Camilla Mazzucato
@curis.ku.dk
Lecturer, Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies
University of Copenhagen
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Archeology, Anthropology, Engineering
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Camilla Mazzucato, Michele Coscia, Ayça Küçükakdağ Doğu, Scott Haddow, Muhammed Sıddık Kılıç, Eren Yüncü, and Mehmet Somel
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Lisa Yeomans and Camilla Mazzucato
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractThis paper describes analyses of avifauna from Levantine Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene sites at contrasting scales. We present avian osteological data at Shubayqa, in northeast Jordan, illustrating human-bird-environment interactions over 4000 years offering interpretation of environmental change on avifaunal communities and reorientation in the nature of multi-species relationships at a wetland environment. Comparisons to published avifaunal assemblages investigates bird-human relationships across a broader temporal and geographical span. During the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene, some of our species gradually transitioned to agriculture. People hunted birds for subsistence but extensive evidence for the symbolic importance of birds suggests complex relationships between species. Avifaunal evidence, therefore, presents insights into two commonly suggested primary causes for the shift from hunter-foragers to agriculturalists – resource pressure and symbolic expression. In this paper, we investigate and try to clarify the relationship between humans and birds at this transitional period in human history, furthering discussions of the shift towards agriculture. We argue humans gradually modified the landscape but this was not a reactionary response to resource stress. Nevertheless, this resulted in the productivity of the landscape increasing and allowed further intensification. Feathers and talons of birds were used for millennia preceding the shift to agriculture and the increase in bird hunting towards the end of the Pleistocene cannot be explained by the increased role of birds in the symbolic realm. The evidence from the avifauna adds weight to the idea of ecological niche construction activities, as people invested in specific locations, increasing productivity of habitats, thus encouraging further investment within some environments.
Katheryn C. Twiss, Amy Bogaard, Scott Haddow, Marco Milella, James S. Taylor, Rena Veropoulidou, Kevin Kay, Christopher J. Knüsel, Christina Tsoraki, Milena Vasić,et al.
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
We explore the ways in which residents of Neolithic Çatalhöyük in Anatolia differentiated themselves as well as the ways in which they did not. We integrate numerous data sets in order to assess patterns of inequality (A) across buildings with contemporaneous occupations, (B) between buildings that did or did not burn at abandonment, and (C) through time. We use Gini coefficients so as to maximize comparability with other studies of inequality in the ancient and modern worlds, discussing the underlying data and our results to clarify and enhance the value of the quantitative analyses. We evaluate whether or not trajectories of inequality align across data sets in order to determine how far success in one realm correlated with success in another. Our results indicate no unified trajectory of inequality through time. We perceive broadly similar access to staple foods, but not to goods less directly related to survival; relatively elevated income inequality during the middle portion of the site’s occupation, plausibly deliberately tamped down; and no evidence for institutionalized or lasting economic or social inequality. These findings shed light on Neolithic social dynamics and also contribute to broader discussions of inequality and the social ramifications of early agropastoralism.
Lisa Yeomans, Maria C. Codlin, Camilla Mazzucato, Federica Dal Bello, and Beatrice Demarchi
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractUtilising multiple lines of evidence for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction improves our understanding of the past landscapes in which human populations interacted with other species. Illuminating such processes is key for a nuanced understanding of fundamental transitions in human history, such as the shift from hunting and gathering to farming, and allows us to move beyond simple deterministic interpretations of climate-driven innovation. Avifaunal remains provide detailed indications of complex multi-species interactions at the local scale. They allow us to infer relationships between human and non-human animals, but also to reconstruct their niche, because many bird species are sensitive to specific ecological conditions and will often relocate and change their breeding patterns. In this paper, we illustrate how novel evidence that waterfowl reproduced at Levantine wetlands, which we obtained through biomolecular archaeology, together with modern ornithological data reveals conditions of wetlands that are conducive for breeding waterfowl. By understanding the interplay between wetland productivity cycles and waterfowl ecology, we argue that human modifications to the environment could have promoted wetland productivity inviting waterfowl to remain year-round. Within this landscape of “mutual ecologies”, the feedback resulting from the agency of all species is involved in the construction of the human niche.
