Cut by strong leveling or egalitarian proeesses, see Kuijt (ed.) 2000 for a full review of the debate.

Recently, however, Özdogan 2002 has pointed to several social differences between central

Anatolia, ineluding Gatalhöyük, and sites to the east in southeastern Anatolia and Upper

Mesopotamia. He States that in central Anatolia there is less craft specialization and little in

The way of specialized ritual.

Hodder — Cessford 2004: 30.

Mellaart 1964: 61 ff; 1967; 169. So far. only two headless skeletons have been excavated by the

Hodder projeet at Qatalhöyük: skeleton (1466) in grave F.29, Building 1, and skeleton (4593) in

Grave F.492, Building 6. In both decapitation burials it is inferred that the heads were removed

after burial. See Hodder - Cessford 2004: 35: Andrews - Molleson - Boz 2005: ü'ü/ff.; Cessford

Ff.; Farid 2007: 274f.

10

Neolsthic

1. PREHISTORIC ÄNATOLIA

The head was identified with a man’s personality, hence the special treatment of

the skull, ln one such burial from Cafer Höyük, the facial part of the skull was coated

With plaster. The custom of whitewashing the bones or painting them with red ocher

And more seldom with green or blue pigments — perhaps the strengest evidence for

secondary burial — has been recorded at many Neolithic sites. Düring excavations

at Qatalhöyük in 1961-1963 and 1966, James Mellaart found 21 skeletons painted

With ocher, mainly in the older layers (XI—VI) of the settlement from the first half

Of the seventh millennium BC (out of a total of 480 burials discovered in layers XI-

I). Kauri shells were placed in the eye sockets of one of the female burials/ 0 There

Is no eine so far as to why only selected individuals were accorded special treatment

After death.

The skull separated from the re st of the skeleton played an important role in

‘26

Ancestor cult. Skulls could be buried separately or eise they could literally accom-

Pany the living villagers in their everyday existence. Simiiariy as in the Levant, in

Nahal Hemar 2 * or Jericho for example, they could be deposited a few or a dozen or

so together. In the Skull House at Qayönü Tepesi (see below) sorne scores of skulls

Placed together stand in confirmation of the dead being treated as if they consti-

Tuted a community. Eight skulls were buried under the floor of one of the houses in

Layer 3 at Nevali Cori. Also from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic layers at Hacilar there

Are skulls buried beneath the floors or eise placed on the floor, offen nearby a hearth.

At Qatalhöyük, a grave in house 42 from layer V, discovered in 2004, contained

28

a complete skeleton ‘holding in its arms’ a white-plastered skull. At Kö§k Höyük

Near Bor Southwest of Nigde, five plastered skulls were found to date in layer 3 of

The late Neolithic,“ including a chiid’s skull covered with white plaster and painted

Red, which was buried under the floor of one of the houses, and another one cover

Ed with red plaster which lay on the floor; its eye sockets had been inlaid with

black stones. " These finds, as well as the said female burial from Qatalhöyük with

25 For another secondary burials from Qatalhöyük, excavated by the Hodder projeet in Building 1,

See Cessford 2007: 449, 469.

See now Meskeli 2008: 375ff. with references.

Bar-Yosef 1.985; Bar-Yosef — Alon 1988.

Cf. Meskeli 2008: 380.

29 Öztan 2002: 57: Schoop 2005: 116.

30 Süistreii 1991a; 1991b.

Kauri saells in the eye sockets, bring to mind the skulls with faces modeled in plas

Ter from several sites of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period in Syro-Paiestine, in-

cluding Jericho/ “ Beysamoun, " ‘Ain Ghazal,' Teil Aswad,'' and Teil Ramad. At

The last mentioned site (layer I), clay figurines of headless human bodies had been

Deposited together with the skulls, possibly intended as Supports for mounting the

36

Skulls. Simiiariy at Teil Aswad and Mureybet, the skulls were placed on clay Sup