0.4 Remixing çatalhöyük: the public face of archaeology  (Page 2/2)

One important aspect of archaeology is its ability to document the past in multiple scales, and be able to draw on the different perspectives that make up the past. A reflexive methodology in archaeological practice, as in the case of Çatalhöyük, allows the construction of different stories in the archaeological past, shares the documentation of how these constructions were made, and emphasizes the importance of revealing these stories to the public. These last two points are avenues that lead to democratization of the past by inviting people who don’t have historical or archaeological training to access archaeological information and add their own interpretations, building on those of archaeologists by reusing the primary archaeological data.

Çatalhöyük has an important public face. Many books describe Çatalhöyük as the first urban center in the world, and the Turkish Government relies on this interpretation as an important aspect in promoting the site (with the possibility of it becoming a World Heritage site). For the community who believes in the spiritual existence of the Mother Goddess, Çatalhöyük is important because of the many female figurines found there. The local people who live around the site see the daily life of agricultural activities and housework at Çatalhöyük as being not very different from their own. For many, Çatalhöyük is an economic opportunity to attract tourism.

Archaeologists who excavate the site do not always agree with these different interpretations, but because Çatalhöyük has become the focus of multiple voiced opinions, the team working there has made significant efforts in public outreach and education. There are programs for local schools that bring in their students to learn about the archaeological process and the site itself. There is a small information center that presents different perspectives on the site and emphasizes the fact that archaeological interpretations are not necessarily definitive. There is an effort to bring the local farming community to the site in order to explain the purposes of the excavation, and how they can benefit from having a World Heritage site at their door.

In cyberspace, the website for the Çatalhöyük Research Project provides detailed explanations of the work conducted at Çatalhöyük, and offers free access to the archaeological data. Websites like RAVE (http://www.mactia.berkeley.edu/features/rave/default.html), created in conjunction with the Berkeley Archaeologists at Çatalhöyük (BACH), and the Science Museum of Minnesota’s Mysteries of Çatalhöyük website (www.smm.org/catal), offer exploratory content to a global public who cannot readily visit the physical site. Online visitors can also explore Çatalhöyük in the multiplayer virtual environment of Second Life. Last, but not least, the website you are visiting now, Remixing Çatalhöyük, offers access to information in different media that can literally be “remixed” to create new interpretations. These efforts are done not only to promote archaeological ethics, but also to advocate transparency of research and aid in the democratization of information.

Click here to download this PDF and view the Public Face of Archaeology Collection

Remixing Çatalhöyük Project