Hacılar
Quick Summary
Hacılar is an ancient site in southwestern Turkey that provides significant insights into the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods of Anatolian history. The earliest occupation at Hacılar dates back to approximately 8000 BCE, with inhabitants living in mud-brick houses that featured plastered, painted, and burnished walls and floors, similar to those found in Jericho.1
After a period of abandonment, Hacılar was reoccupied during the late Neolithic period by a more advanced culture. This later settlement showcased sophisticated agriculture and pottery, with symmetrically arranged houses. Excavations also revealed a collection of figurines, offering valuable information about Neolithic art and symbolism. During the Chalcolithic period, Hacılar was known for its distinctively decorated pottery, and its architecture demonstrated a focus on communal defense through continuous outer walls of contiguous houses.12
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- Anatolian art and architectureNeolithic and Chalcolithic periods
At Hacılar, a Chalcolithic site near Burdur, Turkey, village houses were entered at ground level; their standard plan shows the first evidence of conscious architectural symmetry. Much in evidence among the contents of these houses is pottery painted with extremely decorative designs. The same ornament was…
Read MoreAt Hacılar, a Chalcolithic site near Burdur, Turkey, village houses were entered at ground level; their standard plan shows the first evidence of conscious architectural symmetry. Much in evidence among the contents of these houses is pottery painted with extremely decorative designs. The same ornament was…
Read More - Anatolian religionPrehistoric periods
At Hacilar, near Lake Burdur, a somewhat later culture was unearthed by the same excavator, and here again were found statuettes of goddesses associated with felines; but, as in the later levels at Çatal Hüyük, the son or consort is absent.
Read MoreAt Hacilar, near Lake Burdur, a somewhat later culture was unearthed by the same excavator, and here again were found statuettes of goddesses associated with felines; but, as in the later levels at Çatal Hüyük, the son or consort is absent.
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AnatoliaThe Neolithic PeriodHacılar, near Lake Burdur, shows an earliest occupation about 8000 bce by a people living in mud-brick houses with plastered walls and floors, painted and burnished like those in contemporary Jericho. Afterward abandoned for nearly a thousand years, Hacılar was reoccupied in the late phase…
Read MoreHacılar, near Lake Burdur, shows an earliest occupation about 8000 bce by a people living in mud-brick houses with plastered walls and floors, painted and burnished like those in contemporary Jericho. Afterward abandoned for nearly a thousand years, Hacılar was reoccupied in the late phase…
Read More