Paper long abstract:

I started with a traditional data set, mudbricks, but I asked a different set of questions. In my research, I explored how can houses build people? I used standard geoarchaeology methods but my methodology was purely social. I approach mudbrick artifacts like ceramics, as the result of a complex series of socially informed choices. If houses are active material culture (McFadyen 2006; Parker Pearson and Richards 1994) and the physical, natural world is regarded as an active agent (Boivin 2004, 2008; Evans 2003), then the materials used in construction contribute to the affective properties of architecture. Approaching mudbrick assemblages with a multi-sensory approach enlivens the house by considering the active role of raw materials. In this paper I will detail how I used archaeological science to create a social interpretation of the architecture at Çatalhöyük, Turkey.