Living History

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Turkey | Sunday, October 17, 2010 | 5 photos

This photo set comes from Çatalhöyük archaeological site in Anatolia, Turkey. It is located in the middle of rural Anatolia, a hot 45 minute bus ride the most notable town, and were you to drive by it, it would look like nothing more than a small mound, rising from the sunflower fields. Çatalhöyük in fact is one of the first cases of organized cities in the world.

For the last two summers I have spent some months on the research compound working as an archaeological illustrator. I am 24 and graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Anthropological Sciences, but have been using my skills sandwiched between various traveling adventures.

After graduating, I worked for a time at Amundsen-Scott South Pole station in Antarctica, and was originally attracted to this contest by stumbling upon a previous contest winner's photos. After that I traveled through New Zealand, Northern India and Nepal. I am currently working as a middle school teacher in South Korean public schools and complete overseas contract art jobs in my evenings.

I am especially interested in this opportunity, because it is not just a contest, but a chance for growth. I work very hard to allow myself to see the world, but I want to learn to express the places I find along the way more interestingly and beautifully. I am not good at keeping in touch, and the best way I know how is through photos. Many people I know never travel, and I believe that images can be very important in sharing the world with those at home.

Çatalhöyük is a place where many Turkish and foreign archaeologists come to excavate and study, but it is also a remote place away from home and internet, a veritable science camp. In these photos, I want to give a window of daily life at Çatalhöyük.