Calay News
Professor Necmi Karul, director of the prehistory department at Istanbul University, has culminated fifteen years of archaeological excavations at the site of Karahantepe, southeastern Turkey, with a truly unique find. A stone statue, more than 2.30 meters high, was discovered in September in the heart of a complex that housed thousands of humans 12,000 years ago, during the Stone Age.
The statue depicts a man sitting on a bench decorated with a leopard and is notable for one particular detail: its manly attribute, a phallus, which is the first time it has been found on a statue from this era. Although the statue was discovered broken into three pieces, Professor Karul and his team have managed to reconstruct this incredible archaeological piece.
Karahantepe is part of the network of Neolithic sites that surround the Göbekli Tepe hill, considered the “capital” of this archaeological complex. These findings have revealed a new social order that emerged after the Ice Age, providing valuable clues about the beliefs and practices of ancient human societies.
In addition to the stone man, another significant discovery was made at Göbekli Tepe: a polychrome sculpture of a wild boar, dated 11,000 years ago. This piece, with its vividly colored details, is the first color sculpture from this period ever found, suggesting a wealth of artistic knowledge in ancient cultures.
These discoveries not only enrich our understanding of prehistoric civilizations but also raise fascinating questions about the beliefs and practices of our ancestors. As archaeologists continue to explore these sites, the ancient past continues to reveal its mysteries, promising equally exciting future discoveries.
