Plants and Animals Together

Abstract

This paper explores plant and animal distributions inside a Neolithic burned house in order to investigate domestic organization in an early farming society. We use GIS to analyze the spatial distributions of plant and animal remains found inside Building 52 at Çatalhöyük in central Anatolia. We examine how plant and animal stores, food and nonfood materials, and wild and domestic taxa were configured spatially. Results shed light on the logistics of early storage, the importance of economic privacy, and the significance of the “domestic” versus “wild” distinction to early farmers.