Behind the town appears a mountain with two peaks. Many archae-
ologists think that the dots and lines issuing from the higher of the
two cones represent a volcanic eruption, and have suggested that the
mountain is the 10,600-foot-high Hasan Da ̆g. It is located within
view of Çatal Höyük and is the only twin-peaked volcano in central
Anatolia. The conjectured volcanic eruption shown in the mural
does not necessarily depict a specific historical event. If, however, the
Çatal Höyük painting relates a story, even a recurring one, then it
cannot be considered a pure landscape. Nonetheless, this mural is
the first depiction of a place devoid of both humans and animals.
The rich finds at Çatal Höyük give the impression of a prosper-
ous and well-ordered society that practiced a great variety of arts
and crafts. In addition to painting and sculpture, weaving and pot-
tery were well established, and even the technique of smelting lead in
small quantities was known before 6000 BCE. The conversion to
an agricultural economy appears to have been completed by about
5700 BCE.Western Europe
In western Europe, where Paleolithic paintings and sculptures
abound, no comparably developed towns of the time of Çatal
Höyük have been found. However, in succeeding millennia, perhaps
as early as 4000 BCE, the local Neolithic populations in several areas
developed a monumental architecture employing massive rough-cut
stones. The very dimensions of the stones, some as high as 17 feet
and weighing as much as 50 tons, have prompted historians to call
them megaliths (great stones) and to designate Neolithic architec-
ture employing megaliths as megalithic.
NEWGRANGEOne of the most impressive megalithic monu-
ments in Europe is also one of the oldest. The megalithic tomb at
Newgrange in Ireland, north of Dublin, may have been constructed
as early as 3200 BCEand is one of the oldest burial monuments in
Europe. It takes the form of a passage grave,that is, a tomb with a
long stone corridor (FIG. 1-19) leading to a burial chamber, all cov-
ered by a great tumulus(earthen burial mound). Passage graves have
been found also in England, France, Spain, and Scandinavia. All at-
test to the importance of honoring the dead in Neolithic society.
Some mounds contain more than one passage grave. The Newgrange1-18Landscape with volcanic eruption(?), watercolor copy of a wall painting from Level VII, Çatal Höyük, Turkey, ca. 6150 BCE.
This late-seventh-millennium BCEmural painting may represent Çatal Höyük during a volcanic eruption. It is the first known landscape
painting in which neither humans nor animals appear.1-19Gallery leading to the main chamber of the passage grave,
Newgrange, Ireland, ca. 3200–2500 BCE.
The Newgrange passage grave is an early example of corbeled
vaulting. The megaliths of the corridor leading to the burial chamber
beneath the tumulus are held in place by their own weight.Neolithic Art 271-19AHouse 1,
Skara Brae, ca.
3100–2500 BCE.