk

Large amountsof
charredgrain in bins
and oven rake-out
may indicate parching,
See Mathews 2004,
unit 5299.

Pickling

Fresh fruits and vegetables

added to salt, water,fruitjuice
& chick peas- allowed to ferment in the sun, then placed in
skins

Local ethnographicdiscussion, personal

observation

plants were scarce. We can envision household

membersworkingdiligentlyin warmermonthsto
process not only food for daily consumption,but
alsoenoughexcess meatandplantproductsto store
throughat least threeto four lean wintermonths.
There were a number of processing techniques
practicedat atalhoyuk, and, althougharchaeological evidencefor some of these activitiesis difficultto identify,we feel a discussionof thepossible
practicesis importantto presenta more complete
pictureof the foodways.We knowthatfood hadto
be processedandstoredfor winterconsumptionin
is the
some manner;whatremainsunsubstantiated
exactnatureandextentof theprocessingactivities.
Butchering
A certainamountof processingis requiredbefore
meat can be consumed from animal resources,
especiallycattle,sheep/goat,fowl, orfish.Butchering is an importantstepin preparingmeatfor both

Late spring-summerharvest,
before storage, with further
toasting as needed for consumption

Spring-fall, when fruits and

vegetables are fresh

immediateconsumptionand cooking, as well as

for storage. Russell and Martin's (2005) recent
butchery report includes a discussion of the
butcheringpracticesidentifiedat (Jatalhoyuk.We
highlightherethe key pointsthatrelateto ourdiscussion of processingmeatfor storage.The range
andtype of cut markson the faunalremainsillustrate that various forms of meat processing
occurredin preparingtheanimalresourcesforstorage. Further,these marks indicate that the residents were expertbutchers.Most cut markswere
theresultof cuttingduringconsumption.The minimal evidence of roastingor otherforms of cooking on the faunalremainsindicatesthatmeatwas
most often filleted off the bones before heating,
presumably for immediate cooking and consumptionas well as for drying,smoking,or salting in preparationfor storage.
The greatestamountof sheepbutcheringwould
have probablytakenplace in the late autumn,as

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

part of herd management.Some meat from this

autumnalcull would have been cooked and consumed immediately,but most would have been
processedand storedfor use throughoutthe winterandearlyspring.Butcheringof smalleranimals
such as hare, goose, and other small mammals
could have takenplace withinthe buildings;however, the size of the rooms and rooftopsrequired
thataurochs/cattleandotherlargeanimalsundergo
preliminarybutcheringin openareasoutsideof the
buildings,or in off-site areasbeforebeingbrought
into the buildings.Furthermore,the underrepresentationof certainbodyparts,suchas ribsandvertebrae,indicatesthatbutcheringwas done outside
as pieces were selectivelybroughtindoorsfor furtherpreparation,cooking, and consumption.The
faunalbones also illustratethatall partsof the animalwerebroughtontothesite,indicatingthatwhile
theremight have been preferentialbutcheringfor
certainanimalparts,all partsof the animalswere
utilizedin some fashionby the residents.
PreliminaryGrainProcessing
In additionto preliminaryprocessing of animal
products,residentsalso processed cereal grains,
seeds, pulses, nuts, and otherplant resourcesfor
storage.Plantsrequirea certainamountof cleaning before cooking and consumption,and especially before long-termstorage.The sequence of
steps thattransformcereals from the field to edible grainstoresis well known(e.g., Hillman1984).
These steps include grain threshing,winnowing,
sieving,andfinallyhandcleaning.The firststages
of this processing,threshingandwinnowing,took
placeoff-siteorattheedges of the settlement(Fairbairnet al. 2005; Helbaek1964).All of theseoperationsrequirea flat surfaceand a certainamount
of equipment.At atalhoyuk,this initialprocessing was most likely completedwith baskets and
skin sieves using a tossing motion aided by the
wind to remove the strawremains,little pebbles,
andheavywild seeds.Initialcropprocessingis evident at the edge of the settlementin the KOPAL
area(Fairbairnet al. 2005; Matthews2005; Rosen
2005). Silicified awns, spines, hairs, and glume
beaks, resultsof winnowingand threshing,were
densely distributedin thatarea(Hastorf,personal
observation1999).This winnowinglocale has the
same orientationto the site as are the threshing
fields of the currentlocal residentsof Kiiciikkoy,

297

takingadvantageof the lively springwinds. In the

SouthArea,excavationsalongtheside of thebuildings have high densities of chaff, indicatingthat
crop processing stages took place outside of the
buildingsand on the roofs. Fromboth the earlier
excavationsatatalh6yiikandthecurrentwork,the
majorityof the chaff on site was foundto be from
the laterstagesof cropprocessing(Fairbairnet al.
2005; Helbaek 1964). It seems unlikelythat anythingbutthe finalfine sieving, handcleaning,and
storageof graintookplaceon theroofsandindoors,
due to the low amountof strawandonly moderate
densitiesof glumefragmentsfoundin the samples.
Finalgrainprocessingoccurredon a smallscale
insidethebuildingspriorto cooking.This situation
is assumedfor a bin found in Building 1, in the
North Area (Figure 4). Fairbairnet al. (2005)
believethisbin to havebeen for temporarystorage
becauseof thewild seedsandsticksfoundin among
thedomesticseeds.Finalgraincleaningcompleted
in the buildingsis also supportedby the evidence
left in the in situ fires,which containdense cereal
grainassemblageswith little strawand chaff.
Drying and Smoking
At (Jatalhoyiik,both plant and animal resources
were likely dried for future consumption.In an
effortto extendtheiredibility,the most likely proceduresinvolveddryingfruits,berries,leaves,other
plant parts and meat fillets on rooftops or open
areasduringthedry,hotsummerdays.Woodendrying racksmay have facilitatedthis process.These
constructionsneed not have been complex, and
might have simply been makeshiftwooden sticks
or reed stalksboundtogetherto forma temporary
dryingrack.
Meatsmokingcouldhavetakenplaceon a small
scale any time there was a kill or slaughter.The
organizationof dividing the meat resources for
immediateconsumptionandstorageis unclearfrom
the data we have. It may be that when an animal
was slaughtered,a certainamountof meatwas consumedthatday while the remainderwas dried.In
addition,winter stores may have been composed
of meat from the autumnalkill-offs. Drying or
smokingcouldnothavetakenplaceduringthelater
autumnrainymonths,butwouldhaveoccurredearlier in the season when the optimal hot and dry
weatherwould have dried meats fasterthan near
the ovens in the snowy,cold winter.

298

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

Presently,the inhabitantsof the nearbyvillage

of Kuciikkoydry fruit, vegetables,and herbs for
futureuse in the early autumn.Accordingto Yasji
et al. (2001), ripefruitsareoften sliced or depitted
andplacedflatto dryon cloths in open areas.Vegetables such as eggplants and peppers are commonly sliced and strung from interior kitchen
rafters(Atalay,personalobservation1999).Inwinter months these dried fruits and vegetables are
addedto boiling waterfor use in stews or areconsumeddirectly.Itis quitepossiblethata widerange
of drying activities took place at atalh6yiik
throughoutthe summerand into the autumn.
It is difficultto identifydryingactivitiesortheir
associatedplantandanimalresourcesarchaeologically, althoughat atalhoyukwe do have a numberof cutmarkson thefaunalremainsthatindicate
filleting of meat, which is the best cut for drying
(RussellandMartin2005). While it is not possible
to determinefromthesecutmarksif themeatpieces
filleted from the bone were thin enough to successfullyundergodryingtreatment,theycouldhave
been. Similarto drying,smokingis best done with
thin slices of meat, but requiresa smoke producing fire,overwhichthemeatis placed.Thisprocess
wouldalso adda rich,smokyflavorto meats.After
dryingor smokingthe plantsand meat, the foods
would have been storedin skins or basketsin the
smallerside rooms, or hung from the ceiling roof
beams (Figure6).
Salting
Anothereffectivemethodof meatpreservationthat
has left some evidenceat atalhdyiikis salting.To
preserveby salting,freshmeatpieces would have
been placed in skins or pits and coveredwith salt
for severalweeks. Salt preservesthe meat, essentially by removingmoisturefrom it, allowing the
meatto be storedthrougha season,thusextending
its uselife.AccordingtoYasjiet al. (2001), in recent
memorysaltwas broughtto thelocal villageby salt
vendorsfromtheTiizGolii(SaltLake)regionabout
100 km to the northeast.We know that obsidian
fromthis same regionwas broughtto atalhoyuk
regularlyand it is very likely that salt was also
obtainedalong this same tradenetwork(Carteret
al. 2005).
Becausesaltingactivitiesdependupontheavailabilityof salt,we can assumethatmost saltingwas
doneduringsummer-autumn
whentravelbetween

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

these two regions was most easily undertaken,

beforethe rainyor snowy wintermonthsandafter
the springrainshad slowed. However,if salt was
on-hand,saltprocessingwouldhavebeenpossible
any time throughoutthe year.At atalh6yiik,we
have a numberof areas where concentratedsalt
depositswerefoundin food preparationandcooking areas(Matthews1996),andin atleastone case,
salt depositswere found in oven rake-out(Building 17, space 170 on the northeastplatform)along
with charredplant remains(Matthews2005). As
with smoked/driedmeats and plant foodstuffs,
saltedmeatwouldhavebeen storedin a skin,bag,
or basket,until needed. Pieces of the salted meat
couldbe boiledin waterwithgrainsorpulses,using
storesof wild nutsand seed oils to createa flavorful stew or gruelmixture.
Pickling
Picklingis anothereffective methodof preparing
foods for storage.In Kuciikkoytoday,picklingis
done seasonallythroughthe summerandautumn,
as fruitsand vegetablesare harvested.According
toYahet al. (2001), freshfruitsandvegetablesare
addedto a mixtureof salt, water,fruitjuice, and
chickpeas.These materialsareallowedto ferment
in the sun for severalweeks to captureyeast and
thenareputawayin a darkplacefor winteruse.As
with the saltingmethoddescribedabove,pickling
requirestheuse of importedsaltanda skinor other
watertightcontainer.In some cases, storagemay
have been for several months, until the pickled
foods were consumed.We have no directarchaeological evidence to supportpickling at atalhoytik;however,given the ease of preparationand
the limitedresourcesrequired(includingless salt
than the salting proceduredescribedabove), it is
verypossiblethatpicklingoccurred.In additionto
extendingthe life of fruitsandvegetables,pickling
would have addeda uniqueflavorto these foods,
making them important flavors in the winter
Neolithic cuisine.
Parchingand Toasting
As alreadymentioned,themajorityof theseedsand
grainsfoundin storagebins, particularlyin Building 1 in the NorthArea, had alreadyundergone
early stages of processing,and would have only
requiredhand-sortingbefore furtherpre-storage

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

processing,cooking,andconsumption.Parchingor
toastingis a method of processinggrains, seeds,
and nuts to prolong their storage life, to inhibit
pests and rodents,and to help removethe glumes
fromsomehulledcrops(Hillman1984).Ozbaaran
(1998) describes a method of parchingthat she
believes may have takenplace at Aikhh6yiik,in
whichgrainsweretoastedon heatedflatstonesthat
linedthe base of eachhearth.At atalh6yiikhandfulsof grains,seeds,andpulseswouldquicklyhave
been parchedwhen placedonto heatedoven roofs
or clay balls inside the raisedarmsof a hearthor
oven. Possible evidence of this practiceexists in
severalbuildingsin theexcavatedSouthArea,most
notablyin one buildingwheretwo grindingstone
slab fragmentswere found at the base of an oven,
andin anotherbuildingwheretwo slab fragments
were associatedwith bones, wood, and clay balls
(Baysal andWright2005). Thereare also several
examplesof brokenclay ball fragmentslining the
base of ovens in the South Area (Atalay 2003,
2005)- a set-upthatwould have also allowedfor
effectiveparchingandtoastingof grains.
Erkal(2006) notes thata similartoastingpracticeexistsin localvillagesnearatalh6yiik.Erkal's
ethnographicobservationsdescribe how heated
pieces of ak toprak(whiteclay) were addedto barley, whichwerethenstirredinsidea shallowmetal
tray.This processtoastedthe barleygrain,resulting in a barleymixturethatlocalresidentsdescribed
as particularlysweet. In additionto addedflavor,
roastingand toasting are known to increase the
storagelife of grainsand inhibitthe infestationof
bugs and otherpests, therebyincreasingthe "binlife" of the grains.
At atalh6yiik parching and toasting would
have takenplace aftereach harvestby individual
families withintheirhomes, using interiorand/or
exteriorovens andhearths.Once winnowed,grain
mayhavebeenset asideforthisheat-treatment
step
before the bin or basket storage.Every time the
hearthwas firedup, a familywouldhavebeen able
to parchportionsof their stores.Alternatively,a
familycouldhavetoastedthe entireharvestplants
atone timefor storage.Archaeologicalevidenceof
firetreatedgrainsis abundantat atalh6yiik;however, it is difficult to determineif this scorched
grain was intentionally heated during parching
activitiesor if its depositionwas the resultof over
zealous cooking activities.In certainearly levels

