742 sets of remains in Türkiye show that ancient humans also suffered from the pressure of crowded urban life and disease.

9,000 year old skeleton unearthed in Türkiye. (Photo: Live Science).

Archaeologists recently discovered that the transition from foraging to a communal agricultural lifestyle posed many challenges for the people of Çatalhöyük 9,000 years ago.

Çatalhöyük was discovered in Central Türkiye. This is said to be one of the oldest urban areas in the world, ever discovered by humans. It is estimated that from 9,500-6,200 BC, this urban area had more than 8,000 people living, while only 32 acres in size. According to National Geographic, Çatalhöyük was built on the banks of a dried up river. Researchers believe that this is the foundation for an egalitarian Stone Age society, living dependently on each other. The name Çatalhöyük is a combination of the Turkish words çatal (fork) and höyük (mound).

Crowded population and other factors have made the living environment here harsh, people feel stressed, tense and resort to violence. People have to climb into their houses using ladders. The research was published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Archaeologists also found 25% of the 95 skeletons had cracks in the skull. They were probably killed by a very strong blow from large clay tablets. Of the 742 remains, 33% showed signs of bacterial infection. 13% of women’s teeth and 10% of men’s teeth are damaged. They ate too many grains compared to other food groups. Sanitation conditions were extremely poor, and the walls and floors had residue from human and animal feces.

Researcher Nada Elias excavated an adult human skeleton at Çatalhöyük. (Photo: Scott Haddow).

” Life is cramped, crowded, and houses are too close together, causing disease to spread . This is also a big factor in turning Çatalhöyük gradually into a dead city ,” said anthropology professor Clark Spencer Larsen, Ohio State University. said and said that “Çatalhöyük was one of the first urban communities in the world and the residents experienced what happens when you put a lot of people in a small area for a long time. This set the stage for the things we face today and the challenges humanity has always encountered in urban life.”