Human Remains

At Çatalhöyük, human burials were placed underneath sleeping platforms inside houses. This photo shows one of at least 12 burials placed in four pits excavated into one of the platforms. Burial pits in platforms were used again and again. After a burial was placed in a pit, the pit was filled with clay and the opening sealed with plaster, then the platform was coated with a fresh layer of plaster. When the time came to add a burial to this pit, it was opened, cleared of earth, the bones of the previous burial pushed aside to make space, and the new burial, tightly wrapped in cloth or reed matting was placed in the pit and resealed. Interestingly, most adults were buried without any grave goods. Babies and children, however, were often buried with long strands of small polished beads made of stone, shell or coral.

Mystery- why did the people bury their dead under their floors?