299

of the SouthArea (space 181) there was a dense

accumulationof wild pistachionutletsandalmond
and acorn shell, which may be the result of processingtheseitemsbeforeroastingordryingthem.
Matthews(2005) has evidencein severallocations
for cerealgrainparching,particularlyin one context of the SouthArea.This suggeststhatthe particularlydense cereal grain concentrationscould
have enteredthe rake-outs,floors, fill, middens,
and even mudbrickmatrices as a result of prestoragegraincharring(Hillman1984).
Storage
Foodstorageis architecturally
evidentin thebuildings at atalhoyiik(Table 3). Bins and/orstorerooms have been identified in almost every
excavatedbuilding (Cessford 2006; Farid 2006,
Mellaart1963; Figure3). These storageareasare
locatedin little side roomsthathave in situbasket
and/or skin evidence and/orbuilt in mud/plaster
bins (Figure6, Building5 space 157). The microanalysisof artifactualevidencesuggeststhatthese
little, "dirty"(i.e., organicallyrich) rooms were
filled with portablestoragecontainers,most likely
baskets,as well as a rangeof wooden, stone, and
bone tools (HodderandCessford2004:28).A side
room in Building 1 (space 186), for example,had
a wooden storage bin containing clean lentils
(Matthews2005). Anothercentrallylocatedbin in
thatsame buildingcontainedlentils (in space 71).
IsmaelYaliof Kiiciikkoynotedthatthereweretwo
types of storagecontainersin his grandmother's
house (2001). Onecontainerwas a reedbasket,the
otherwas made of clay and wood. This movable
clay containerhad a wooden cross base that was
clay lined. It was then built up of mud-sediment.
This containerwas used specificallyfor grain,and
is most like the plasteredbins we recoverat ^atalhoyiik (Figure6).
The "binroom"in Building5, forexample,was
keptclean (HodderandCessford2004:23). These
bins have especially thick clay packing to keep
down mice and insect robbery (Jenkins 2005;
Matthews2005). Rosen'sphytolithanalysisshows
thatwheatphytolithswere foundin frontof one of
thelargerbins.Onthefloorin frontof anotherlarge
bin was a high densityof barleyphytolithsas well
as organicchemicaltraces(Rosen 2005; Middletonet al. 2005).A smallersixthbincontaineda mix

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

300

Table 3. Storage:RelatedActivities and Data with Data/UnitNumbers.

Activity

Description

Indirectand EthnographicData Site Data

In rooms

Mud brick storagebins, clusters of baskets, organicrich

floors

Local ethnographicdiscussions, personalobservation

In ceilings
with bags

Organicbags hung from rafter Local ethnographicdiscusto keep from pests

sions, personalobservation

Building 1

In skins

Liquid kept in sewn-up skin

bags

Local ethnographicdiscussions, personalobservation

Building 1 with greasy surfaces.Sheep feet

space 187 also other skin grease evidence

Local ethnographicdiscussions, personalobservation

Building17, spaces 182 and 170.

On ledges

Building 5, space 156, 157

In bags

storing in skins from ceiling

or on floor

Local ethnographicdiscussions, personalobservation

Building 1 sheep feet and grease (units

1314, 1344). Also anotherarea Building 1,
spaceace 7 1, feature215 over lentil bin as
if grease bag had leaked. Also Building17
space 182 furs for storage.

In bins

Mud brick shapedenclosures Local ethnographicdiscusagainst walls with small aper- sions, personalobservation
tures, plasterlined

Building 1, spaceace 71, feature215

Lentil bin, Building 5, spaceace 157, phytoliths associated with Bin 4 unit 858
(Rosin 2004 notes barley nearbin suggesting storage).

On floors

Dense organicplant matter

found on floors

Local ethnographicdiscussions, personalobservation

Organicrich deposits on floors, Building

1, space 186, Building 1, space 71,
Building 5, space 155, Building 5, space
157, Building 17, space 182.

In baskets

Wheat

Local ethnographicdiscussions, personalobservation

Building 5 space 156 unit 3253 and space

155 unit 3801. Also B1.3 space71 1349,
1259, B1.3 space 187 unit 1291 (surrounding lentil bin), B1.2C space 71 unit 1423,
B 1.4 space 111 unit 1357 1248

Local ethnographicdiscussions, personalobservation

On roofs

In pottery

Fat stored in small ceramic

pots

Local ethnographicdiscussions, personalobservation

Organicresidues. One insitu pot in

Building 17 spaceace 182, unit 5226,
5231, 5240; from southernend of organic
rich room. Level VIB, spaceace 160, units
3343 3344; antechamberto shrine,
spaceace 171, Building 6 Mellaartbackfill

In pits

Sloped floor surface, with

Local ethnographicdiscussions, personalobservation

Building 17, spaceace 170

of wheatandbarley,suggestingthatduringits uselife it heldbothcereals.Thesedatasuggestthatbins

held domesticates,at least in Buildings 5 and 1
duringlevelsVI-VIII.WhileWendyMatthewsand
ArleneRosen believe thatthis roomwas matcovered and the bins lined, there are micro-tracesof
food grindingevidenceon the floor,the only place

thatsuchtraceswere identifiedin all of the micromorphological samples (Matthews et al. 1994;

Matthews2005).Thisevidenceforwhatwas stored
in these well-maintainedbins suggests harvested
plantfoodstuffs.Mellaartdidencounteronebinthat
had Capsellabursa-pastorisandErysimumsisymbrioides,both edible nativeseeds high in oil con-

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

tent (Helbaek1964:122).These seeds could have

beencookedas is, orperhapsprocessedforthisoil.
We know that domestic lentils, wheat, barley,
as well as two nativeoil-richplantswere storedin
the bins at atalhoyuk (Helbaek 1964; Rosen
2005). Oneimportantaspectof thebinsis theirstorage capacity. The bins at atalhoyuk are quite
small- about70 by 80 cm by 1 m high (Cutting
2005). Cessfordhas calculatedthe volumesfor the
fourlargeandtwo smallbinsin Building5 as 2,424,
3,739,3,758,4,633, 702, and1,050cm3(2006).The
capacityof these six bins howeveronly addsup to
16,316 cm3, or (.016m3).When interviewed,the
women of Kiiciikkoyagreedthatthese well-built
bins werebest for grainstoragebecausetheykeep
out pests. Hatic,eYas,h and Mavili Tokyagsun
thoughtthese bins could not cover the full needs
of a familyfor one year,however.They notedthat
thevolumeof theBuilding5 binscouldstoreabout
2 monthsof grain(Yah2001). Accordingto Yali
and Tokyagsun, these bins could have stored
enoughgrainfor a family to get throughthe winter,buttheyarenotlargeenoughto feed six to eight
people for 12 monthsif grainwas eaten as a staple. If they did growenoughgrainfor seed as well
as a full year'ssupplyof food, therehadto be quite
a few portableclay andwoodenbins,whichwe cannot substantiateat this time. The residentscould
have built more and largerbins in each building,
but chose not to. While we agree to some extent
with Fairbairnet al.'s (2005) interpretationof the
diethavinghada strongdomesticfood component,
we do not place the same emphasison the domestic foods as they do. Rather,we think the yearly
diet was more a combinationof wild and domesis basedon thebin fretic crops.Ourinterpretation
quency and size, tooth evidence, the continued
symbolicemphasison wild food itemsin the site's
imagery,andthe geographicallocationof the site.
In general,the archaeologyof (Tatalhoyiik
suggests a worldof gatheringand hunting.Its placement, painted imagery, and wild animal bone
sculptinglook to the marshesandtheirwild beasts.
In parallel,however,domesticationwas also part
of the residents'worldview.Some grainandpulse
bins containedclay female "goddess"figurines,
foundbothin theupperlevels atatalh6yiikas well
as atHalcilar(Mellaart1963:95).Mellaartrecorded
thatseven out of the 58 figurinefragmentswithin
the buildingswere found in bins, storerooms,or

301

among stored food plants (Hamilton 1996:

2 17-2 18).Amuletsplacedwithinthedomesticfood
storeswouldsuggesta linkbetweentendedthings,
regeneration,female fertility(power),and human
reproduction.Bins, ubiquitousin every excavated
building,filled with domesticcrops, cached food
processingtools, andoccasionalfigurines,all suggest a symbolic link and perhaps transference
betweenthe wild andthe domestic,howeverlarge
or small the cerealportionwas in any given meal.
The adjoining storage room, Space 156 in
Building 5 (Cessford2006; HodderandCessford
2004:23, figure3a), containedevidence of finely
coiled baskets/platters,skin bags, and perhaps
even woven bags for grain, fruit, nuts, and even
liquid storage(Helbaek 1963; Rosen 2005; Russell and Martin 2005; Wendrich 2005). Arlene
Rosennotesthatsome of thesebasketshavecereal
phytolith evidence. These could have been used
for winnowing and did not have to store grains.
Thisroomalso containsalmondsandhackberries,
supportingour suggestion that these side rooms
would have stored many other plant and animal
products(including dung fuel), as well as tools
used for collecting andprocessingthroughoutthe
year (Figure6). These storagerooms tend not to
have a well-formed floor, made up of a darker,
more organic rich sediment, and often were not
plastered(Matthews2005). Thesefloorsalso containbits of objects,suggestingtheirlackof upkeep
except for curationor storage.
Baskets were probably the most common
portablestoragecontainers.Wendrichrecordsat
least two types of baskets (2005). Based on the
shape of the preserved basket bases, we have
learnedthat the basketshave small bases and are
tall andthin,not wide andbroad.Mellaartreports
on a range of basket sizes and shapes, not only
from the burialsbut also used throughoutthe site
as storagecontainers(1964:85). Phytolithbasket
tracesare presentin many buildingsat the settlementandin everystorageroom.Thesebasketsare
usuallymade of local marshplantsand tend to be
concentratednearbins, in the side rooms,andnear
the ovens (Rosen2005, Wendrich2005). The most
denseandsecurelylinkedto storagearethe abovementionedbasketremainsin space 156 and those
that surroundthe lentil bin in Building 1, further
suggestingthatthe areaswere used for food processing andtransitionalstorage.

302

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

IsmialYasJU
and Mavili Tokyagsunreportthat
those living in the mountainsdig holes to store
grain,whicharethensealed(Yah2001). This was
also a commonstorageformin manyplaces in the
world.Once such a pit was sealed, the outerlayer
of grainwould sproutandby so doing would take
upall theoxygen,thussealingthepitcontentsfrom
furtherdecomposition. In the contemporaneous
Pre-potteryNeolithic B regions to the southeast,
storage areas and stone lined bins were placed
againsthouse walls, just inside or outside of the
houseentrances(Wright2000:106).Previously,in
the Pre-potteryNeolithicA andNautufianphases,
food storagewas in pits. One or two stone bins or
pits occurredinside houses against the walls, at
sites like GilgalandIraqed-Dubb(Colledge 1994;
Wright 2000:98). At ^atalhoyiik and also at
Aiklihoyuk,we do not have regularevidencefor
storagepitsinsidethebuildings,suggestingthatthis
easternstoragestyle did not occurin theAnatolian
region.Thereweresomeirregularlyshapeddepressions in the southernstoragespace of Building 1
andone pit in Space 170 of Building17 whereclay
balls were stored.This pit mighthaveheld food or
food-relateditems at some point, but even this is
more likely to have been only a clay ball basin
(Cessford2006; Farid2006).
Skins may have been used for waterand other
liquids.In Buildings 1 (space 187) and 17 (space
182),therearesuggestionsof hidecontainershanging fromceilingbeamsor sittingon the floor(Russell and Martin2005:77). Russell identifiedsheep
feet andgreasydepositsnearthe wall in Building1,
which she suggestscould have been a hide liquid
containerthatfell with the buildingconflagration.
In Building17 thereis evidencefor a furryleather
bag. Suchcontainershavebeenin use for millennia
thewholesetandcouldhavebeenextantthroughout
tlementsequencein thesestorageareas.We arenot
ableto confirmtheirregularexistencewith present
archaeological
technologies.Inthefuturethesetypes
of storagecontainerswill most probablybe found
to be commonat manyarchaeologicalsites.
More solid evidence for grease and fat storage
is now registeredin the small, early ceramicpots
scantilyfoundup throughlevels VIII (Last2005).
Whittle (1996:351) makes a case that across
Europe,as potterycame into use, it was firstused
for storageand presentation,ratherthancooking.
This is true in the atalhoyiikfoodways cannon.

