I think the clay balls were for a form of money.
Sarah, 11

I think that the clayballs were made as religious icons, to worship their gods.
Antoine, 13

I think the clayballs represent human beings. It was sort of like a census/ The big balls represent adults, the middle balls represent teenagers and the little balls represent children. May be they used this method to keep track of who belonged to who. The total number of balls represent the number of people who have lived in the city over time. Maybe the X's mean people have died or they are the ruler.
Kevin, 17

I think that the balls could have been toys for children, such as marbles,or to heat up and warm houses.
Tyson, 13

Maybe it had something to do with religion, for instance the balls kept away bad spirits or maybe it was to bring good health
Elise, 13

I would like to research what type of clay was used to make the balls, and where that clay was found before I come up with an idea. This will
help me understand which theories make more sense.
Tammy, 15

I think that clay balls are used for glue. They would mold the balls to the shape and size they want, and then construct houses. They could also have been dried in baskets that are round which could account for the markings. They could have gotten a message from God that told them to make the balls. The poor people could have gotten the smaller ones, and the rich people got the detailed and beautiful ones. They could have been used for a game like bocci ball, or Frisbees. They probably were sacred and that's why they hid them in the walls and the floors. They could have been a means of communication by throwing them at the door. They probably weren't used for only thing. They could have hid money or valuables in them. They also could be forbidden so that is why they were hidden.
Emily 13, 7th grade

I think that the clay balls were used as money, because they were so pure, clean and fine and since they were made of the finest clay they had, they were nearly impossible to counterfeit.
Sim, 13

I believe that these hard to make balls, may have been a form of monetary value. Since there were three different shapes, this might of been a way of telling apart denominations. It also could have been a source of heating, since you can heat up clay and it will stay warm for hours, effectively heating a room.
John, 12

I think that the clayballs could be some kind of money. The different sizes could be different values of money and they would use the special clay so it wouldn't be easy to copy them.
Sonja, 12

they may be a symbol of some sort if learning
reading or math, or they may just be a fad like a toy or game like bocce-ball,bowling, baseball.
or something more primitive sling weapons/arsenal.
the ides are endless
Mario, 14

I think they were a game piece. They could use them for a game similar to bocci ball and the disc shaped ones could be used for a Frisbee. They could use them to hide material in. They could use them to send messages, like mail.
Katelyn, 13

Maybe they're symbols of eggs.
Vanessa, 14

I think that clayballs were for people who get bored, cause at that time there was really nothing to do, I believe, so when ever people get bored they would use it as a toy. Or maybe when something happened they would get one and keep it to remember that moment, and so they would have a lot of them.
Dunja, 12

I think the clayballs represented how many food allotments the group of people living in a household had. For example, each ball could represent a bushel of grain, or a side of beef. Maybe the different sized balls represented different amounts of a foo
Leslie, 40

I doubt that the clayballs had any practical use. It seems like a lot of time and labor went into making them. Because of the time factor I don't think they had a practical use. How many practical things that you make are really worth taking a lot of time to make. Art is worth taking a lot of time for. I think they had something to do with Art.
Perhaps they arranged them in large moveable art sculptures.
Jason, 16

I think the clayballs were used for religious purposes. This explains the importance of the shape, size and relatively similar weight of the balls.
The charring found on some balls can be attributed to sacrificial practices.
(If they were used for cooking a lot more balls would be completely charred
don't you think?)
Anjela, 16

Clayballs could represent how many males and females lived in Catalhoyuk.
They could have been used for some kind of sport. They obviously went to
great effort to make the balls. The must have done something meaningful with them on a REGULAR basis. Think about all the time and money our culture spends on Sports. Hey, maybe Catalhoyuk was the first Olympic village, maybe the people didn't live there all the time but traveled there to compete with
other people. That might explain why the clayballs were left at the site.
Maybe the murals depict athletic events that occurred at Cataloyuk. This theory doesn't explain why they buried the dead in the floor but if it was
an early neo??? Olympic village you could consider the whole place a shrine.
Tanya, 16

I think the clayballs represent something spiritually significant to the people that lived there. Why else would you keep so many balls around. Perhaps the scared away evil spirits. Maybe if they were placed in certain shapes or patterns good weather would stay.
Kate, 17

I think the clayballs had something to do with staying in shape. Perhaps the bigger balls were given to children when they grew past certain stages. The people would keep them all around because they made them remember their childhood. I don't think they were used for money because they are too cumbersome. If they were used for money they would all BE SMALLER ( EASIER TO CARRY)
John, 17

I think the balls were used to commemorate their dead. The amount of time and effort spent to make them suggests they were of great importance. The markings and sizes may be a sign of significant people and their ages.
Sasha, 16

For a type of census to keep track of the numbers of people that have lived.
Lauren, 16

I think that they were used in religious ceremony. The different markings and the different shapes may stand for different religions or different stages of the religions.
I think that they also may be markers for land. The different symbols may stand for families or people of different types.
Angela, 17