Common Ground: Reevaluating Open Spaces at Çatalhöyük

Open spaces at Çatalhöyük are at once simple and multifarious. We use familiar terms to refer to them. At times we conflate them with the accumulation of discard and waste, and at other times we frame them as an extension of the domestic sphere. Yet these portrayals inevitably fall short of encapsulating the intricacy of open spaces in the Neolithic architectural landscape. As the common physical and social setting for the inhabitants of Çatalhöyük, open spaces represent materialized consensus. This study highlights the multiplicity and complexity of open spaces. It also emphasizes how the Neolithic inhabitants of Çatalhöyük fashioned and engaged with their built environment through time. Beyond serving as proxies for changing social structures and ownership regimes, the use and development of open spaces can inform our understanding of responses to the challenges of long-term sedentism.