Archaeologists and Goddess Feminists at Çatalhöyük: An Experiment in Multivocality

Abstract

The high-profile Neolithic site of Catalhoyuk in central Turkey—made famous by James Mellaart in the 1960s—has become an increasingly contested space in recent years, its meanings being discussed not only among scientists but also within other local and global interest groups, including Goddess feminism. Creating space for the many voices of different interest groups is an explicit feature of the methodology embraced by the current excavation team directed by archaeologist Ian Hodder.