On Wednesday, December 10, 2008, the University of California at Berkeley plans to burn the archaeological site of Çatalhöyük, and we're all invited. Oh, they're not burning the ancient ruins in Turkey--they're virtually burning the one that was created as a exploration tool in the three-dimensional world of Second Life. Archaeological evidence has suggested that Building 77, excavated this last summer, was burned some 9,000 years ago. Berkeley wants to show us what that was like.

Virtual Çatalhöyük. Image from Second Life Çatalhöyük

I have to say I don't know much about Second Life, except that it has allowed the Çatalhöyük team to give the public a virtual reality of the 9,000-year-old site to wander around in. The Second Life version of Çatalhöyük has a reproduction of the site ruins and reconstruction, as well as modern developments. I think I may just learn more about it on Wednesday.

Colleen Morgan sent along this itinerary of events, scheduled for December 10, 2008, 2pm-4:30 pm PST (or 10 pm-12:30 am GMT):

• (2-2:15) Guided Tour of OKAPI Island by Ruth Tringham, (Professor of Anthropology, UC Berkeley, and Principal Investigator of Berkeley Archaeologists at Çatalhöyük) and the Remixing Çatalhöyük team.
• (2:15-2:30) Niema Razavian will introduce the work that the Fall 2008 Decal class has done on the island, and how this fits in with a broader UC Berkeley education.
• (2:30-2:45)Roland Saekow will demonstrate his teleportation system, to guide new visitors around the island.
• (2:45-3:00) Kira O’Connor will show the site datum she has constructed, and talk about how datums are used at archaeological sites in general.
• (3:00-3:15) Clark-Rossi Flores-Beyer will demonstrate the skeleton model he has managed to manipulate into a crouch position, in accordance with how people were buried at Çatalhöyük. He will briefly discuss burial practices in the settlement.
• (3:15-3:45) Garrett Wagner and Raechal Perez will discuss their own reproductions of the interiors at Çatalhöyük, and how they decided to configure the space on their own.
• (3:45-4:00) Colleen Morgan (UC Berkeley PhD Candidate, excavator at Çatalhöyük) will wrap-up the program with a discussion of why virtual reconstructions of archaeological sites are important, and what Second Life can do to increase our understanding of the past.

The Second Life version of Çatalhöyük can be visited right this second, if you'll first download and install the free Second Life browser. Following that link will give you an opportunity to download the software. It takes a fairly substantial newish system to properly run, although my three-year-old laptop could handle it, even though I was warned it wouldn't.

I recommend you visit before Wednesday and wander around. You won't get lost! See ya there!

• Second Life Çatalhöyük
• Çatalhöyük, the glossary entry here
• What is Second Life, anyway?