Çatalhöyük West and the Late Neolithic to Early Chalcolithic Transition in Central Anatolia

As the Çatalhöyük West Mound has been the subject of much new research during and after the completion of the Çatalhöyük Research Project, this chapter will provide a summary of the research conducted by the West Mound Project. This interdisciplinary project brought together many specialist scholars to address the variety of data created during the excavation of the West Mound. In this chapter we will review the research into the material culture of the West Mound, with attention to the importance of new architectural forms and painted pottery in the changing social and economic life of the period. In addition, plant and animal remains and the stone tool industries see some general trends that may signal changes the environment and the way domestic activities respond. We will conclude the chapter with a look at current discussions on topics that have been highlighted by this new research.