First a word of caution: since we have no written evidence (of course! After all, we are 2000+ years from the earliest written records recovered), all we can rely on are the material evidence and the theories of scholars or others, sometime really "adventurous" (more about that in the next post).

The bulk of evidence was found on two sites: Catal Hoyuk and Hacilar. Until recent years, it was thought at Catal Hoyuk that 'shrines' and everything religious and secular houses were two different entities. The houses were regrouped in quarters, each one with its own shrine. But lately, new discoveries have revealed that the space of most houses falls into two categories, neately seperated: space swept clean with sometimes burials under it, and space with "secular" furniture and objects (hearth, oven, obsidian, food).

This new light on the Catal Hoyuk population seems to make a lot of sense when one considers Hacilar, where the cult has always been recognized as a domestic one. There, in houses, have been founds altars with incisions representing stylized hair, eyes, nose and chin, along with statuettes. Pottery dedicated to the cult appear (that was not the case at Catal Hoyuk).

The first conclusion is that religion is just another aspect of the life of the people in Catal Hoyuk, and that there was probably no religious elite

If you want more details on this very subject, you can go there. This discussion between an archeologue and a scholar on the role of the Mother Goddess is very interesting, and addresses a lot of stricking issues.