Thefirstfiredceramicpotsaresmallgrease(orpossibly salt)storagevessels (Copleyet al. 2005). One

such pot was found in situ in Building 17, space
182, consideredto be a storagearea(Farid2006).
Only later,in level VII did largerliquid holding
ceramicvessels begin to be produced,as partof a
majorfood preparationshiftto directboilingfrom
indirectboiling.
Processing for Consumption
Mealswere preparedusing freshandstoredfoods.
The daily activities of processing and preparing
these dishes varied by season, with small-scale,
dailyvariationsoccurringaccordingto the specific
meal to be prepared.A brief overview of these
activitiesand the evidence for theiroccurrenceat
atalhoyukis listed in Table4.
Butchering
Butcheringpracticesat atalhoyiikare discussed
by the faunalteam (Russell and Martin2005) as
well as previouslywiththe presentationof the evidence for storageprocessing,so we need not reiterate the same points again here. There were far
fewercut markson the atalhoyukfaunalremains
than found at other contemporaneoussites, and
since a skilledbutcheraimsto hit the bone as little
as possible, we assume this indicatesthat atalhoyiikresidentshada highlevel of skill in butchering. After the kill, animals were butchered,and
dependingon theirsize andthe methodandplace
of death,the animalwas eitherbutcheredat home,
possibly on rooftopsor in open areaswith enough
spaceto accommodatethisactivity,in off-sitework
activity areas such as KOPAL,or early on at the
edge of thebuildingsin the SouthArea.Afterskinning and butcheringwas complete,the butchered
sectionsandcuts of meateitherunderwentfurther
processingfor storage(e.g., salting or drying)or
were brought indoors or onto the rooftop food
preparationareaforcookingvia boilingin baskets,
grilling, or baking.Largecuts of meat may have
remainedoff-site for grillingor pit roasting,after
which they would have been broughtindoorsfor
familialconsumptionor communalfeasts(Russell
andMartin2005). Butcheringfor immediateconsumptionwould be most concentratedat feasting
contexts. These have been clearly identified in

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

Atalay and Hastorf]

303

Table4. Processing for Consumption:RelatedActivities with Data/UnitNumbers.

Activities

Description

Indirectand
Ethnographic
Data

Preliminary
crop processing (threshing,
winnowing,
sieving)

Using basketryequipment off-site

Local ethnographicdiscussions, personal

observation

Grindingand
pounding

Stone or wood
mortar/pestle,and/or
grindingstones to
process grains, pulses
and seeds.

Local ethnographicdiscussions, personal

observation

Leaching

Groundplant materialsin
pit or skin, soaked with
waterrepeatedly(useful
for vetch and acorn)

Ethnography
from other
groups who use
acorn (e.g. Ortiz
1991)

Bone grease
extraction

afterbutchering,pound
long bones into small
pieces, boil using clay
balls in skins or baskets.

Plant grease
extraction

pound seeds, boil, skim

oil off top

Butchering

Largerpieces butchered
off site, but all meat cuts
come to site (discardedin
middens). Smaller scale
butcheringon roofs/in
houses.

Brewing

sproutgrains, mix with

water,boil, store

Local ethnographicdiscussions

Fermenting

Wild fruits with chickpeas. Cereal grains in

brewingprocess.

Local ethnographicdiscussions

Rotting

Scirpustubersleft in
riverfor shorttime

Local ethnographicdiscussions, personal

observation

Site Data

Seasonality

Kopal (unit 601 1) and Space

181: high incidence of chaff
and processing fragments,
Stored grains/pulseswith
preliminaryprocessing complete in Bldg. 1 (unit 1332)

Summerfor wintercrops

In-situ grindingstones on
site (Bldg. 1, unit 1344; also
Bldg. 17 in SouthArea, next
to oven f. 538); also unit
4808 in South area).

As needed basis, after

preliminarythreshing
and winnowing was
complete,

Pits: summer-fall
(groundtoo wet in
spring,too cold/hardin
winter)

Faunalbone fragmentation
evidence. Likely done
indoors (see faunal data
from Bldg. 17 SE corner,unit
5021 and midden sp. 181
Phase C).

Yearroundas killed and

also in fall duringkilloff for winteruse

Bins (f.2 14, f.2 15) and units

(1415, 1437) with Capsella
bursa-pastorisand sisymbrium,also acorn, wild
almonds,pistachio found
off-site in level pre-12 Space
181 (5315).

As seeds in season for

winter use, on as needed
basis after collection and
preliminarystorage

Cut markson faunalbones,

distributionof faunal materials (RussellandMartin2005)
Evidenceof lithicsin houses
(Carter2005).

Plant taxa list is ammenable

to brewing, esp. barley

During late spring-summer harvestas needed

for consumption
Summer

Autumnand winter,as
consumed

304

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

Building3 of the BachArea (which is just east of

the NorthArea).
Animaland Plant Grease Extraction
Thereis evidencethatgreaseextractionfromboth
animalbone and oil-rich seeds and nuts was part
of the seasonal food processing cycle at atalhoyuk. Numerous midden units were rich with
smashedfaunalbone fragments(RussellandMartin 2005), indicativeof grease processing. Plant
oils were also renderedfor oil. Helbaeksuggests
thatalmondstoreswere likely processedfor oil at
atalhoyiik (1964). He noted thatthe wild Shepherdspurse(Capsellabursa-pastoris)was probably alsocollectedforoil extraction(Helbaek1970).
Evidencefromrecentexcavationsfurthersupports
the ideathatwild oil-richplanttaxawerecollected
fortheiroil (Fairbairn
et al. 2005). IntheNorthArea
several
floor
units had concentrations
1,
Building
of Capsella bursa-pastorisand Erysimunsisymbrioides, both wild seeds rich in oil. Contextsin
both the North and SouthAreas yielded concentrationsof acornsand wild almondsthat indicate
thesecollectedtaxacouldhavebeenutilizedin this
fashionas well, in additionto theirbeing driedand
consumedthroughoutthe year.
Evidence of oil-rich seeds and nuts near the
edgeof thesettlement,in theSouthArea,space181,
indicates that at least some amount of this processingtookplaceoff-site,whiletheconcentrations
foundwithinbuildingsindicatethatsuch processing also occurredindoors,to a limited extent, as
well duringthe wintermonths(Gremillion2004).
Buildings2 and 17 hadhighconcentrationsof nutshell and hackberryseeds. These contexts,which
all containlargeamountsof hackberry,a resource
best harvestedin the autumn,are all indicativeof
wild nut processing.
In termsof the actualoil extractionprocess, it
seems mostlikely thatoil richseeds werepounded
withstonemortarsto openthemup andthenboiled
in skins or basketsusing clay balls. The oil could
thenbe skimmedoff the top of the boilingmixture
andstoredin the smallpotteryjars.Althoughdirect
archaeologicalevidence of plant oil extractionis
lacking, there is regularevidence for animal fat
extraction, as evidenced in the massive highly
processed(smashedup) faunalbones throughout
the site's deposits.Additionally,the interiorof at
leastone ceramicjar containedorganicresiduesof

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

animal fat, indicatingthat some of these small,

chaff-temperedpots were utilizedfor greasestorage (Copleyet al. 2005).
Leaching
For certainwild plantsfound at atalhoyuk,particularlyacornsandvetch,the processof leaching
wouldhavebeen necessaryfor the removalof tannins in orderto renderthe food productspalatable.
Leachingcan be done quiteeasily in a shallowpit
into which pounded or ground flour is placed
(Mason 1992). Wateris then repeatedlypoured
overtheflour,andas thewatersoaksintotheground
the tanninsor otherbittersubstancesareremoved.
Thereis no evidenceof leachingpits foundon-site
at atalhoyuk;however,this does not negate the
idea that at least some of the planttaxa found on
site wouldhaveneededorbenefitedfromleaching.
Leachingwouldhave necessarilytakenplace durmonthsbecauseit requires
ing thesummer-autumn
unfrozengroundthatis not watersaturated.Other
types of leaching may have also been possible at
atalh6yiik, particularlythose using skin sieves
and/orsoakingmethods.
Grindingand Pounding
Accordingto the groundstone analysts,grinding
stones at atalh6yiik were small, portable, and
reuseduntilexhaustion(BaysalandWright2005).
Thereis modest evidence for grindingtoolkitsin
the settlement.Grindingslabsandassociatedhandstoneshavebeenidentifiedin theNorthAreaBuilding 1, insidea burntlentilbin,andin theSouthArea,
wherethey were associatedwith club-rushtubers.
The best in situexamplecomes fromBuilding 17,
space 170 in the SouthArea,wheretherewas a slab
and handstonenext to an oven, accompaniedby
manyclub-rushtubers.Baysal andWright(2005)
do not believe thatthe groundstoneevidencesupports widespreaduse in daily food preparation;
however,as they aptlypointout, the foodstuffsdo
notrequireit. Fromtheportablegrindingstoneevidence, it is possibleto surmisethatgroupsof people gatheredon rooftopsor insidebuildingsif they
wantedto grindorpounda largerthannormalquantity of food. When these tasks were completed
inside, placementof grindingstones indicatethat
this activitywas notisolatedfromotherprojectsof
the household,but seemedto be in the centralpart
of the buildingor in the storageareas.This activ-

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

ity seems to havebeenpartof the food preparation

complex,takingplace nearthe cooking locales.
Additionally,humantooth wear indicatesthat,
whilethereweresomechipsandpitsresultingfrom
paniculatematterin the diet, the wear patternsat
atalh6yiik are not what is usually seen among
groupswith regularstone groundfood consumption(Boz 2005).As BaysalandWright(2005)mention, it is possible that wooden implementswere
also used to grind and pound grains, seeds, and
pulses,althoughno suchtools haveyet been identifiedin excavation.Poundingoil-richseedsbefore
boilingwouldhavebeen a necessityif these seeds
were to undergooil extraction.However,for this
food preparation,river cobbles or other ground
stone implementsalso may have been used, since
the resultingoil extractionprocesswouldlose any
stone grit as a by-productof the boiling process.
Ourbest evidence indicatesthatsome of the nuts
and tubers were occasionally ground for meal
preparation,whereasthe cereal grainsand pulses
were not traditionallyground.
Brewing,Fermenting,and Rotting
The processesof brewing,fermenting,androtting
are also preparationsthat could have occurredat
atalh6yiik,althoughtheseareactivitiesforwhich
we have no direct archaeological evidence.
Neolithic brewingpracticeswere certainlypossible (Braidwood1952;Braidwoodet al. 1953;Katz
andVoigt1986),withtheregularpresenceof wheat
and barleyacrossthe site. These two crops could
havebeenbrewedto addflavoras well as nutrients
to the diet. The resultingbrew could have added
proteinto thediet,providingessentialvitaminsnot
availablefromunfermentedwheatandbarley.Katz
andVoigt(1986)pointouttheneedforceramicvessels in brewingpractices,andthus we mightinfer
thatonlytheupperlevels atatalh6yiikwouldhave
engagedin thisprocessingactivityif theirassumption is true.Fruitssuch as applesandpearsas well
as milk arethe most likely to have been subjected
to fermentationprocesses,andclubrushtubersare
the most probablecandidatesfor fermentationby
rotting,as is done regularlyin the contemporary
Andeanhighlands(Hastorfpersonalobservation).
The hackberrysyrupalso couldhavefermentedin
its containers,providingethanolof upto 5 percent,
easilyprovidinga tangyif slightlyintoxicatingbeverage (Dudley 2002). More extensive molecular

305

analysisis requiredto movethisaspectof thefoodways forward.