Ashleigh Haruda, Camilla Mazzucato, and Lisa Yeomans
Wiley
AbstractAccurate identification of waterfowl bones in archaeological and fossil assemblages has potential to unlock new methods of past environmental reconstruction, as species have differing habitat preferences and migration patterns. Therefore, identifying the presence of avian species with different ecological niches is key to determining past environments and ultimately how prehistoric people responded to climatic and environmental realignments. However, the identification of osteological remains of waterbirds such as ducks to species level is notoriously challenging. We address this by presenting a new two‐dimensional geometric morphometric protocol on wing elements from over 20 duck species and test the utility of these shape data for correct species identification. This is an ideal starting point to expand utilization of these types of approaches in avifaunal research and test applicability to an extremely difficult taxonomic group.
Scott D. Haddow, Camilla Mazzucato, Sıla Mangaloğlu-Votruba, Barış Yağcı, Thomas Booth, Eline M. J. Schotsmans, and Christopher J. Knüsel
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Jessica Pearson, Jane Evans, Angela Lamb, Douglas Baird, Ian Hodder, Arkadiusz Marciniak, Clark Spencer Larsen, Christopher J. Knüsel, Scott D. Haddow, Marin A. Pilloud,et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Around 10,000 y ago in southwest Asia, the cessation of a mobile lifestyle and the emergence of the first village communities during the Neolithic marked a fundamental change in human history. The first communities were small (tens to hundreds of individuals) but remained semisedentary. So-called megasites appeared soon after, occupied by thousands of more sedentary inhabitants. Accompanying this shift, the material culture and ancient ecological data indicate profound changes in economic and social behavior. A shift from residential to logistical mobility and increasing population size are clear and can be explained by either changes in fertility and/or aggregation of local groups. However, as sedentism increased, small early communities likely risked inbreeding without maintaining or establishing exogamous relationships typical of hunter-gatherers. Megasites, where large populations would have made endogamy sustainable, could have avoided this risk. To examine the role of kinship practices in the rise of megasites, we measured strontium and oxygen isotopes in tooth enamel from 99 individuals buried at Pınarbaşı, Boncuklu, and Çatalhöyük (Turkey) over 7,000 y. These sites are geographically proximate and, critically, span both early sedentary behaviors (Pınarbaşı and Boncuklu) and the rise of a local megasite (Çatalhöyük). Our data are consistent with the presence of only local individuals at Pınarbaşı and Boncuklu, whereas at Çatalhöyük, several nonlocals are present. The Çatalhöyük data stand in contrast to other megasites where bioarchaeological evidence has pointed to strict endogamy. These different kinship behaviors suggest that megasites may have arisen by employing unique, community-specific kinship practices.
E. M. J. Schotsmans, G. Busacca, S. C. Lin, M. Vasić, A. M. Lingle, R. Veropoulidou, C. Mazzucato, B. Tibbetts, S. D. Haddow, M. Somel,et al.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractThe cultural use of pigments in human societies is associated with ritual activities and the creation of social memory. Neolithic Çatalhöyük (Turkey, 7100–5950 cal BC) provides a unique case study for the exploration of links between pigments in burials, demographic data and colourants in contemporary architectural contexts. This study presents the first combined analysis of funerary and architectural evidence of pigment use in Neolithic Anatolia and discusses the possible social processes underlying the observed statistical patterns. Results reveal that pigments were either applied directly to the deceased or included in the grave as a burial association. The most commonly used pigment was red ochre. Cinnabar was mainly applied to males and blue/green pigment was associated with females. A correlation was found between the number of buried individuals and the number of painted layers in the buildings. Mortuary practices seem to have followed specific selection processes independent of sex and age-at-death of the deceased. This study offers new insights about the social factors involved in pigment use in this community, and contributes to the interpretation of funerary practices in Neolithic Anatolia. Specifically, it suggests that visual expression, ritual performance and symbolic associations were elements of shared long-term socio-cultural practices.
