In the mid-1960s, an English archaeologist discovered an enormous and ancient settlement called Çatalhöyük on the Konya Plain in south central Turkey. Wall paintings and figurines of humans and animals revealed a cultured community once lived there around 9000 years ago. Crowded houses and numerous graves revealed a growing and complex society.

Researchers established the Çatalhöyük Research Project in the early 1990s to continue investigating what’s thought to be one of the world’s earlies