Cooking
Archaeologicaldiscussionsof food often focus on
the specific plant or animalproductsfrom which
the ancientdiet was composed.Equallyimportant
are the styles and tempos of the cooking process,
with specialfocus on the type of heat.Evidenceis
often sought to understandthe processes of food
productionand/orthe dietsof ancientpeoples.The
methodsof food preparation,specificallycooking,
are often not includedin this discussion.Despite
this lack of emphasis,cooking methodsand practices arecrucialin formingandreproducingsocial
networksand sociality (Goody 1982;Weismantel
1988),defininggroupidentity(Barthes1979;Douglas 1997), and in the reproductionof cultural
knowledge and practicesin the home (Bourdieu
1977; CounihanandVanEsterik1997). This limited concernwith pastcookingpracticesis not due
to a lack of archaeologicalevidence.In fact, there
is a wealthof informationavailablethatcaninform
us on the changingandoften complexand sophisticatedcookingpracticesof pastsocieties.Ceramic
pots,griddles,hearths,ovens,pits, all provideconcreteevidencefor past cooking practices.
Investigationof the cooking practicesat atalhoytikis an importantareaof interestthathas been
explicitlyaddressedby severalteammembers(Figure 7; Atalay2005; Last 2005; RussellandMartin
2005). In thisbriefoverviewof foodwaysat atalhoyiikwe have chosen to concentrateon the most
prominentand archaeologicallyvisible aspectsof
food preparation
(Table5). As withotheraspectsof
daily life at atalhoyiik,cooking activitiessurely
variedacrosshouseholdsand throughtime. There
aresome commonalities,however.The majorityof
cookingactivitiesoccurredin andaroundovensand
hearths(see Figures7 and8 fortwo reconstructions
of possible cooking practices).The presence of
hearthsand/orovensin eachbuildingindicatesthat
cooking took place at the household level, with
periodic-suprahouseholdor communitycooking
events.Ovens areubiquitousandcould havebeen
usedforcookingas illustratedin Figure7. Thelarger
feastingeventsarebest identifiedfromthe KOPAL
excavationswheretheaurochs,equid,andpig dominatethose faunalremains,representingthe great-

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

306

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

Table 5. Cooking: RelatedActivities.

Activities

Description

Using potterydirectly over a

Boiling
(direct and fire & using balls for transfer
of indirectheat while boiling
indirect
in baskets or skins
heat)

Grilling
(direct
heat)

Meat placed on heated

balls/objectsor spitted.Large
animals in off-site areas,
smaller animals inside
oven/hearth

Parching/to grains and pulses tossed over

heated clay balls/objectsto
asting
(direct and prolong storageor for direct
indirect
consumption
heat)

Indirectand
Ethnographic
Data

Site Data

Seasonality

Dental evidence of soft, carbohydratediet with little grit

material,starchesfrom dental
calculus, potentialfor watertight baskets, clay balls with
mineralinclusions for repeated
heating

Fall after kill off of

sheep/goat.Or after
hunt or slaughterof
largeranimals.

Mandibleswith grill markings,

local ethnobone with humangnaw marks
graphicexamfrom marrowextraction(e.g.
pies of spitting
unit 5290), some butchering
meat to grill,
evidence
inside and outside of the house

Fall after kill off of

sheep/goat.Or after
hunt or slaughterof
largeranimals.

Ethnographic
examples using
baskets or skins

Erkal (2006)
local ethnographicdata,
comparisonwith
hearthsat
Asiklihoyuk

South area midden filled with

charredcereal grain and oven
plaster,throughoutthe site
charredgrains with ash

As needed basis, after

preliminarythreshing
and winnowing was
complete,

Roasting
(indirect
wet heat)

rhizomes or meat off-site, in

pits with heated clay
balls/objects.

ethnographicPit
roastingexampies

Wheneverfresh meat
or vegetables are
cooked

Baking
(indirect
dry heat)

plants and animalproductsin

enclosed oven with heat from
clay balls

local and global

ethnographic
examples

Wheneverfresh meat
is cooked, possibly for
breadsalso

est evidenceforgrilling(RussellandMartin2005).
The one roof we have excavated,in Building3 in
the BACHArea, indicatesthatcooking also took
placeinrooftophearthsandovens(Matthews1998).
Cookingin theinteriorovenswouldhavedominated
mostcookingactivitiesfor thecoolermonths.Ladderimpressionsin wall plasterindicatethatinterior
ovens and hearths were advantageouslyplaced
below theentranceto eachbuilding(throughopenings in the roof) to allow the smoke from interior
fires to escape (Farid2006). However,the smoke
was not entirelydispersedthroughthe roof opening,as seenin thesootevidencewithinthewallplasters(Matthews1998,2005). Cookswouldstillhave
been subjectto inhalationof varyingamountsof
smokein the daily processof cooking.
We have chosen to discuss the five most likely
types of cooking at atalh6yiik:boiling, grilling,
parching,roasting,and baking.At this point we
havenotcompleteda detailedcomparisonof hearth

versusovencontextsin orderto determinetheassociations of certainfood ingredientswith specific

heatingregimes,northe associationof thesecooking activitiesremainswith eitherhearthsor ovens.
Furtherresearchis certainlyrequiredto create a
morenuancedunderstandingof the cookingpractices at atalhoyiik,andwas initiatedby Atalayin
2004.
Boiling
Boiling is wet cooking using eitherdirector indirectheat.Boiling was probablythe most common
utilizedatatalhoyiik.Dentalevifoodpreparation
dence indicatesthatthe people of atalhoyiikhad
a fairly soft diet (Boz 2005). Grains, legumes,
tubers,seeds, andmeatwouldhavebeen rendered
soft and palatablethroughboiling withoutmuch,
if any,grinding.Consumptionof gruelsand stews
plants
preparedby boiling the carbohydrate-rich
with meat and plantor animalgrease would pro-

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

307

Figure 7. A reconstruction of a winter meal around the oven. Illustrated by John G. Swogger. Copyright atalhdyuk
Research Project.

308

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

Figure 8. Indirect boiling. Illustrated by John G. Swogger. Copyright (Jatalhoyiik Research Project.

ducetoothwearconsistentwith the limitedpitting

and modest starchycalculus (see eating section
below) found on teeth from atalhoyuk (Boz
2005).BaysalandWright(2005) suggestthatwhile
some food was ground,most of it was not.
Both direct and indirect forms of boiling
occurredat (Tatalhoyiik.
Evidence for directboilover
an
ing, using pots
open flame,only begins in
level VII andlater.It is in the very late levels, predominantlypresentin the NorthArea,wheregrittemperedpottery,withexteriorsootingin formsand

sizes conduciveto boiling, is present(Last2005).

The pottery from earlier levels (Level VIII and
below) is much smaller in size, chaff-tempered,
and had little exteriorsooting, all factorssuggesting theywerenotusedin boiling.Intheearlier(prelevel VII) levels, indirectboiling, as illustratedin
Figure8, dominated.This was completedby placing heated fired clay balls into skins or baskets
filled with liquid and other food items (Atalay
2005). Indirectboiling of this sort, often referred
to as "stone boiling" because of the stones fre-

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

quentlyused as heat retentiondevices aroundthe

world, is documentedin the ethnographicrecord
as anefficientmeansof boilingbothfood andwater
on a small scale (Driverand Massey 1957; FitzPatrickandKumbuna1983;HudsonandBlackburn
1982;Marshall1976;Ortiz1991).The only drawbackto thismethodis thatit requiredconstantstirring (presumablywith a wooden utensil of some
sort)to keepthehotclayballsfromburningthrough
the basketor skin and continuousreplacementof
heatedballs if the stew neededcooking for a long
time.
Clay balls aremost dense in the SouthArea of
atalh6yiik,in the earlierlevels that also yielded
thesmall,nonsootedchafftemperedpots.Theballs
are less dense in the later,NorthArea where the
mineraltemperedceramiccookingpots arefound.
Atalay (2003, 2005) interpretsthis correlationas
indicativeof a shiftin cookingpracticesfromindirect boiling, using clay balls in basketsand skins
in the earlierlevels, to directboilingin clay pots in
thelaterlevels. Claypot cookingrequiresless constantattentionin termsof stirringand ball transfers, freeingup some of the cook's time for other
cooking or household activities. The faunal and
botanicalevidence does not reflect any dramatic
changein whatwas boiled,indicatingthatthe shift
from indirectto directboiling methodsreflects a
shift in time management,processing scale and
culturalinterest,not a majorchange in the shape
of the atalh6yiik"cuisine."This shiftilluminates
a change in the cooks' daily practices. Hints of
increasedpressureto multitaskwithin the household could be linkedto this new form of boiling,
accompanyingperhapsincreasedpressureon fuel
(let alone the changes in the clay oven construction). Differentdishes could be preparedwith this
directboiling,for example,slow cooked,low temperaturestews. This change surely set in motion
futurechangesin cooking styles.
Grilling
Grillingis direct,drycooking.Grillingmeatorvegetablesdirectlyoveranopenflameorhotasheswas
anothercookingmethodat atalh6yiik.According
to the cut markevidenceon faunalremains,cattle
meatwasgrilledin largepieceson thebone.Smaller
animals(such as sheep)had a higherincidenceof
filletingcutmarks,indicatingthatthe meatwas not
commonlygrilledbutremovedfromthebonebefore

309

cookingto be boiled in stew-typedishes, dried,or

smokedfor storage.Forgrilling,meat,eitheron or
off the bone, wouldhavebeen skeweredon a stick
andcookedovera flameorcoals.Thesmallamount
of boneburningtells us thatgrillinghunksof boned
meatwas not a commoncookingpattern,butdoes
not discountthe possibility of regulargrilling of
debonedmeat cuts, as in modernkebabs,as illustratedin Figure7. If grillingwas a cookingmethod
practicedregularlyatatalhoyuk,it was mostlikely
usedto cooksheep/goatmeatthathadbeenremoved
fromthe bone priorto exposureto an open flame.
Grillingmay have also been utilizedto cook vegetablesandotherplantfood items,suchas Scirpus.
Clayballsandclay oven surfacesmayhaveprovided anotherstyle of grilling.Heatedclay would
have absorbedthe fire's heat while keepingmeat,
or other foodstuff from being covered with ash
whilst cooking. This style would have allowed
foods to cook slowly with little supervision or
worryaboutburning.Using this process, grilling
was possible in or next to ovens, both inside the
buildingsand on the roofs, as well as away from
the buildings,where largerpieces of meat could
more easily be accommodated.Furthermore,this
less direct form of grilling would have been an
ideal way to heatbone for easy marrowextraction
andeating.Severalsheep/goatmandiblesfromthe
SouthArea have humantooth (gnaw) markssuggesting this type of process (Russell and Martin,
2005).
Baking
Bakingis an indirectand dry form of cooking for
both plantand animalproductsand was probably
commonly used at the settlement. This process
applies radiatedheat to foods over an extended
period of time. Ovens at atalh6yiik, in tandem
withclay balls,wouldhavebeen idealfor thistype
of cooking since the clay used to producethe oven
andtheballs/objectswouldhaveabsorbedandthen
releasedtheheatof a firein theenclosedspace.The
clay balls have the addedthermodynamicadvantage of theirmineralinclusionsthathelps to retain
greateramountsof heat, as well as aidingin their
resistanceto thermalshock failures.Russell and
Martin(2005) note that ribs were likely cooked
usingthisdryheatmethod,allowingmeatto remain
on the bone withoutsingeing or cutting.Butchering evidenceindicatesthe ribmeatwas still on the

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

31 0

bonewhenconsumed.Othercutsof meatandplant
foodstuffsmay have also been baked.One possibility is thatunleavenedbreadwas bakedin these
ovensusinggrainortuberflour,on a hot stoneslab
or againstthe oven wall (BaysalandWright2005).
Giventhe toothwear(Boz 2005) andgroundstone
evidence (Baysal andWright2005), if breadwas
produced,it was either baked on a very limited
basis or was produced using wooden grinding
implements.
Roasting
This activityis similarto bakingin thatit is cooking requiringan enclosed space. However,unlike
baking, roasting includes moisture. The ethnographicrecordoffersnumerousexamplesof roasting in theformof pitcookingwiththeuse of layered
food and hot rocks (Lundbergand Kotschevar
1976; Marshall 1976; Tanaka1980; Wandsnider
1997).These eventsinvolvelargepits dug into the
earth.Stones and/orclay objects are heated and
placedinto a pit along with food items, andfresh,
moist foliage. These pits are then covered with
earthand are allowed to steam the food for 2-8
hours,or longer.Foods steamedin this way could
have includedlargeor small slabs of meat (either
on or off the bone), as well as a range of plants,
includingroots such as the local club-rushtubers.
Since the cattlebone shows very little sign of having been grilledover an open flameandcut marks
indicatethatcattle meat was cooked in large segmentswhile on the bone, pit roastingis one possible cooking method that may have been used to
preparethe largercuts of cattlemeat.
While the clay balls found at atalhoyuk are
ideal cooking implementsfor roastingfood, the
limitedexcavationsin off-siteareashaveuncovered
no pits with evidenceof this type of activity.Such
cooking methods, if used at atalh6yiik, would
havebestbeenusedforfeastsorothereventswhere
large amountsof cooked meat were necessaryor
appropriate.
Presentation
The presentationof food is an essential partof a
meal, however elaborateor humble the meal is
(Curtin1992;Douglas 1997).Who gets served,in
what specific order,and with what quantitiestells
much aboutsocial and familialpolitics (Appadu-