Kevin Kay, Scott Haddow, Christopher Knüsel, Camilla Mazzucato, Marco Milella, Rena Veropoulidou, and Katheryn C. Twiss
Informa UK Limited
ABSTRACT Archaeologists have adopted the Gini coefficient to evaluate unequal accumulations of material, supporting narratives modelled on modern inequality discourse. Proxies are defined for wealth and the household, to render 21st century-style economic tensions perceptible in the past. This ‘property paradigm’ treats material culture as a generic rather than substantive factor in unequal pasts. We question this framing while suggesting that the Gini coefficient can prompt a deeper exploration of value. Our study grows from multi-material evaluation of inequality at Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Here we use the Gini coefficient to scrutinise distributions of burial practices among houses. To the expectations of the property paradigm, the result is unintuitive – becoming slightly more equal despite rising social complexity. We explore possible explanations for this result, each pointing to a more substantive link between past futures and differentiated lives as a framework for archaeologies of inequality.
Reyhan Yaka, Igor Mapelli, Damla Kaptan, Ayça Doğu, Maciej Chyleński, Ömür Dilek Erdal, Dilek Koptekin, Kıvılcım Başak Vural, Alex Bayliss, Camilla Mazzucato,et al.
Elsevier BV
Dominik Lukas, Claudia Engel, and Camilla Mazzucato
Informa UK Limited
ABSTRACT Çatalhöyük was first discovered as one of the earliest urban settlements in the late 1950s and excavated by James Mellaart between 1961 and 1965. The 9000-year-old town in central Turkey rapidly became famous internationally due to the large size and dense occupation of the settlement, as well as the spectacular wall paintings and other art that were uncovered inside the houses. Since 1993, under the direction of Ian Hodder, research at Çatalhöyük has pioneered a reflexive approach to archaeological practice, in which information is permanently open to reinterpretation by both scholars and the public. This approach acknowledges the mutual dependence of knowledge and the underlying research, to which end the Çatalhöyük Project decided to make its records available via the Web and to invite public comment since its onset. After 25 years of excavation, the project’s digital assets now amount to close to 5TB, including formal textual and numeric records, freetext documents, audiovisual materials, and a comprehensive collection of spatial data. The reflexive method, or ‘documentation of the documentation process,’ adds a separate layer of information that specifies how data have been gathered, and facilitates critique, understanding, and the evolution of knowledge. In this paper we lay out our vision of an interactive archive that provides access to the multi layered information contained in this massive amount of data and how web technological advances have been incorporated into the digital data management at Çatalhöyük. Ultimately, the goal is to support an interdisciplinary process of assembling data into arguments on the basis of multiple lines of evidence. The ‘Living Archive’ will enable intuitive engagement across the entire variety of research, making use of the rich reflexive information stored with the data. The results of new analyses can in turn be reintegrated with the already existing data. The application will use open standards so that the knowledge gathered at Çatalhöyük can be linked with other projects that follow similar publication procedures based on the semantic web approach.
James Taylor, , Justine Issavi, Åsa Berggren, Dominik Lukas, Camilla Mazzucato, Burcu Tung, and Nicoló Dell'Unto
Council for British Archaeology
This paper considers the role of digital recording methods and visualisation tools in the primary recording of archaeology at the Neolithic tell site of Catalhoyuk, Turkey. Operating within and building on Catalhoyuk Research Project's understanding of reflexive methods (Hodder 2000b, 2003; Berggren and Nilson 2014; Berggren et al. 2015) we incorporate elements of science and technology studies (Pickering 1995) in order to create a framework for documenting the complete process of devising, implementing, and assessing digitised and tablet-based workflows. These harness the project's existing SQL database and intra-site GIS, as well as the increasingly user-friendly suite of 3D recording technologies which are now available to archaeologists. The Catalhoyuk Research Project's longstanding engagement with digital methods in archaeology means that such a study is well placed to provide insights into wider disciplinary trends that might be described as a 'Digital Turn'. By offering a review of tablet recording and exploring the effects of its introduction upon the archaeologists' relationship with the archaeological remains, we investigate the applied integration of digital recording technologies and their role in facilitating a deeper reflexivity in the interpretation of the archaeology on the site.
