Window on Catahoyuk: An Archaeological Work in Progress

January 1st, 1999 - December 31st, 2004 | PROJECT

The Science Museum of Minnesota (SMM) will develop Window on Catalhoyuk: An Archaeological Work in Progress. The project will include a 4,500 sq. ft. exhibit, a World Wide Web site, an exhibit cookbook for archaeology interactives developed for the exhibit, and a suite of related classroom activities. Catalhoyuk is currently the most important archaeological site in Turkey and among the most significant cultural heritage monuments in the world. It consists of two mounds located on either side of an ancient river channel. The larger mound has Early Neolithic age occupation levels (9000 and 7500 years ago) and represents one of the largest known Neolithic settlements, holding links to the beginnings of agriculture, animal domestication, and the rise of urban complexity. The smaller mound consists of more recent occupations (7500 to 5000 years ago). Together they may record nearly 10,000 years of human occupation. SMM has been a partner, along with the Turkish team, in the Catalhoyuk Research Project since its inception in 1993 and has the responsibility of developing public programs and for bringing the research findings before a worldwide audience. Unlike a traditional approach where the results of archaeological research appear years after the excavations, this project will focus on the process of archaeology giving visitors the opportunity of learning about the workings of contemporary archaeology and the nature of scientific inquiry, along with the important insight into the beginning of Mediterranean civilization. The exhibit will be updated annually for two years to reflect new results of ongoing fieldwork. The project addresses the National Science Education Standards, particularly those related to science as inquiry and to the history and nature of science.

Project Website(s)

(no project website provided)

Project Products

Visitors' Experiences of Mysteries of Catalhoyuk

Team Members

Donald Pohlman, Principal Investigator, Science Museum of Minnesota
Natalie Rusk, Co-Principal Investigator, Science Museum of Minnesota
Orrin Shane, Former Co-Principal Investigator, Science Museum of Minnesota

Funders

Funding Source: NSF
Funding Program: ISE/AISL
Award Number: 9804040
Funding Amount: 1550073

Tags

Audience: General Public | Museum | ISE Professionals
Discipline: Geoscience and geography | History | policy | law | Nature of science | Social science and psychology
Resource Type: Project Descriptions
Environment Type: Exhibitions | Informal | Formal Connections | K-12 Programs | Media and Technology | Museum and Science Center Exhibits | Websites | Mobile Apps | Online Media