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

rai 1981; Weismantel1988). The system of serving, the stages, and accoutrementsinformsabout
these past distributionalperformances.Food presentationutensilsare partof the initialkits of the
Natufianfood materialculture,whereopen bowls
have been found in associationwith mortarsand
pestles (Wright2000:92).At gatalhoyukwe think
that serving vessels were made out of basketry,
wood, bone, stone, and, only laterpottery.Virtually no pottery is found within the burials,suggestingthatatatalh6yiikEast,potteryinitiallywas
not for presentationor for cooking, but for food
storage.Most of theseearlyitemsarenot well preserved on the site, makingthis harderto confirm
with the datawe have to date.
Baskets,matplates,hidecontainers,andwoven
cloth were likely most common for the presentation of food to family members.We know that
woven basketswere used for food presentationas
well as for storageandfood preparation.They are
ubiquitousthroughoutall levels (Mellaart1964:85;
Wendrich2005). Dry foods, such as fruit, nuts,
peas, toastedseeds, andgrainsor even breads,but
also moisterfresh greens and grilled meat, could
have been placed on tightly woven mats, wooden
platters,or even pieces of cloth or hide.
Wooden utensils, while normally invisible
wereprobablyoftenusedforfood
archaeologically,
with
presentation, 15 shapesfoundduringthe 1960s
excavations.Mellaartreportsthatonebuildingcontained 20 wooden vessels, includingbowls both
large and small, plates, spoons, cups, and boxes
with lids. These were made of fir and soft woods,
likepoplar(Populus)andSalix( 1963:100, 1964:86,
1967:215). Thesetaxaturnoutto be themostcommon woods identifiedin floor contexts, noted as
thinsections
smallchipsin themicromorphological
(Matthews2005). These recent findings support
the idea of regularsoft wood utensilcarving.Mellaartgoes on to discuss how dining sets are suggested in some of the excavated vessel
combinations found in burials (Mellaart 1963:
99-100, 1964:86).Whereastherewereno ceramic
vesselsuncoveredin burialpits,therewerewooden
ones. In at least one burial,therewas a nested set
of bowls of severalsizes, one pedestalledgoblet,
and severalrectangularboxes (Mellaart1963:99,
1964 figures 35-39, plates XIX-XXI). Although
notdocumented,Mellaartcommentsthatthiscombinationexisted in more thanone burial.In these

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

same level VI burials, Mellaart (1963:99-100)

reportsthatfood remainsof vegetables(a bunchof
herbs),fruit and meat were found in the wooden
bowlsandboxes.Sadly,we do nothavethespecifics
of thesefood combinations.If we acceptMellaart's
burialdatathatsuggestsindividualsowned sets of
woodenvessels,perhapswomenandmenregularly
used this combinationof serving bowls for food
presentation.Such a set gravitatesarounda set of
bowls, a single goblet for drink,as well as lidded
boxes for spices, dried food, grease, or salt. It is
safe to say thatthese bowls could have held moist
foods, such as gruel(wild based),porridge(cereal
based),soup,andmush(acorn),dishedupfromthe
cooking baskets.The bowls also could have been
drinkingvessels as were the wooden goblets,perhapsfor hot infusions,fermentedbeverages,hackberryjuice, or water,pouredfromthe skin or reed
storagebags andcarryingbaskets.
Therearealso a few bowlsandspoonsmadeout
of bone,antler,andevenexoticstonelike whiteand
red marble(recrystalizedlimestone) (Baysal and
Wright 2005; Mellaart 1964:84, plate XVIIIa).
Bone andantlerladlesaremorefrequent(Mellaart
1964:103;Figure43) as arespatulae,which could
have aidedservingor preparation.
Most of the exotic items seem to be buriedwith
the males and associatedwith mineralpigments,
suggestingthatthese spoons and vessels (including one turtleshell) might not have been for food
butforotheractivities(Russell2005).Theseshapes
tend to be spoon-like,perhapsfor paint or ritual
imbibing(Mellaart1964:85,plateIVIIIb,d).
Mellaart's(1964:85, 86, 92) dataindicatethat
as potteryenteredthe settlement'skitchens they
mimickedwoodenshapes,whichhadin turnmimickedbasketry.At leastforthe eastmound,baskets
andwoodenvessels were the mainfood presentation vessels. These were made into elegant and
effectiveshapesfor preparation,presentation,and
consumption,andwereprobablyalso decoratedas
the ceramics later were (Mellaart 1964:Figures
35-39).
There are many containersfor serving, from
spatulaemade of polishedribs (for baby feeding,
as weaning began around 18 months of age
[RichardsandPearson2005]),to small,singleserving rounddishes, largeplatters,and largerfamily
flatbowls(Mellaart1964:86).Themostlikelyform
of eating,as Figure7 displays,was a meal laid out

31 1

on the floornearthe oven on the mat-coveredplatforms, with variousrelishes,drieditems, and staple dishesin thebowlsandon plates.Servingwould
have includedpouringthe gruelsor porridgesinto
the wooden bowls to be sippeddirectly,or eating
out of the cooking basket communally with a
wooden or antlerspoon. These cereal, vegetable,
andmeatsoupswereprobablyaccompaniedby an
arrayof nuts, driedseeds, driedfruit,fruitdrinks,
herbalrelishes,andperhapsdumplingsof pounded
foods. How elaboratethe meals were is unknown.
Weremanydisheseatenat one time,in a sequence,
or was thereonly one dish per meal?These questions aredifficultfor archaeologiststo answer.
Eating- Diet
We arefortunateto have severallines of excavated
evidenceaboutwhatthe people ate at atalhoyuk.
Peopleatewithinthebuildingsoron theroofswhen
at home (Matthews2005). We thinkthatthe group
saton thefloorandtheplatforms,probablyon mats,
with theirfocus on the oven or sometimesan associated open hearth.It is likely thatcertainpeople
orchestratedthefood preparationandserving(Figure7). Intheearlierlevel buildings(upto levelVII)
there is a strong sense of openness in household
level commensality,basedon the architectural
layoutandovenplacement,whichsuggestsa focus on
theoven,allowingforbothindirectanddirectcooking. Later,with the additionof more anddifferent
ceramics, fewer clay balls, oven relocation,and
more architecturalsubdivisionswithina building,
thereis a moresegmentedanddiscretestructureto
meals if they occurredin the centralspaces of the
buildings.
The stableisotopedietarydataillustratea diversityof life-longdiets,evenwithinindividualhouseholds.Thissuggeststhatsomepeopleresidedaway
from the settlementfor weeks or months a year
(RichardsandPearson2005). The humandiet was
solidly C3 in content.RichardsandPearsonregister a distinctmix of plantsandanimalsin the diet,
suggesting that some of the food came from the
forests. The team's biological anthropologists,
Molleson,Andrews,andBoz, note thatthe people
at (Tatalhoyuk
ate well, with no evidence of death
by starvation,althoughthere were stress periods
duringsomelifespans(Andrewset al. 2005). These
stress events were probablyfrom disease rather

31 2

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

thanstarvation,as therewere faminefoods always

availablein the marshes.The first,most stressful
time for childrenwas betweenthe ages of 1.5 and
5 yearsold,just afterweaning(RichardsandPearson 2005). The secondtime when morestresswas
laid down in the bones is betweenthe years of 10
and 13, when youth were developinginto adults.
The 94 bodies that have been studied from 49
gravessuggest thatthe diet was a mixed one with
fruit, nuts, meat, eggs, fish, tubers and grains;a
moderatelysoft diet butone thatwas not regularly
stone-ground.
Molleson andher colleaguesconcludethatthe
diet was more particulate,with less emphasison
cereals,thanthe diets at contemporaneoussettlements,JerichoandJarmo.This is attributedto the
tubersandmeatthatwas consumedat atalhoyuk
as well as regularnutconsumption(Mollesonet al.
1996). Recallingthatcereals are rich in carbohydrates,we link caries to cereal consumption.The
cariepresenceat (Jatalhoyiikaverages6.6 percent
for thepermanentdentition(Mollesonet al. 2005).
Thisaveragesuggeststhattheresidentshavea more
richdiet thanat ayonu, wherea 4.3
carbohydrate
carie
rate has been recorded,or at Asklipercent
with
hoyiik
only a 2.9 percentcarie rate. These
cariecomparisonsfromslightlyearliersettlements
placethe atalhoyukresidentsin the middleof the
Neolithiccerealconsumptionspectrum(Boz 2005;
Mollesonet al. 2005; Ozbek 1995, 1997).The residentsclearlyarenot living on cerealsalone,however,when we compareatalhoyuk's6-7 percent
carieaveragewiththeNatufianrates,who we know
harvestedcerealsregularly.TheNatufiancarieaverage is 16.5 percent,which is substantiallyhigher
than what we have at atalhoyuk (Smith 1991;
Smithetal. 1998).
Starchyfoods were a partof the diet at atalhoyiik, however.This is deduced from both the
numberof cariesin the permanentteethas well as
the dentalcalculus evidence (46.5 percent,albeit
most of these were light).The relativelyhigh carie
evidenceis paralleledby the regularlevels of dental calculus. Arlene Rosen and Linda ScottCummings(personalcommunication2002) have
identifiedsmallnumbersof grasshuskandCyperaceaephytoliths,as well as some wheatandCyperaceae (c.f. Scirpus)starchin the dentalcalculusat
atalhoyuk.
We also learnmoreaboutdaily lifestyles of the

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

adultswhen lookingat the differencesin cariefrequencies between the males and females. While
cariedistributionis the samein menandin women,
women have more teeth with caries and greater
erosionof thoseteeththanmales(65.6 percentversus 34.3 percent).This suggeststhatthewomenate
starchycerealsandtubersmoreregularlythenthe
men did. But it could also mean thatdue to pregnancyandlactation,womentendto haveless strong
teeth that are more affected by starchycarbohydratesin theirdiet thanmales. The carieevidence
presentsa slightly differentview of the adultdiet
thanthe stableisotopedata.Fromthe 18 adultsthat
havebeeninvestigatedby RichardsandPearsonfor
their stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values,
there is no significantdifference in the lifetime
averagefood consumptionbetweenadultfemales
andmales(RichardsandPearson2005).Thisis different from the carie dimorphism.The carie differences might be due to the timing of starch
consumptionthroughouttheir lifetimes; that is,
men ate cereals in largerquantitiesperiodically
whereaswomenatestarchmoreregularlythroughout the year.
An alternativemodel for the carie differences
could be attributedto the activitieswomen were
engagedin, processingreeds and hides with their
teeth.Partof this differencecan also be frompregnancy and lactationimpacts.Dietary differences
betweenthe adultsdo not fit all of the datawe now
have at hand, suggesting the activity processing
model the more likely to explainthe data.
An additionalsense of generalequalityin food
access comes fromthebone wearevidencereflecting life-longactivitypatterns.Thesemuscleandligament marks demonstratethat adult males and
females seemed to have about the same body
weight and activitylevels, althoughthe men were
slightlytaller(Mollesonet al. 2005). All together,
the notionthatwomen were muchheftier,like the
clay figurinesoften attributedto the female body,
does not hold up given the dietaryevidence.
In general,the cooked andraw food was eaten
whole,cracked,orin chunksratherthangroundup.
Therearegrindingstonesin the settlementbutnot
in a quantitythatwouldaccommodateregularfood
processing (Baysal and Wright 2005). Wendy
Matthewshas identifieda coprolitein a SouthArea
middenthatcontainedwild pistachios,acorns,and
almondshells, suggestingthat nut hull roughage

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

was also regularlyconsumedalong with the inner

nutmeat.
Thirty-sixpercentof the teeth have chipping
anddisplayself-cleaningevidence,suggestingthat
harderbitsoccurredregularlyin the mealsandthat
theyate driedfruitor meatregularly.Throughlife,
therewas steadytoothwear,beginningin the third
year of life (Boz 2005). Food was crushedmore
thangroundby the teeth,and since grindingtends
to be linkedto processedfoods, whereascrushing
suggestsmorewhole nutsandgrains,this supports
the idea thatpeople ate whole nutmeatsandgrains
(a whole foods diet!).The stableisotopedatasuggest thatthe meatconsumedwas most often sheep
(Ovissp.) andgoat(Caprasp.).Aurochs(Bos) was
rarelyeaten,deer andboareven less so (Richards
and Pearson2005). We also know thatthe human
dietclearlyincludedmeatas well as legumes,with
on average4 percentmorenitrogenthanthesheep's
diet (shiftingup 7-1 1 percentdifference,Richards
andPearson2005).
Theredoes not seem to be any changein plant
food consumptionthroughtime. Rather,thereis a
steadyuse of both wild and domesticfoods, with
thedomesticflorafocusedon emmer,einkorn,and
breadwheat,andto a lesserextentnakedbarley(72
vs. 54 [naked] percent ubiquity). The recent
research has found that lentils dominated the
legume componentof the diet (with 74 percent
ubiquity),althoughHelbaekhadearliersuggested
thatthedomesticpeawasthemostcommonlegume
at the site. Interestingly,Helbaekdoes not report
any lentils at the site from Mellaart'sexcavations
(1964). Club-rushtubersarecommonthroughout
the settlement,althoughtheirmode of entryonto
thesitewasprobablyalonga varietyof paths.While
animaldungandconstructionpurposescouldhave
broughtthese tubersonto the settlement,so did
human consumption.The best times to harvest
these prolific tubers from the local marshes for
immediateconsumptionwas in theearlyspring,up
to aboutMarch,andthenin the autumn,beginning
aroundSeptember(Hillman et al. 1989:260). If
they were to be driedand stored,then it would be
bestto harvestthetubersin lateautumn,whenthey
are in a dormantstate and thereforeless likely to
spoil. Moreover,the tubers are at their highest
annual carbohydratelevels at this time of year.
(Wollstonecroftand Erkal 2000; Wollstonecroft
personalcommunication2002). Giventhe amount