Camilla Mazzucato
Informa UK Limited
Gaydarska’s article is a valuable attempt at reframing the ‘urban debate’ in archaeology and dealing with an issue that remains so elusive despite numerous attempts to define it. The point at which a settlement becomes a city and the understanding of the nature of urban life and society are long-standing, complex issues that have given rise to a multitude of theories, approaches and contributions from a variety of disciplines going back many decades (Smith 2003, Marcus and Sabloff 2008). As Gaydarska rightly points out, the ‘urban concept’ has become ‘unworkable’ and this is due in large part to the weight of theoretical baggage the concept has inherited over the years. In the Middle East the study of early urbanism is exceptionally influenced by an outdated social evolutionary approach and by an eternal/unending quest for the origins of urbanity (see Gebel 2002, Rollefson 2004, Ben-Shlomo and Garfinkel 2009). Furthermore, the Childean ‘check-list’ approach, as stressed by Gaydarska, is still very influential (BenShlomo and Garfinkel 2009). Gaydarska is right when she says reaching ‘urban’ threshold turned out to be a powerful analytical category and indeed a criterion for assessing ‘human development’ instead of a descriptive tool. Moreover, as noted by Cowgill (2004), the urban concept is frequently ‘undertheorized’ and the terms ‘city’ and ‘urban society’ are slippery concepts that are often insufficiently defined and employed in divergent ways under different circumstances. What seems to make the urban concept so ‘unworkable’ is its nature as an umbrella concept; it is, in fact, a conflation of a number of issues. Investigating urbanism, especially early urbanism in the Near East, means having to address the issues of sedentism, social complexity, changing relationships with the landscape and the shift to a way of life increasingly reliant on agriculture and animal husbandry. All these topics converge within the category of the ‘urban’, making it a too broad a concept, a knot that is almost impossible to disentangle. In this respect, Cowgill’s (and Gaydarska’s) suggestion of discriminating ‘cities’ from other types of sites without using a single principle or a set of ‘discrete categories’ (Childean trait-like approach) (Cowgill 2004, p. 526) but using multiple sets of practices defined as groups of variables that could then be measured on axes and whose ‘intensity’ could be assessed goes in the right direction. This type of approach would have the advantage of providing the flexibility to select different practices/variables according to context and the particular questions being asked. However, it remains unclear how to discriminate different site types (village, towns or cities or urban, protourban or pre-urban) from a continuum of
Åsa Berggren, Nicolo Dell’Unto, Maurizio Forte, Scott Haddow, Ian Hodder, Justine Issavi, Nicola Lercari, Camilla Mazzucato, Allison Mickel, and James S. Taylor
Antiquity Publications
Abstract Excavations at Çatalhöyük have been ongoing for over 20 years and have involved multi-national teams, a diverse range of archaeological specialists and a vast archive of records. The task of marshalling this data so that it can be useful not only at the post-excavation stage, but also while making decisions in the field, is challenging. Here, members of the team reflect on the use of digital technology on-site to promote a reflexive engagement with the archaeology. They explore how digital data in a fieldwork context can break down communication barriers between specialists, foster an inclusive approach to the excavation process and facilitate reflexive engagement with recording and interpretation.
Harvey Whitehouse, Camilla Mazzucato, Ian Hodder, and Quentin D. Atkinson
Cambridge University Press