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A bird's eye view – of a leopard's spots The Çatalhöyük ‘map’ and the development of cartographic representation in prehistory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2013

Stephanie Meece
Stephanie Meece
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Abstract

The striking wall paintings uncovered in the excavations at Çatalhöyük have fascinated archaeologists and non-archaeologists alike, and many interpretations of their content and meaning have been proposed. This article re-evaluates the claim that one of these paintings is a map of the village, with Hasan Dağ erupting above it. It is argued that the excavator's first interpretation of the objects depicted in the painting, that is, that they are a leopard skin above a panel of geometric design, is in fact a far more reasonable one, when this painting is contextualised within the entire corpus of painting and other art objects found at the site. Implications of this re-interpretation for our understanding of Neolithic spatial and symbolic representation, and the origin of mapmaking are considered, as well as the importance of the depiction of animals and felines in the Neolithic period.

Özet

Çatalhöyük kazılarında bulunan göz alıcı duvar resimleri hem arkeologları hem de arkeolog olmayanları aynı derecede büyülemiş ve bu resimlerin içerik ve anlamlarına ilişkin birçok yorum yapılmıştır. Bu makalede patlama anındaki Hasan Dağı ile birlikte betimlenen resmin köyün haritası olduğu varsayımı tekrar değerlendirilmektedir. Belirtildiğine göre, kazı başkanının bu resimle ilgili ilk yorumu buradaki nesnelerin geometrik desenli bir panel üzerinde leopar derisini betimlediği yolundadır. Aslında bu yorum, içerik olarak düşünüldüğunde yerleşimdeki diğer tüm resim ve sanatsal nesnelerle daha uyumludur. Bu makalede Neolitik Çağdaki uzamsal ve sembolik betimleme anlayışımıza göre resmin tekrar yorumlanması ve haritacılığın kökeninin yanı sıra bu çağdaki hayvan, özellikle feline betimlemelerinin önemini de tartışılmaktadır.

Type
Research Article
Information
Anatolian Studies , Volume 56 , December 2006 , pp. 1 - 16
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute at Ankara 2006

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