31 3

of other starchesavailable,it is more likely that

these tubers,and the other wild herbs like bitter
vetch (Vicia ervilia), were eaten throughoutthe
summer-autumn,and used in the winter only if
famine was threatening.WendyMatthews(2005)
notes that some of the midden deposits in levels
VII and VIII of the South Area had identifiable
coprolitescontaininghackberry,stronglysuggesting thathackberrieswere consumedas fruit,perhaps also in syrup or even wine (e.g., Pliny in
Helbaek 1964:123). Wild pistachio and almond
fruit-stones and husks have been uncovered in
denseclustersthroughouttheearlysequence(Fairbairnet al. 2005). Wild herbaceousplants,probably collectedfor theirfreshleaves, flowers,stems,
rootsor seeds,wouldnothavepreservedexceptfor
the charredseeds. These surely would have been
eatenfresh in the springas well as driedthroughout the year. Both Ertug-Yarns(1997, 2000) and
Fairbairnet al. (2005) reportthatmost of the identifiedwild taxadepositedin the settlementareedible, making most charred plants on the list of
potentialfood.
The core carbohydratefoods throughoutthe
sequenceandstoredforlaterconsumptionatatalhoyiik were wheat and barleygrain,lentils, hackberry fruit, almonds, wild pistachio, club-rush
tubers,withacorn,fig, plum,sumacandberriesless
common (Fairbairnet al.:Table3.8 2005). Most
animalproteinwasfromsheep,withlesseramounts
of fish, bird,aurochs,fox, badger,andhare.
Meals
The actualmeals would have changedseasonally,
but over time at the settlement,we see no major
shiftin diet,exceptfortheincreasein domesticanimals (Russell and Martin2005). The combined
food datafurthersupportthe idea thattherewere
groupmemberswho spentsome partof theiryear
away from the site, eating a different,and probably wilder,diet.Whilecerealswereeatenregularly
by all, they did not dominatethe diet andwere not
consumedas the relentlessporridgewe associate
with the NorthernEuropeanNeolithic farmersor
even for the laterNeolithic of the Levant(Wright
2000). Ontheotherhand,thepeopleof atalhoyuk
did eat morestarchyfoods thantheirearlierneighbors at ayonii andAiklihoyiik.
The well-built ovens, small hearths,and indi-

314

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

rectboilingevidencereflectthetypesof dishesprepared.These kitchenappliancessuggest a sophisticatedsense of controllingtemperatureandflame.

Cooked foods were boiled, baked, roasted, and
grilled. Baking likely occurredinside the ovens,
grilling on heated slabs or balls, roastingin pits,
andboiling in baskets.The actualdishes of a cuisine are alwaysdifficultto reconstructeven if one
owns the recipe book, and of course this task is
nearly impossible to documentarchaeologically
barring the presence of well preserved in situ
remains of single meals, as at Pompeii. While
remainingmindfulof the constraintspresentedin
thearchaeologicaldata,we havecombinedtheevidencewithpresent-dayethnographicobservations
in nearbyand local Anatolianvillages, to offer a
brieflistof possiblemealsto feedthereaders'imagination.Forthe springafterthe equinoxthose living atQatalhoyiikmighthavecollectedfreshtubers,
consumedwith eggs andgreens.Withthe onset of
summera rangeof differentgreenswith roastbird
mighthavebeen a favoreddish.In the late summer
(September)afterreturningfromthemountains,we
mighthaveseenraworboiledmeatandgroundpistachiomixed with herbs.Laterin Novemberafter
all the forestfoods hadbeen stored,therecouldbe
meals of driednutsandfruitwith grilledmeatand
hackberrydrinks. Then during the cold winter
months,huddledaroundthe oven to keep warm,
theymayhaveenjoyedthickwhole-grainporridge
with sumacandrehydratedhackberriesaccompaniedby toastedgroundalmondsmixedwithgrease.
Conclusions
Withfood data,we can begin to see more clearly
themanyactivitiesandlife practicesatatalhoyuk
thatwere only distantimaginingsbefore.Following the steps in food creationand consumption,
dailylife practicescanbe outlined.Thepeoplethat
livedandworkedin thesebuildingsmovedthrough
a cycle of seasonsanddailypracticesthatallow us
to sense thehousecommunityextantatthismound
over almost one thousandyears. It is our job as
archaeologistsconcernedwith the foodways at a
settlementlike Qatalhoyuk,so distantin time and
culturefromourown,to tryto painta richyet accuratepictureof daily practices.This is both a challenginganda rewardinglensthroughwhichto view
thepeoplewho inhabitedthislandscapeandmoved

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

aboutthe multileveledsettlement.From the analyzed evidence, we gain a pictureof people who

reliedon plantandanimalprotein,withwildplants
remainingan importantandsymbolicallyvaluable
partof theirdailyandseasonalfoodpractices.They
movedout acrossthe landscapeto collect andperhapseven tendtreecrops,berries,andherbs.They
also atea rangeof animalproducts,includingmeat,
obtainedthroughthe slaughterof tendedanimals,
hunting small and large game, and, to a lesser
extent,eggs and waterfowl.This broughtthem to
walk across the valley and to the hills, as well as
throughthemarshesandalongtheriver.Sucha varied, if patchy,landscapeprovideda richandstable
procurementpalette.
The daily practices surroundingthe regular
cycles of productionandconsumptionfollowed a
seasonal schedule. There is evidence to indicate
thattherewas some limited degree of specializationin some of thefood activities,suchas butchering andperiodicaurochconsumption.The busiest
time of the yearwhenthe greatestamountof labor
was necessarywas the early summerthroughthe
late autumn,when crops were harvested,animals
were slaughtered,wild nuts and fruitswere gathered, andfoods were processedand storedfor the
cold winter and wet spring. The storage room
lardersbecamethe focus of activityfor monthsat
a time. Even if most people were living out of
doors, on the roof, in the sun, or along the treelined river, they returnedacross the settlement
every day to bringtheirfood andwaterbackto be
stored, dried, bagged, cooked, and eaten. It was
crucialto havebeen well fed duringthese months
forsuchheavywork.Thismusthavebeenbalanced
withtheirknowledgethatthewinterwouldbe long
and they would need enough storedfoods to feed
the mouthsof children,elders,and adultsfor severalcold andwet months.We can see thatthe people of atalh6yiik were successful in these tasks
andtheiroverallnutritionwas steadyandhealthy.
The diet of males and females was similar,
althoughmales possibly ate more of a wild diet
fromoff-site resources.The sense of equalityand
sharingpervadesthefoodways,withdifferenttasks
certainlybeing done by differentmembersof the
family unit, sharingtheir work to feed everyone.
Their success is reflectednot only in the lack of
majorstressin theircorporeallives butalso in their
steady continuanceof these daily, seasonal and

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

annualfamily and social patternsfromone generationto the next.

Given that food acts are social acts, the styles
andeatingshowus that
andrhythmsof preparation
the food habitusat f atalhoyukwas householdoriented, channeledby the structuredyet redundant
buildingsthatprovidedplaces for storage,preparation, and cooking. While not every meal was
heated,therewereprobablyregularcooked(boiled)
mealseatenwithineachfamilybuilding.The styles
of preparationand cooking changedthroughtime
butnotthefoodstuffs.Thetimeneededto complete
all of these food-relatedtaskscan be teasedout of
theartifactual
data,wherewe see hintsof timepressure managementwith the developmentof direct
cooking ceramics. The shift to direct boiling in
ceramicsinformsus of the need
mineral-tempered
for handscompletingotherthingswithinthe daily
This desirefor multitaskingdurfood preparation.
ing meal preparationis not foreignto most cooks.
Suchshiftsin technologyhintata cumulativeeffect
towardthe developmentof new dishes or menus
along with this new methodof food preparation.
Whatwere the new meals thatwere added?
This food habituswas reproducedin all family
membersthroughthe multiple food task strands
woven togetherby the daily meals, where everyone learnedthe taste,tempo, cuisine, and style of
(Jatalhoyiikliving. This corporealexperience of
the familyandthe communitywas not only placed
in theirbonesbutalso intotheirmouthsandin their
memories(Sutton2001). While some of the foodrelatedactivitiesaremorevisiblethanothers,there
is quitea completepictureof foodways at the settlement.We now have a good map of the tasks,
movements,anddietsthatmeantmuchto theinhabitants; tasks like assembling the ingredientsfor
makinga favoritesoup,the easiest way to butcher
andfilleta sheep,thebest spotin the marshfor collecting eggs, or the indicatorsfor when the tubers
are at their sweetest for harvest.Throughthese
processes of daily food practice, the culture of
atalhoyiikwas createdand re-created,in a surprisinglysteady mannerfor one thousandyears.
This embodimentof groupand socialityprovides
us with a fairlyfocused view of daily life, reflecting the way they viewed their home, their environment,but also themselves.
Acknowledgments.Thanksto Ian Hodderfor being supportive of our interest in food. A special thanks to Ismael and

315

HaticeYah,and their whole family, who have been so open

to us abouttheirown daily lives and foodways. Many project
members generously contributed time and data for this
paper,duringthe excavationsand the writingof the four volumes on this first phase of the project.The core team studying the food plants included Meltem Agcabay,Aylan Erkal,
Andy Fairbairn,ChristineHastorf,Amanda Kennedy,Katy
Killackey, Daniele Martinoli, and Julie Near. Phytolith
analysis was completed by Arlene Rosen. The micromorphological work by Wendy Matthewswas especially important.The faunalremainswere analyzedby a team headedby
Nerissa Russell, Louise Martin, and Sheelagh Frame. The
shell was studiedon site by David Reese. JonathanLast studied the ceramic vessels and Sonya Atalay the clay balls. The
lithic tools were analyzed by James Connelly and Tristan
Carter. All of the baskets were studied by Wellicke
Wendrich,and all bone tools were investigated by Nerissa
Russell. The paleoecology was studied by Neil Roberts and
his team with Eleni Asouti studying the wood remains.The
human remains were analyzed by Theya Molleson, Peter
Andrews,and Basak Boz. Selected stable isotopes of human
remains were analyzed by Michael Richards and Jessica
Pearson. We would also like to extend our gratitudeto the
TurkishMinistryof Culturefor providingus with the opportunity to conduct this research.
Over the years both Atalay and Hastorf have received
supportfrom a numberof funding sources for which we are
grateful.In particularAtalay would like to acknowledgethe
Fulbright Foundation, the American Research Institute in
Turkey, UC Berkeley Anthropology Department'sLowieOlson Fund,and the UC President'sPostdoctoralFellowship
program for their generous support. Several seasons of
Hastorf's participation were funded by the National
Geographic Society. We appreciate Silvana Rosenberg's
Spanishtranslationof our abstract.

References Cited
Andrews,Peter,TheyaMolleson, andBasakBoz
2005 The Human Burials at atalhoyiik. In Inhabiting
Qatalhb'yuk:
Reportsfrom the 1995-1 999 Seasons,(^atalhoyukProjectVol. 4, editedby IanHodder,pp. 499-520.
McDonald Institute Monographs/British Institute of
Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Appadurai,Arjun
1981 Gastro-politicsin HinduSouthAsia. AmericanEthnologist 8:494-511.
Asouti, Eleni
2005 WoodlandVegetationand the Exploitationof Fuel
andTimberat Neolithic^atalhoyuk:Reporton the Wood
Charcoal Macro-remains. In Inhabiting Qatalhoyuk:
Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons,atalhoyiikProject
Vol. 4, edited by Ian Hodder,pp. 213-260. McDonald
InstituteMonographs/British
Instituteof Archaeologyat
Ankara,Cambridge.
Asouti, Eleni, andJon Hather
200 1 CharcoalAnalysisandthe Reconstructionof Ancient
WoodlandVegetationin the KonyaBasin, South-Central
Anatolia,Turkey:ResultsfromtheNeolithicSite of (^atalhoyuk East. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
10:23-32.

