Funerary practices at Neolithic Catalhoyuk: body treatment and deposition

In shifting from a macroscale view to a more fine-grained analysis of the funerary practices at Çatalhöyük, subtle patterns likely reflecting a much wider range of intentional behaviours than previously conceived begin to emerge. The addition of data from the earliest and latest levels of the site reveals unequivocal evidence of temporal changes in burial practices. It is clear that the increasing occurrence of disturbed, secondary, and commingled remains at the site masks a variety of pathways that bodies, whole or fragmented, seem to have taken before their final deposition under house floors, external spaces or other contexts. For some individuals, however, the journey appears to have lasted longer than that of others. Decoding the motivations behind these practices and distinguishing between the equifinal behaviours that culminate in the archaeological record requires careful attention to the stratigraphic links between burial sequences and grave fills, as well as meticulous osteological and taphonomic analyses. In order to adequately address higher-level questions of socio-cultural behaviour and cognitive change, it is crucial that these fundamental archaeological issues are sufficiently resolved beforehand.