Hyperallergic – The Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey consists of two settlement mounds — the remains of houses continually built over old ones — that have yielded many treasures since archaeologists began excavations in the 1960s. One of the most remarkable artifacts to emerge recently is a slightly weathered but fully intact, female anthropomorphic figure carved of marble — a rare find at the UNESCO World Heritage Site that illustrates one ancient craftsperson’s great level of skill. Archaeologists with the Çatalhöyük Research Project, which has explored the site since 1993, found it this summer in one of the site’s earliest structures; they estimates it dates to about 5500–8000 BCE. read more