31 6

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

Atalay,Sonya
2003 Domesticating Clay: Engaging with 'They': The
Social Life of Clay Balls from Qatalhbyu'k,
Turkeyand
Public Archaeologyfor IndigenousCommunities.Ph.D.
Dissertation,Universityof California,Berkeley,Department of Anthropology.University Microfilms International,Ann Arbor,Michigan.
2005 DomesticatingClay: The Role of Clay Balls, Mini
Balls, andGeometricObjectsin Daily Life at atalhoyiik.
In ChangingMaterialitiesat Qatalhb'yuk:
Reportsfromthe
1995-1999 Seasons,atalhoyiikProjectVol. 5, editedby
Ian Hodder, pp. 139-168. McDonald Institute Monographs/BritishInstituteof Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Barthes,Roland
1979 Towardsa Psychosociology of ContemporaryFood
Consumption.In Food and Drink in History, edited by
RobertForsterandOrestRanum,pp. 166-1 73. JohnsHopkins UniversityPress,Baltimore.
Baysal,Adnan,and KatherineI. Wright
2005 Cooking,CraftsandCuration:GroundStoneArtefacts
fromCatalhoyiik(1995-1999 Excavations).In Changing
Materialitiesat Qatalhoyuk:Reportsfrom the 1995-1999
Seasons,atalhoyukProjectVol.5, editedby IanHodder,
pp. 307-324. McDonald Institute Monographs/British
Instituteof Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Bourdieu,Pierre
1977 Outlineof a Theoryof Practice. CambridgeUniversity Press,Cambridge.
Boz, Basak
2005 The OralHealthof ^atalhoyukNeolithic People. In
InhabitingQatalhoyiik:Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons, atalhoyiikProjectVol.4, editedby IanHodder,pp.
587-592. McDonaldInstituteMonographs/British
Instituteof Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Braidwood,RobertJ.
1952 From Cave to Village. ScientificAmerican. October:62-66.
Braidwood,RobertJ., JonathanD. Sauer,Hans Helbaek,Paul
C. Mangelsdorf,HughC. Cutler,CarletonS. Coon,Ralph
Linton,JulianSteward,andLeo A. Oppenheim
1953 Did ManOnceLiveby BeerAlone?AmericanAnthropologist 55:5X5-526.
Carter,Tristan,JamesConolly,andAna Spasojevic
2005 The Chipped Stone. In Changing Materialities at
Qatalhoyuk:Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons,atalhoyiikProjectVol. 5, editedby IanHodder,pp. 221-284.
McDonald Institute Monographs/British Institute of
Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Cessford,Craig
2005 Estimatingthe Neolithic Populationof atalhoyiik,
InInhabitingQatalhoyuk:
reportsfromthe1995-1999 Seasons, atalhoyiikProjectVol.4, editedby IanHodder,pp.
325-326. McDonaldInstituteMonographs/British
Institute of Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
2006 NeolithicExcavationsin theNorthArea,EastMound,
South,
^atalhoyuk1995-1998. inExcavatingQatalhoyuk:
Northand KOPALArea
Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons, fatalhoyiik ProjectVol. 3, edited by Ian Hodder.
McDonald Institute Monographs/British Institute of
Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge,in press.
Colledge, Susan
1994 Plant Exploitation on Epipalaeolithic and Early
Neolithic Sites in the Levant.UnpublishedPh.D. dissertation,Departmentof Archaeology,Universityof Sheffield.
Copley,Mark,KateClark,andRichardEvershed
2005 OrganicResidues.In ChangingMaterialitiesat Qatal-

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

hoyuk:Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons,gatalhoyuk

ProjectVol.5, editedby IanHodder,pp. 169-174. McDonInstituteof Archaeology
ald InstituteMonographs/British
at Ankara,Cambridge.
Counihan,Carole,andPennyVanEsterik(editors)
1997 Foodand Culture.Routledge,London.
Curtin,Deborah
1992 Food/body/person.In Cooking, Eating, Thinking:
TransformativePhilosophies of Food, edited by Diane
CurtinandL. Heldke,pp. 3-22. IndianaUniversityPress,
Bloomington,Indiana.
Cutting,Marion
2005 The Architectureof atalhoyiik:Continuity,Households, and the Lost Upper Levels. In QatalhbyukPerspectives:Themesfrom the 1995-9 Seasons, (Jatalhbyiik
ProjectVol.6, editedby IanHodder,pp. 151-170. McDonInstituteof Archaeology
ald InstituteMonographs/British
at Ankara,Cambridge.
Dietler,Michael,andBrianHayden(editors)
2001 Feasts: Archaeologicaland EthnographicPerspectiveson Food,PoliticsandPower.SmithsonianInstitution
Press,Washington,D.C.
Douglas,Mary
1997 Decipheringa Meal. In Foodand Culture,editedby
CaroleCounihanandPennyVanEsterik,pp. 36-54. Routledge, New York.
Driver,HaroldE., andWilliamC. Massey
1957 ComparativeStudies of North American Indians,
Transactions,Vol.47, pt. 2. AmericanPhilosophicalSociety, Philadelphia.
Dudley,Robert
2002 FermentingfruitandtheHistoricalEcologyof Ethanol
Ingestion:Is Alcoholism in ModernHumansan EvolutionaryHangover?Addition97:381-388.
Erkal,AyIan
2006 TheEthnobotanyof WildPlantFoodUse in theKonya
Basin:a QuantitativeandEthnoarchaeological
Approach.
UnpublishedMS thesis, EthnographyDepartment,Middle EasternTechnicalUniversityAnkara,Turkey.
Ertug-Yaras,Fusun
1997 An EthnoarchaeologicalStudy of Subsistenceand
Plant Gathering in Central Anatolia. Department of
Anthropology,Ph.D.dissertation,WashingtonUniversity,
AnnArbor.
St. Louis,UniversityMicrofilmsInternational,
2000 An Ethnobotanical
Studyin CentralAnatolia(Turkey).
EconomicBotany54:155-1 82.
Fairbairn,Andrew,JulieNear,andDaniele Martinoli
2005 MacrobotanicalInvestigationof theNorth,Southand
KOPALArea Excavationsat QatalhoyiikEast. In Inhabiting Qatalhoyuk:Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons,
^atalhoyiik Project Vol. 4, edited by Ian Hodder, pp.
Insti137-202. McDonaldInstituteMonographs/British
tuteof Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Falk,Pasi
1994 The ConsumingBody. Sage, London.
Farb,Peter,andGeorgeArmelagos
1980 ConsumingPassions, the Anthropologyof Eating.
WashingtonSquarePress,New York.
Farid,Shahina
2006 SouthArea Excavations.In Excavating^atalhoyiik:
South,NorthandKOPALarea reportsfromthe1995-1999
Seasons,^atalhoyiikProjectVol. 3, editedby IanHodder.
McDonald Institute Monographs/British Institute of
Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge,in press.
Fitz-Patrick,David G., andJohnKimbuna
1983 Bundi:The Cultureof a PapuaNew GuineaPeople.
Ryebuck,Nerang,Queensland,Australia.

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

French,David H.
1971 An Experimentin Water-sieving. AnatolianStudies
21:59-64.
Goody,Jack
1982 Cooking,Cuisine,and Class: A Studyin Comparative Sociology.CambridgeUniversityPress,Cambridge.
Gremillion,KristenJ.
2004 Seed Processingandthe Originsof Food Production
in Eastern North America. American Antiquity
69:215-233.
Hamilton,Naomi
1996 Figurines,ClayBalls, SmallFindsandBurials.In On
the Surface:Qatalhuyuk1993-1995, editedby Ian Hodder, pp. 215-263. British Institute of Archaeology at
InstituteMonographs,Cambridge.
Ankara/McDonald
Hastorf,ChristineA.
2005a FieldMethodsandLaboratoryAnalysisProcedures.
In InhabitingQatalhbyuk:Reportsfrom the 1995-1999
Seasons,^atalhoyukProjectVol.4, editedby IanHodder,
pp. 129-136. McDonald Institute Monographs/British
Instituteof Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
2005b TheHabitusof CookingPracticesatNeolithicatalhoyiik- WhatWas the Place of the Cook at the Evening
Meal?Paperpresentedat the 70thAnnualMeetingof the
Society of AmericanArchaeology,Salt LakeCity.
Helbaek,Hans
1963 Textilesfromatal Hiiyiik.Archaeology16:39-46.
1964 FirstImpressionsof theatal HiiyiikPlantHusbandry.
AnatolianStudies 14:121-123.
Hillman,GordonC.
1984 Interpretationof Archaeological Plant Remains:
Application of EthnographicModels from Turkey.In
PlantsandAncientMan,editedby W CasparieandW van
Zeist, pp.1-41. Rotterdam,Balkema,Netherlands.
1989 Late PalaeolithicPlant Food from Wadi Kubbaniya
in UpperEgypt: DietaryDiversity,InfantWeaning,and
Seasonalityin a RiverineEnvironment.In Foragingand
Farming, edited by D. Harris and G. C. Hillman, pp.
207-239. Unwin Hyman,London.
Hillman,GordonC, SusanM. Colledge,andDavid R. Harris
1989 Plant-food Economy During the Epipalaeolithic
PeriodatTellAbu Hureyra,Syria:DietaryDiversity,SeasonalityandModesof Exploitation.InForagingandFarming, editedby DavidR. HarrisandGordonC. Hillman,pp.
240-268. Unwin Hyman,London.
Hodder,Ian
1996 atalhoyiik.AnatolianArchaeology2:6-7. Research
Reportsof the BritishInstituteof ArchaeologyatAnkara,
Ankara,Turkey.
1997 atalhoyiik.AnatolianArchaeology3:4-5. Research
Reportsof the BritishInstituteof ArchaeologyatAnkara,
Ankara,Turkey.
1998 atalhoyiik.AnatolianArchaeology4:8-10, Research
Reportsof the BritishInstituteof ArchaeologyatAnkara,
Ankara,Turkey.
1999 Gettingto the Bottom of Things:gatalhoyiik 1999.
AnatolianArchaeology5:4-7. ResearchReports of the
BritishInstituteof ArchaeologyatAnkara,Ankara,Turkey.
Hodder,Ian (editor)
2000 TowardsReflexiveMethodinArchaeology:TheExamMcDonaldInstituteforArchaeological
ple at Qatalhbyuk.
Research/British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara,
MonographNo. 28. Cambridge.
2005a InhabitingQatalhbyuk
Reportsfrom the 1995-1 999
Seasons, atalhoyiikProjectVol. 4. McDonaldInstitute
Instituteof Archaeologyat Ankara,
Monographs/British
Cambridge.

31 7

2005b ChangingMaterialitiesat Qatalhbyuk:

Reportsfrom
the 1995-1999 Seasons, gatalhoyuk Project Vol. 5.
McDonald Institute Monographs/British Institute of
Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
2005c QatalhbyukPerspectives:Themesfrom the 1995-9
Seasons, QatalhbyukProjectVol. 6. McDonaldInstitute
Monographs/BritishInstituteof Archaeologyat Ankara,
Cambridge.
2006 Excavating Qatalhbyuk:South, North and KOPAL
Area Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons, Qatalhbyuk
Project Vol. 3. McDonald InstituteMonographs/British
Instituteof Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Hodder,Ian, andCraigCessford
2004 Daily Practice and Social Memory at atalhoyiik.
AmericanAntiquity69:17-40.
Hudson,Travis,andThomasC. Blackburn
1982 The Material Cultureof the ChumashInteraction
Sphere.AnthropologicalPapers25. Ballena Press, Santa
Barbara,California.
Jenkins,Emma
2005 TheatalhoyukMicrofauna:PreliminaryResultsand
InInhabitingQatalhbyuk:
Interpretations.
Reportsfromthe
1995-1999 Seasons,gatalhoyiikProjectvol. 4, editedby
IanHodder.McDonaldInstituteMonographs/British
Institute of Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Kahn,Miriam
1986 Always Hungry,Never Greedy.CambridgeUniversity Press,Cambridge.
Katz,Solomon, andMaryVoigt
1986 Bread and Beer: The Early Use of Cereals in the
HumanDiet. Expedition28(2):23-34.
Last,Jonathan
2005 Potteryfrom the East Mound.In ChangingMaterialities at Qatalhbyuk:Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons, atalhoyiikProjectVol.5, editedby IanHodder,pp.
101-138. McDonaldInstituteMonographs/British
Institute of Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Levi-Strauss,Claude
1969 TheRaw and the Cooked:Introductionto a Science
of Mythology.Harper-Row,New York.
Lundberg,DonaldE., and LendalH. Kotscheva
1976 UnderstandingCooking.Universityof Massachusetts
Press,Amherst,Massachusetts.
Marshall,Lorna
1976 TheIKungofNyae Nayae. HarvardUniversityPress,
Cambridge,Massachusetts.
Massara,Emily
1997 Que Gordita,In Food and Culture,editedby Carole
CounihanandPennyVanEsterik,pp. 25 1-255. Routledge,
London.
Mason, SarahL.
1992 Acorns in Human Subsistence. Ph.D. dissertation,
Instituteof Archaeology,UniversityCollege, London.
Matthews,Wendy
1996 Microstratigraphy,
Micromorphologyand Sampling
Report.
http://catal.arch.cam.ac.uk/catal/Archive_rep96/ar96_07.h
tml, accessedMay 2005.
1997 Reporton SamplingStrategies,andAnalyses of the
andMicromorphologyof Depositional
Microstratigraphy
Sequences at atalhoyiik, 1997. http://catal.arch.
cam.ac.uk/catal/Archive_rep97/ar97_09.
html, accessed
May 2005.
1998 SamplingStrategies,Microstratigraphy
and Micromorphologyof DepositionalSequences, and Associated
Ethnoarchaeologyat ^atalhoyiik,1998. http://catal.arch.
cam.ac.uk/catal/Archive_rep98/matthews98.html,

