Archaeology
The site was first excavated by James Mellaart in 1958. He later led a team which excavated there for four seasons between 1961 and 1965. These excavations revealed this section of Anatolia as a centre of advanced culture in the Neolithic period. Mellaart was banned from Turkey for his involvement in the Dorak affair in which he published drawings of supposedly important Bronze Age artifacts that later went missing.
After this scandal, the site lay idle until September 12, 1993, when investigations began under the leadership of Ian Hodder then at the University of Cambridge. These investigations are among the most ambitious excavation projects currently in progress according to, among others, Colin Renfrew. In addition to extensive use of archaeological science, psychological and artistic interpretations of the symbolism of the wall paintings have been employed. Hodder, a former student of Mellaart, chose the site as the first "real world" test of his then-controversial theory of post-processual archaeology.
Brigid Gallagher, of British Channel 4 Time Team fame, works with Ian Hodder on Çatalhöyük, as joint project conservator.
Read more about this topic: Çatalhöyük