Paleoenvironment

What was the environment like around Çatalhöyük 8,000 to 10,000 years ago? That's the big question the KOPAL team (KOnya basin PALaeoenvironmental research program) is working on. Was the climate warmer, colder, wetter, drier? Was the surrounding landscape heavily forested or a grassy plain? What plants and animals were present? To find the answers the KOPAL team collects and studies the different buried sediments (deposits of clay, silt, sand,...) at Çatalhöyük and the surrounding Konya Plain. Microscopic remains of plants and animals from these sediments can tell them about past environmental conditions. This is because specific plants and animals have specific environmental needs and limits.