31 8

AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

accessed May 2005

1999 MicromorphologyArchive Report http://catal.arch.
cam.ac.uk/catal/Archive_rep99/matthews99.html,
accessedMay 2005
2005 Micromorphological
andMicrostratigraphic
Tracesof
Uses and Conceptsof Space. In Inhabiting^atalhoyiik:
Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons,gatalhoyukProject
Vol. 4, editedby Ian Hodder.McDonaldInstituteMonographs/BritishInstituteof Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Matthews,Wendy,CharleyA. I. French,Thomas Lawrence,
David F. Cutler,andMartinK. Jones
1997 Microstratigraphic
Tracesof SiteFormationProcesses
and HumanActivities.WorldArchaeology29:281-308.
Matthews,Wendy,J. NicholasPostgate,with SebastianPayne,
MichaelP. Charles,and K. Dobney
1994 TheImprintof Livingin a MesopotamianCity: Questions andAnswers. In WhitherEnvironmental
Archaeology? pp. 171-212, edited by RosemaryLuff and Peter
Rowley-Conwy.Oxbow Monograph38. Oxbow Books,
Oxford.
Meigs, Anna S.
1984 Food,Sex,andPollution:A New GuineaReligion.Rutgers UniversityPress,New Brunswick,New Jersey.
1988 Food as a CulturalConstruction.Food & Foodways
2:341-357.
Mellaart,James
1962 Excavationsat fatal Hoyiik, 1961:FirstPreliminary
Report.AnatolianStudies 12:41-65.
1963 Excavations at fatal Hiiyiik, Second Preliminary
Report,1962.AnatolianStudies 13:43-103.
1964 Excavations at fatal Hiiyiik, Third Preliminary
Report,1963.AnatolianStudies 14:39-119.
1966 Excavations at fatal Hiiyuk: Fourth Preliminary
Report,1965.AnatolianStudies 16:165-91.
1967 QatalHiiyiik:a Neolithic Townin Anatolia.Thames
& Hudson,London.
Middleton,WilliamD., T. DouglasPrice,andDavidC. Meiggs
2005 ChemicalAnalysis of Floor Sedimentsfor the Identificationof AnthropogenicActivityResidues.In Inhabiting ^atalhoyiik:Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons,
f atalhoyuk Project Vol. 4, edited by Ian Hodder, pp.
399-^12. McDonaldInstituteMonographs/BritishInstitute of ArchaeologyatAnkara,Cambridge.
Miracle,PrestonandNicky Milner(editors)
2002 ConsumingPassions and Patternsof Consumption.
McDonald Institutefor ArchaeologicalResearch,Cambridge.
Molleson,Theya,BasakBoz, KathrynNudd,andBernaAlpagut
1996 DietaryIndicationsin theDentitionsfromf atalhoyiik.
T.C Kultur Bakanligi Anilitar ve Muzeler Genel
Mudurlugu XI Arkeometri Sonucari Toplantisi, pp.
141-150. T.C KulturBakanligi,Ankara,Turkey.
Molleson,Theya,PeterAndrews,andBasakBoz
2005 Reconstruction
of theNeolithicPeopleof f atalhoyiik.
In Inhabiting(^atalhoyiik:Reportsfrom the 1995-1999
Seasons,f atalhoyiikProjectVol.4, editedby IanHodder.
McDonald Institute Monographs/British Institute of
Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Ortiz,Beverly
199 1 It WillLiveForever,Traditional
Yosemite
AcornPreparations.HeydayBooks, Berkeley,California.
Mihriban
Ozbas.aran,
1998 TheHeartof a House:TheHearth.Aiklihoyiik,a PrePotteryNeolithicSite in CentralAnatolia.In Lighton Top
of the Black Hill: Studies Presented to Halet Qambel,
editedby G. Arsebuk,MartinJ. Mellink,andW. Schirmer,

[Vol. 71 , No. 2, 2006

pp. 555-566. Ege Yayinlan,Istanbul.

Ozbek,Metin
1995 Dental Pathologyof the Pre-PotteryNeolithic Residents of f ayonii, Turkey.Rivista di Antropologia 73:
99-122.
1997 f ayoniiTanmToplumunda
Dij>Sahgi.TurkArkeoloji
Dergisi. Sayi XXXI. TC Kultur Bakanhsi Anitlar ve
MuzelerGenel Mudurlugu.Ankara,Turkey.
ParkerPearson,Michael(editor)
2003 Food,Cultureand Identityin theNeolithicand Early
BronzeAge. BritishArchaeologicalInternationalSeries
1117. Archaeopress,Oxford.
Pearsall,DeborahM.
2000 Paleoethnobotany.AcademicPress,San Diego, California.
Popper,VirginiaS., andChristineA. Hastorf
1988 Introduction.In CurrentPalaeoethnobotany,edited
by ChristineA. HastorfandVirginiaPopper,pp. 1-16. Universityof ChicagoPress,Chicago.
Proust,Marcel
1934 Remembranceof ThingsPast(La recherchedu temps
perdu).Translatedby C. K. Scott-Moncrieff,introduced
by JosephWood Krutch.RandomHouse, New York.
Regguinti,Gordon
1992 The SacredHarvest:OjibwayWildRice Gathering.
LernerPublicationsCompany,Minneapolis.
Richards,MichaelP., andJessicaA. Pearson
2005 Stable Isotope Evidence of diet at f atalhoyuk,In
Inhabiting^atalhoyuk:Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons, f atalhoyiikProjectVol.4, editedby IanHodder,pp.
Insti313-327. McDonaldInstituteMonographs/British
tute of Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
RobertsNeil, Black S, Peter Boyer, WarrenJ Eastwood,H.
Griffiths,H. F. Lamb,I. Leng, O. Parish,M J. Reed, D.
Twigg, andH. Yicitbalioulu
1999 ChronologyandStratigraphy
Sedof LateQuaternary
iments in the Konya Basin, Turkey:Results from the
KOPALProject.QuaternaryScienceReviews18:611-630.
RobertsNeil, PeterBoyer,andJamieMerrick
2006 The KOPALResearch Programmeat f atalhoyuk
(1996-2001). In Excavating ^atalhoyuk:South, North
and KOPALArea Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons,
f atalhoyukProjectVol. 3, editedby IanHodder.McDonald InstituteMonographs/British
Instituteof Archaeology
at Ankara,Cambridge,in press.
Rosen,ArleneMiller
2005 PhytolithIndicatorsof Plantand LandUse at f atalhoyiik, In Inhabiting ^atalhoyiik: Reports from the
1995-1999 Seasons,f atalhoyukProjectVol.4, editedby
Ian Hodder, pp. 203-212. McDonald Institute Monographs/BritishInstituteof Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Rozin,Paul,JonathanHaidt,ClarkMcCauley,andSumioImada
andthe CulturalEvolutionof
1997 Disgust:Preadaptation
a Food-basedEmotion. In Food Preferencesand Taste,
edited by Helen MacBeth,pp. 65-82. BerghahnBooks,
Oxford.
Russell, Nerissa
2005 f atalhoyukWorkedBone. In ChangingMaterialities
at ^atalhoyiik: Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons,
f atalhoyuk Project Vol. 5, edited by Ian Hodder, pp.
Insti339-368. McDonaldInstituteMonographs/British
tute of Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Russell, Nerissa,andLouise Martin
2005 The f atalhoyukMammal Remains, In Inhabiting
^atalhoyiik:reportsfrom the 1995-1999 seasons, f atalhoyuk ProjectVol. 4, edited by Ian Hodder,pp. 33-98.

Atalay and Hastorf]

FOOD HABITUS AT NEOLITHICQATALHOYUK

McDonald Institute Monographs/British Institute of

Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Russell,Nerissa,and KevinJ. McGowan
2005 atalh6yiik Bird Bones. In InhabitingQatalhoyuk:
reportsfrom the 1995-1999 seasons, fatalhoyuk Project
Vol.4, editedby IanHodder,pp. 99-1 10.McDonaldInstitute Monographs/British Institute of Archaeology at
Ankara,Cambridge.
Sahlins,Marshall
1976 CulturalandPracticalReason.Universityof Chicago
Press,Chicago.
Sidell, Jane,andClaireScudder
2005 The Eggshellfromatalh6yiik.In Inhabitingatalhoyiik:Reportsfrom the 1995-1999 Seasons,gatalhoyiik
ProjectVol.4, editedby IanHodder,pp. 117- 122. McDonInstituteof Archaeology
ald InstituteMonographs/British
at Ankara,Cambridge.
Smith,Pat
1991 The Dental Evidence for NutritionalStatus in the
Natufian.In TheNatufianCulturein the Levan,editedby
O. Bar-Yosef,andRR.Valla,pp.425-432. InternalMonographsin Prehistory.AnnArbor,Michigan.
Smith,Pat,andLioraKolskaHorwitz
1998 Culture Environment and Disease: PaleoanthropologicalFindingsforthe SouthernLevant.In Digging for Pathogens:AncientEmergingDiseases- Their
Evolutionary,Anthropological,andArchaeologicalContext,editedby CharlesL. Greenblatt,pp. 201-239. Balaban Publishers,Rehovot,Israel.
Sutton,DavidE.
2001 Remembranceof Repasts:An Anthropologyof Food
and Memory.Berg, New York.
Tanaka,Jiro
1980 TheSan: Hunter-gatherersof the Kalahari,a Study
in Ecological Anthropology. Translatedby David W.
Hughes.Universityof TokyoPress,Tokyo.
Underbjerg,Heidi
1998 ObsidianMicrodebitageat ^atalhoyiik.atalhoyuk
1998 Archive Report, http://catal.arch.cam.
accessed
ac.uk/catal/Archive_rep98/underbjerg98.html,
May 2005.

319

Wandsnider,Luann
1997 The Roastedand the Boiled: Food Compositionand
Heat Treatmentwith Special Emphasis on Pit-Hearth
Cooking. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology
16:1-48.
Weismantel,Mary
1988 Food,GenderandPoverty.WavelandPress,Prospect
Heights,Illinois.
Wiessner,Polly, andWiilf Schiefenhovel(editors)
1996 Foodand the StatusQuest:An InterdisciplinaryPerspective.BerghahnBooks, Oxford.
Wendrich,Willeke
2005 Specialist Report on the CatalhoyiikBasketry. In
ChangingMaterialitiesat Qatalhoyuk:Reportsfrom the
1995-1999 Seasons,gatalhoyukProjectVol. 5, editedby
Ian Hodder, pp. 333-338. McDonald Institute Monographs/BritishInstituteof Archaeologyat Ankara,Cambridge.
Whittle,Alasdair
1996 Europein the Neolithic,the Creationof New Worlds.
CambridgeUniversityPress,Cambridge.
Williams,David
1973 Flotationat Siraf.Antiquity47:288-292.
Wollstonecroft,Michele, andAylanErkal
2000 Summaryof PlantProcessingExperimentsat atalhiiyuk,August 1999. Manuscripton file with the gatalhoyukProject,Cambridge.
Wright,Katherine
2000 The Social Originsof Cooking and Dining in Early
Villages of WesternAsia. Proceedingsof the Prehistoric
Society66:89-121.
Yah,Ismael,Hatic.eYajsh,andMaviliTokyagsun
200 1 Videorecordingsof discussionsin Kiiciikkoy,Turkey,
August 2001. On file with the gatalhoyukProject,Cambridge.

ReceivedJune 2, 2004; RevisedNovember4, 2005;

AcceptedNovember4, 2005.