# Canonical recap data for Çatalhöyük Mud-Brick City Expansion (7500)
# Source: https://recap.at/7500/catalhoyuk-settlement
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: catalhoyuk-settlement
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/7500/catalhoyuk-settlement"
title: Çatalhöyük Mud-Brick City Expansion
subtitle: The largest known prehistoric settlement demonstrates complex urban organization, communal spaces, and organized social hierarchies in early Anatolia.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 7500-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 7500
decade: 7500
country:
name: Turkey
slug: turkey
summaryShort: Çatalhöyük is a tell of a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic proto-city settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from approximately 7500 BC to 5600 BC and flourished around 7000 BC. Çatalhöyük overlooks the Konya Plain, southeast of the present-day city of Konya in Turkey, approximately 140 km (87 mi) from the
summaryLong: Çatalhöyük is a tell of a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic proto-city settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from approximately 7500 BC to 5600 BC and flourished around 7000 BC. Çatalhöyük overlooks the Konya Plain, southeast of the present-day city of Konya in Turkey, approximately 140 km (87 mi) from the twin-coned volcano of Mount Hasan. It is notable for its large size, apparent egalitarian social structure, and value as a well-preserved example of early Neolithic-era permanent human settlements.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_08.jpg/1280px-%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_08.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Çatalhöyük"
importance: 76
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk"
  title: Çatalhöyük Culture
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- festival
metaDescription: "Çatalhöyük is a tell of a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic proto-city settlement in southern Anatolia, which existed from approximately 7500 BC to 5600 BC "
wikidataQid: Q192522
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260526070708/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk"
  capturedAt: 2026-05-26
  label: Çatalhöyük Culture
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk"
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- scientific_breakthrough
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- discovery
- transformation
impactRadius: civilizational
velocity: gradual
predictability: emergent
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: growth
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_08.jpg/1280px-%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_08.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_08.jpg/800px-%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_08.jpg"
  caption: Çatalhöyük
  credit: Wikipedia · "Çatalhöyük"
  width: 330
  height: 152
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Catalhoyuk.webm/1280px--Catalhoyuk.webm.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Catalhoyuk.webm/800px--Catalhoyuk.webm.jpg"
  caption: Catalhoyuk
  credit: JimKillock; verba Latina Aliosageincitatos; vox Latina Martin Melkoumian; pellicula originalis ZDF/Terra X/Film Produktion Stein e.K./Alexander Hogh/Martin Papirowski/Timm Westen, Roxana Ardelean/Golem Studio/Alexander Leuck/Fraunhofer Intitut für Graphische Datenverarbeitung/Christofori u.Partner.
  width: 1280
  height: 720
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_03.jpg/1280px-%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_03.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_03.jpg/800px-%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_03.jpg"
  caption: Çatalhöyük, 7400 BC, Konya, Turkey - UNESCO World Heritage Site, 03
  credit: Murat Özsoy 1958
  width: 2605
  height: 1555
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_12.jpg/1280px-%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_12.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_12.jpg/800px-%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk%2C_7400_BC%2C_Konya%2C_Turkey_-_UNESCO_World_Heritage_Site%2C_12.jpg"
  caption: Çatalhöyük, 7400 BC, Konya, Turkey - UNESCO World Heritage Site, 12
  credit: Murat Özsoy 1958
  width: 4440
  height: 2368
peoplesVoice:
- source: Mehmet the Settlement Coordinator, Çatalhöyük Municipal Council
  voiceType: official
  context: Speaking to gathered clan leaders about the necessity of expanding residential mud-brick construction to accommodate the growing population.
  excerpt: We cannot contain ourselves to the old quarters. Our people multiply, our herds grow. More dwellings must rise - mud and straw are plentiful, our hands are ready.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Settlement Assembly records
  publishedAt: 7500-06-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Ayla, master clay-worker and builder
  voiceType: developer
  context: Reflecting on the scale and technical challenges of the unprecedented urban expansion project.
  excerpt: These walls we build - no single family craft anymore. We shape brick by brick, row by row. Çatalhöyük will be a monument to what organized hands can achieve.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 68
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Craftsperson oral traditions
  publishedAt: 7500-08-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Kaya, pastoral elder and traditionalist
  voiceType: skeptic
  context: Voicing concerns about the rapid densification and loss of pastoral grazing lands near the settlement.
  excerpt: We build walls upon walls. But what of the flocks? What of the open sky? This city hunger may consume the very land that feeds us all.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 65
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Elder council testimonies
  publishedAt: 7500-09-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Demetrios, traveling grain merchant from the Levant
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Observing the commercial implications of Çatalhöyük's emergence as a major trading hub during his visit.
  excerpt: Never have I witnessed such convergence - grain flows in, obsidian flows out. This mud-brick city may become the crossroads of all Anatolia.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 78
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Merchant expedition logs
  publishedAt: 7500-10-05
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Nilüfer, householder and resident
  voiceType: consumer
  context: Speaking plainly about the daily reality of living amid constant construction and urban growth.
  excerpt: My roof is solid, my walls keep out the cold. Yes, the dust never settles and neighbors press close, but we are safer together than scattered alone.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 60
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Household archaeology records
  publishedAt: 7500-11-01
  originalLanguage: en
