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Twiss KC, Bogaard A, Haddow S, Milella M, Taylor JS, Veropoulidou R, Kay K, Knüsel CJ, Tsoraki C, Vasić M, Pearson J, Busacca G, Mazzucato C, Pochron S. "But some were more equal than others:" Exploring inequality at Neolithic Çatalhöyük. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0307067. [PMID: 39240951 PMCID: PMC11379307 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/28/2024] [Indexed: 09/08/2024] Open
Abstract
We explore the ways in which residents of Neolithic Çatalhöyük in Anatolia differentiated themselves as well as the ways in which they did not. We integrate numerous data sets in order to assess patterns of inequality (A) across buildings with contemporaneous occupations, (B) between buildings that did or did not burn at abandonment, and (C) through time. We use Gini coefficients so as to maximize comparability with other studies of inequality in the ancient and modern worlds, discussing the underlying data and our results to clarify and enhance the value of the quantitative analyses. We evaluate whether or not trajectories of inequality align across data sets in order to determine how far success in one realm correlated with success in another. Our results indicate no unified trajectory of inequality through time. We perceive broadly similar access to staple foods, but not to goods less directly related to survival; relatively elevated income inequality during the middle portion of the site's occupation, plausibly deliberately tamped down; and no evidence for institutionalized or lasting economic or social inequality. These findings shed light on Neolithic social dynamics and also contribute to broader discussions of inequality and the social ramifications of early agropastoralism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katheryn C Twiss
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
| | - Amy Bogaard
- School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Scott Haddow
- Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, Copenhagen University, København, Denmark
| | - Marco Milella
- Department of Physical Anthropology, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - James S Taylor
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | | | - Kevin Kay
- School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | | | - Christina Tsoraki
- School of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | | | - Jessica Pearson
- Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | | | - Camilla Mazzucato
- Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, Copenhagen University, København, Denmark
| | - Sharon Pochron
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, United States of America
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