I am convinced that devotion is certainly at work at Çatalhöyük and may help us answer questions about the process of recognizing a religious significance in the material culture of the site.

I would rather use the term “devotion” than “religion” for reasons I cannot get into here. Having said that, I have to confess that I would be foolish to try to define devotion. Devotion, as many scholars point out, is easier recognized than defined. If you were to ask me for a brief description of devotion, however, I would say that it involves living out a powerful imagination with surprising destructive tendencies that if disciplined can also be incredibly life-giving and creative.

Being a totally naїve observer of archaeological method has paradoxically made me a good candidate to detect devotion at Çatalhöyük. Being naїve has advantages. In fact, I was immediately struck by the devotion displayed by the architectural team. Those of you who work here are a great example of what devotion is all about. What are its symptoms? Let me make a few observations.