The Goddess and the Bull by Michael Balter

He tells the very human story of two colorful men: British archaeologist James Mellaart, who discovered Çatalhöyük in 1958 only to be banned from working at the site forever after a fabulous ancient treasure disappeared without a trace and Ian Hodder, a pathbreaking archaeological rebel who reinvented the way archaeology is practiced and reopened the excavation after it had lain dormant for three decades. Michael Balter, the excavation's official biographer, brings readers behind the scenes, providing the first inside look at the remarkable site and its history of scandal and thrilling scientific discovery. The excavations here have yielded the seeds of the Neolithic Revolution, when prehistoric humans first abandoned the hunter-gatherer life they had known for millions of years, invented farming, and began living in houses and communities. Some archaeologists have claimed that the Mother Goddess was first worshipped at Çatalhöyük, which is now a site of pilgrimage for Goddess worshippers from all over the world. Here lie the origins of modern society - the dawn of art, architecture, religion, family - even the first tangible evidence of human self-awareness, the world's oldest mirrors. The Goddess and the Bull details the dramatic quest by archaeologists to unearth the buried secrets of human cultural evolution at this huge, spectacularly well-preserved 9,500-year-old village in Turkey. ” …a revealing narrative of people and ideas at the working face of archaeology.Thousands of years before the pyramids were built in Egypt and the Trojan War was fought, a great civilization arose on the Anatolian plains. And if you think learning interesting stuff often means plowing through a lot of dull prose and technical detail, you’ll be pleased to find that this is a book you’ll have a hard time putting down.” -Richard Klein, Stanford University If you’re interested in how archaeologists reconstruct the social organization, economy and religion of prehistoric communities and why they often disagree, this again is the book you want. “If you’re interested in when people first began to settle down in villages and towns, and you can read only one book, this is the one to choose.

Çatalhöyük: An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilization uk (UK) or Order The Goddess and the Bull from (US) The Goddess and the Bull is available hardbound and paperbound. Who ever thought old dirt hills could be so exciting? If you liked reading about Heinrich Schliemann and the treasures of Troy, you’ll love reading about James Mellaart and the discovery of Çatalhöyük, perhaps the most important Neolithic site yet discovered.īalter, a journalist and archeology writer for Sciencemagazine, has a polished style that’s a joy to read, and a keen eye for details and personalities.

The most interesting book on Anatolian archeology in recent years is Michael Balter’s The Goddess and the Bull.

The Goddess and the Bull by Michael Balter