The use of wood, dung and other biomass fuels can be traced back to early prehistory. While the study of prehistoric fuel use and its environmental impacts is well established, there has been little investigation of the health impacts this would have had, particularly in the Neolithic period, when people went from living in relatively small groups, to living in dense settlements. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, is one of the earliest large ‘pre-urban’ settlements in the world. In 2017, a series of experiments were conducted to measure fine particulate (PM_2.5) concentrations during typical fuel burning activities, using wood and dung fuel. The results indicate that emissions from both fuels surpassed the WHO and EU standard limits for indoor air quality, with dung fuel being the highest contributor for PM_2.5 pollution inside the house, producing maximum values > 150,000 µg m⁻³. Maximum levels from wood burning were 36,000 µg m⁻³. Average values over a 2–3 h period were 13–60,000 µg m⁻³ for dung and 10–45,000 µg m⁻³ for wood. The structure of the house, lack of ventilation and design of the oven and hearth influenced the air quality inside the house. These observations have implications for understanding the relationship between health and the built environment in the past.

木材、粪便和其他生物质燃料的使用可以追溯到史前早期。虽然对史前燃料使用及其环境影响的研究已经确立，但很少有人研究这会对健康产生的影响，特别是在新石器时代，当时人们从相对较小的群体生活到居住在密集的定居点. 被联合国教科文组织列为世界遗产的土耳其恰塔霍尤克是世界上最早的大型“前城市”定居点之一。2017 年，进行了一系列实验来测量细颗粒物（PM _2.5) 在使用木材和粪便燃料的典型燃料燃烧活动中的浓度。结果表明，两种燃料的排放都超过了世界卫生组织和欧盟对室内空气质量的标准限制，其中粪便燃料是室内 PM _2.5污染的最大贡献者，产生的最大值 > 150,000 µg m ^-3。木材燃烧的最高水平为 36,000 µg m ^-3。2-3 小时内的平均值为 13-60,000 µg m ^-3和 10-45,000 µg m ^-3木材。房屋结构、通风不足以及烤箱和壁炉的设计影响了房屋内的空气质量。这些观察结果对理解过去健康与建筑环境之间的关系具有重要意义。