The text is a discussion of the lecture by René Girard "Scapegoating at Çatalhöyük" at a conference on June 20, 2008, devoted to the discoveries in Çatalhöyük.
The paper discusses the interpretation of representative art from the Neolithic settlement at Çatalhöyük presented by R. Girard and his disciples. To this end, the author applied the mimetic theory referring to the mechanism of scapegoating. The main subject of analysis are the narrative scenes depicting wild animals and numerous figures of people, shown in murals decorating the walls of domestic buildings during the last period of the settlement’s existence. The paper also offers a critical evaluation of the findings in the light of changes in the social and religious sphere during over a thousand years of the settlement’s existence.
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