Excavations shed light on new findings from Neolithic Age

ISTANBUL

Excavations at the Stone Hills in Turkey’s southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, which hosts the first examples of settled life and social communities in the world, reveals new and stunning details that could rewrite the history of the region.

Leading the excavations in some 12 archeological sites, academic Necmi Karul shared the findings of the field works carried out so far with highly informative presentations.

“Hunter, gatherer, consumer life gave way to a productive life in here,” Karul said regarding the findings in the sites, adding that the lifestyle that organizes today’s social life was replaced by the individual life in which residence was at the center.

“The size of the cattle we uncovered is twice the size of today’s cattle. Sheep are also bigger; they do not have a layer of wool on them but have skin with hard bristles,” he noted.

Emphasizing that cattle were domesticated in Anatolia, the academic noted that the first settlements used throughout the year 10,000 years ago were also seen in this region.

“In all of these places, we saw people live for 12 months. It means that they settled down while they were hunter-gatherers,” Karul noted, adding that agriculture was a result of settled life, not a cause.

Thanks to the archaeological excavations in the region, this is one of the information that was included in all school books but was changed later.

There are also traces about the first use of pottery and people’s ability to carry out basic trade initiatives in the Stone Hills, according to Karul.