Abstract
This paper considers some of the arguments in Cauvin’s book Naissance des divinités, Naissance de l’agriculture in the light of new research conducted at Çatalhöyük regarding the role of religion in the Neolithic. This research has brought together anthropologists, philosophers and religious scholars to work with archaeologists in answering four questions all of which have been inspired by Cauvin’s work. The questions deal with (1) the definition and archaeological recognition of religion, (2) the relationships between religion and social and economic change, (3) the role of new forms of human agency in the domestication of animals, and (4) the part played by symbolism of violence and death in the formation of settled village life. The evidence and discussion of Çatalhöyük lead to new insights in all these domains.
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