A comprehensive DNA study conducted at the Çatalhöyük settlement in Konya, recognised as one of the world's earliest known cities, has highlighted the central role of women in society during the Neolithic period. This research, spanning 12 years and involving a team of 47 scientists from 11 countries, including Türkiye, offers new insights into the organisation of early farming societies.
As part of their research, scholars analysed the skeletal remains of 395 individuals who lived between 8000 and 5800 BCE, and they successfully sequenced the DNA of 131 individuals. The majority of individuals were discovered buried beneath the houses—a distinctive hallmark of burial practices at Çatalhöyük. Genetic comparisons have shown that individuals buried within the same household were predominantly connected through their maternal lineage. Women were the anchors of each household, while men were most likely to come from different homes or communities. Female subadult burials also included more grave goods than those of males, indicating that women held a higher social and cultural status.
This demonstrated that male-dominated systems, commonly observed in European Neolithic sites, were not an intrinsic feature of early agricultural societies originating from Anatolia; instead, women were the dominant group in sites like Çatalhöyük.
The study has also notably revealed that kinship patterns at Çatalhöyük shifted over time. While people buried in the same building often had similar genetic compositions during the settlement’s earlier periods, this genetic relatedness became rare in later periods. This suggests that, over time, biological kinship may have been replaced by cultural ties with the widespread adoption of foster care or alternative forms of social organisation.
Listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, Çatalhöyük attracts attention not only for its female-centred structure but also for its architecture, social organisations, and cultural heritage. The back-to-back houses built in clusters and with roof access, as well as the wall paintings and reliefs, collectively indicate a nuanced understanding of urban planning and social organisation.
A large number of female figurines have also been found in Çatalhöyük, and these figurines are associated with the Mother Goddess cult or a matriarchal social structure. A rich collection of artefacts from Çatalhöyük is housed at the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara, while the excavation site itself is preserved and remains open to visitors.