Life rhythms and floor sequences: Excavating time in rural Rajasthan and Neolithic Catalhoyuk

Ethnographic data from rural Rajasthan in India demonstrate that the tempor al rhythms of human life articulate with changes in the nature of village f loors. Various temporal cycles, including the annual cycle, the lifecycle o f the individual and the development cycle of the domestic group, find expr ession in this particular form of material culture. The varying experiences of the lifecycle by different groups within society are also, on some occa sions, linked to variation in the changes undergone by house floors. The re levance of the ethnographic observations are demonstrated by an examination of soil micromorphological data emerging from the Neolithic site of Catalh oyuk in Turkey. Potential links between floor and wall sequences, and vario us temporal rhythms and associated rituals are outlined. The analysis of th e Catalhoyuk data suggests that the study of temporal rhythms in archaeolog y is not only possible and interesting, but also methodologically and theor etically necessary.