Walking on Your Ancestor(s)

The thought of walking and living on the very ground that loved ones were buried sparked my interest.
One of the first few Neolithic settlements, known as Çatalhöyük, buried and lived on their ancestors. The Neolithic people were the first group of people who began to grow their own plants and domesticate animals. As they moved away from the nomadic life, housing and the development of cities/towns became important.
The people of Çatalhöyük lived in buildings constructed with mud bricks. Most buildings had multiple rooms which were separated by thinner walls. The roofs were flat and supported by wooden posts. Typically, people entered their houses through their roof. This could have mainly been due to the fact that neighboring houses were separated by a wall, and there was not much space within a “town.”
The most interesting aspect of the Çatalhöyük’s culture is the burying their ancestors. This is one of the first instances in history where a formal burial of the dead is seen. When a family member died, they dug pits into the floor of their homes and buried the individual, then filled the pits back up and covered it. When the houses became unstable and old, it would simply be used as a foundation for a new house. The new homes would be built exactly the same as the old ones.
What would happen if you were the last person in your family to live? Would you get a proper burial or would you be ignored? Archeologists discovered one individual who was buried outside the home, but they do not know if the individual lost his family or if he was passing through the city.
These questions along with others including, why were houses built so close to each other, why did people enter their homes through the roof, and why bury ancestors on the floor which you live, are reasons why Çatalhöyük is an interesting Neolithic community.
Follow this link http://okapi.dreamhosters.com/remixing/mainpage.html to see what archeologists have discovered so far about the Çatalhöyük community.