Overview

• The June 2025 Science paper analyzed DNA from 131 individuals excavated at East and West Mounds to map kinship across Çatalhöyük’s 1,200-year history.
• Genetic data show women remained in their birth communities while men typically married into households, confirming a matrilocal social structure.
• Female burials contained five times more grave goods than male interments, highlighting women’s elevated social and spiritual status.
• Numerous female figurines thought to represent a mother goddess complement genetic evidence of women’s central role in community life.
• Ongoing research will examine genetic diversity and compare kinship patterns with other prehistoric sites, including Iron Age Britain, to trace social evolution.