Religion in the Emergence of Civilization

Ian Hodder is Dunlevie Family Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Stanford University. He was recently awarded the Huxley Medal by the Royal Anthropological Institute and is the author of various books, including, most recently, The Leopard's Tale: Revealing the Mysteries of Çatalhöyük (2006).

• 1. Probing religion at Çatalhöyük: an interdisciplinary experiment Ian Hodder; 2. The symbolism of Çatalhöyük in its regional context Ian Hodder and Lynn Meskell; 3. Spiritual entanglement: transforming religious symbols at Çatalhöyük LeRon Shults; 4. Coding the non-visible: epistemic limitations and understanding symbolic behavior at Çatalhöyük Wentzel van Huyssteen; 5. Modes of religiosity at Çatalhöyük Harvey Whitehouse and Ian Hodder; 6. Is there religion at Çatalhöyük … or just houses? Maurice Bloch; 7. History houses: a new interpretation of architectural elaboration at Çatalhöyük Ian Hodder and Peter Pels; 8. Marked, absent, habitual: approaches to Neolithic religion at Çatalhöyük Webb Keane; 9. Temporalities of religion at Çatalhöyük Peter Pels; 10. The Neolithic cosmos of Çatalhöyük Paul Wason; 11. Magical deposits at Çatalhöyük: a matter of time and place? Carolyn Nakamura; 12. Conclusions and evaluation Ian Hodder.

‘This collection is an excellent illustration of the current preoccupations of archaeologists interpreting lost civilizations, and of the potential fruits of a collective approach by social scientists to understanding human beliefs.’ -TLS