Protecting Catalhoyuk

They are essential to every major archaeological excavation but rarely acknowledged by the visiting researchers once the artifacts have been shipped. As part of the innovative, multivocal output from the famous Turkish Neolithic site of Catalhoyuk, we hear from one of the site guards, Sadrettin Dural, who tells the story of the excavation from the point of view of the ?Other.” He offers tales of the strange habits of archaeologists, describes the local in-fighting that scholars never see, and explains how scientists can be protected from the Yatirs, spirits of the dead who guard the mound. Ian Hodder, director of the Catalhoyuk project, provides explanatory notes for the reader and an interview with the author, exploring indigenous interpretations of ancient sites and the archaeologists who excavate them. For the archaeologist, this offers a revolutionary new viewpoint on their work. For the cultural anthropologist, Dural’s role as site guard is only a small part of his life as a Turkish villager. The author recounts the daily lived experience of one man in a contemporary Turkish village, including changing economic strategies for supporting his family, brushes with the law, trips to the beach and the city, and Turkish phone sex.

Sadrettin Dural is a Turkish villager from Kucukkoy near Konya. He served as site guard at the famous archaeological site Catalhoyuk as well as taxi driver, commodities trader, restauranteur, and farmer. Ian Hodder is professor of cultural and social anthropology at Stanford University and director of the Catalhoyuk excavations.