New Excavations in Turkey Suggest Peaceful, Advanced Neolithic Communities

Recent excavations in Turkey’s southeastern Anatolia Region are challenging prior perceptions about Neolithic civilization. Archaeologists from Istanbul University have made groundbreaking finds at Karahan Tepe and Göbekli Tepe, two ancient sites located north of Mesopotamia and dating between 9,600 and 8,000 BCE.

In September, a 2.3 meter-high sculpture of a man seated on a stone bench adorned with a leopard was unearthed at Karahan Tepe, dating to approximately 8,500 BCE. This could be among the oldest known three-dimensional human figures. Karahan Tepe is at the heart of a complex of some 20 sites that were home to thousands of humans during the Stone Age, up to 12,000 years ago.

Another noteworthy find is a life-sized painted sculpture of a boar at Göbekli Tepe, potentially dating back to 8,700-8,500 BCE, which may be the oldest of its kind.

According to Necmi Karul, an archaeologist at Istanbul University, these discoveries indicate a higher level of sophistication among Neolithic people, both in architecture and large-scale art. The evidence also points toward advanced culture and religious beliefs. Furthermore, the absence of warfare artifacts suggests these ancient communities may have lived peacefully with their environment. Abundant resources and fertile land likely aided their cultural development.

Karul emphasized that these finds open a new chapter in understanding these ancient sites, many aspects of which remain a mystery.