Catalhoyuk

Catalhoyuk is arguably the most significant Neolithic site on Earth, dating to 7500 BC and covering 34 acres. As a pioneering urban center, it housed up to 8,000 people and predates any other settlement in the region by at least 1,000 years. Unlike #10 Myra, where tombs are carved after the city's decline, Catalhoyuk's mud-brick homes were built and rebuilt over centuries, yielding over 12 excavated layers of continuous habitation. This depth of stratigraphy is richer and more complex than that of any contemporary site, with 93% of its structures yet to be fully explored.