Ceramics

The study of ceramics (artifacts of fired clay) at Çatalhöyük includes clay balls, figurines, and pottery vessels. Ceramic objects are archaeologically important because: 1) their styles can easily and frequently change through time, making them valuable time markers for "relative dating"; and 2) properly fired ceramics, even though they break into pieces, do not decompose and are thus available for direct study - even after 8,000 to 10,000 years. While pottery is not as abundant as some other types of artifacts at Çatalhöyük, it provides a unique opportunity to study some of the very earliest pottery in the Middle East.