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Micromorphology
"We're looking for pieces of plants and bones that they might have been using for food
or cooking. We want to know if they were using water in the rooms. The slides help us
see time through history. We can actually detect changes throughout time. "
Wendy Matthews, Micromorphology
A relatively new method of studying archaeological sites, micromorphology is being
used at Çatalhöyük to gain insights about the types of activities that
took place within the buildings and throughout the site. Where in a house did
cooking take place? Where was food stored? Were stone or bone tools made inside
the house? These and similar questions are difficult to answer because the
residents of Çatalhöyük kept their homes swept nice and clean. But, by examining
sample blocks of floor and wall plasters in thin section (like big microscope
slides) under the microscope, tiny fragments of things like obsidian chips,
plants, bone, and charcoal that got trampled and embedded into the floor surface
are providing clues.
