The sites date to the Neolithic period, more than 10,000 years ago, when communities in the region were transitioning from mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyles toward more settled forms of life. Their monumental stone structures, sculptures and other remains have provided evidence of complex social and ritual practices long before the emergence of cities and written records.
Gobeklitepe, discovered in the 1960s and extensively excavated since the 1990s, is the best known of the sites. Its massive T-shaped stone pillars and animal carvings have challenged earlier assumptions about the development of permanent settlements and organized societies.
Karahantepe has emerged as another important site in the region since excavations began there in 2019. Archaeologists have uncovered monumental structures, human and animal representations and other remains dating to roughly the same period as those at Gobeklitepe.
Ersoy said the discovery "opens the door to new questions about the earliest periods of human history" and would have a broad impact on the scientific community.
