The Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük is among the most famous sculptures from the Neolithic era. It was unearthed from Çatalhöyük, Turkey in excavations led by James Mellaart. The statue depicts a nude female seated comfortably with her hands resting on two felines. As with most prehistoric art, there is doubt about what the statue represents with some considering it a depiction of Mother Goddess while others not agreeing with the theory.
Table of Contents
S1 – Discovery
Çatalhöyük is a prehistoric site located southeast of Konya in Turkey. British archaeologist James Mellaart discovered it in 1958. Excavations at the site were carried out between 1961 and 1963 and then again in 1965. The Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük was unearthed in 1961 during the first excavation by Mellaart. When it was found, its head and hand-rest of the right side were missing. Today, the sculpture is at display at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, Turkey.
S2 – Description
With a height of 16.5 centimeters without its head, the Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük depicts a naked woman with large breasts, belly and hips. It is created out of baked clay. The female depicted exudes an aura of power and is seated comfortably on what seems like a throne. Her hands rest on the heads of felines (probably leopards) suggesting that she has been shown as a tamer of nature. Initially, the statue was seen as that of a Great Mother Goddess but this has been contested since then.
S3 – Age
Humans first settled in Çatalhöyük around 7500 BCE. The settlement reached its peak around 7000 BCE and was abandoned around 5700 BCE. The Seated Woman of Çatalhöyük is wrought from recrystallized limestone which has been dated between 6300 BCE and 6000 BCE. Thus, the sculpture is around 8,000 years old.
S4 – Neolithic Art Overview
Main Sources
S1:-
(Jan 20, 2016). “New findings at Çatalhöyük”. Hürriyet Daily News.
Kirac, Nimet. (Apr 1, 2021). “The Mother Goddess, Amazons and other female legends in Anatolian history”. Middle East Eye.
S2:-
Hodde, Ian (Jan 1, 2005). “Women and Men at Çatalhöyük”. Scientific American.
S3:-
Kark, Chris. (Sep 29, 2016). “Archaeologists from Stanford find an 8,000-year-old ‘goddess figurine’ in central Turkey”. Stanford University.