The Goddess and the Bull

Auteur
Michael Balter

Résumé
Veteran science writer Michael Balter skillfully weaves together many threads in this fascinating book about one of archaeology's most legendary sitestalh y k. First excavated forty years ago, the site is justly revered by prehistorians, art historians, and New Age goddess worshippers alike for its spectacular finds dating almost 10,000 years ago. Archaeological maverick Ian Hodder, leader of the recent re-excavation at this Turkish mound, designated Balter as the project's biographer. The result is a skillful telling of many stories about both past and present: of the inhabitants of Neolithictalh y k and the development of human creativity and ingenuity, as revealed in the recent excavation; of James Mellaart, the original excavator, whose troubles off the mound eventually overshadowed his incisive work at the site; of Hodder and his intense, brilliant crew who marveled and squabbled over the meaning of finds in dusty trenches while attempting to reintepret Mellaart's work; and of the recent history of the theory and methods of archaeology itself. Part story of the human past, part soap opera of modern scholarly life, part textbook on the practice of modern archaeology, this book should appeal to general readers and archaeological students alike.

Contenu
Introduction; 1: It's Neolithic!; 2: A Prehistoric Art Gallery; 3: The Dorak Affair; 4: Ian Hodder; 5: Return to Çatalhöyük; 6: On the Surface; 7: At the Trowel's Edge; 8: Dear Diary; 9: The Neolithic Revolution; 10: The Domesticated Human; 11: Fault Lines and Homecomings; 12: Burning Down the House; 13: Always Momentary, Fluid and Flexible; 14: The Long Season; 15: Till Death Us Do Part; 16: Taming the Wild; 17: The Goddess and the Bull