Dr. Eylem Özdoğan’s team uncovered the statue in a courtyard structure that has already produced some of the strongest evidence for domestic ritual activity in Taş Tepeler.

A New Ritual Statue at Sayburç

During the 2025 excavation season at Sayburç, archaeologists uncovered a cluster of human burials and several unusual artifacts. One find in particular stands out. A carved human statue with a rigid posture, clear rib markings, apparent shell-inlaid eyes, and a mouth that appears intentionally sewn. These details undeniably connect it to the larger symbolic system known from nearby sites like Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe.

A village with a complex ritual identity

Sayburç, discovered under a modern village in Turkey, has often been described as a smaller Neolithic settlement compared to the monumental hilltop centers of the region. Yet the discoveries from this season show that ritual expression was not limited to large sister-site-sanctuaries. The people of Sayburç buried their dead within the settlement, carved symbolic scenes into their architecture, and created objects that reflect the same worldview found at the major Taş Tepeler sites.

The new statue reinforces this. It was not found in a temple precinct but in a domestic context, which suggests that the beliefs expressed at Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe were also part of everyday life inside village communities.

Ribbed Statue at Karahan Tepe @ Dakota Wint

The ribs and what they might mean

Ribs almost certainly connect to death in this case. Sayburç has produced numerous human burials and loose skeletal remains, so the community was actively handling and interacting with the dead. A carved ribcage fits naturally into that environment. It could identify the figure as deceased, as an ancestor, or as someone linked to burial rites. At Karahan Tepe, ribbed human statues also appear in contexts tied to pits and enclosed chambers, which suggests a shared way of marking bodies connected to death or transformation. Rather than a metaphor, the ribs at Sayburç may have been a straightforward visual cue: this is a dead body.

The Ribbed Leopard on Pillar 23 at Gobekli Tepe

@ elcin_dalkilic

At Göbekli Tepe, a leopard carved on Pillar 27 also shows rib markings. When the same detail appears on both human and animal figures across multiple sites, it suggests a shared visual language of meaning.

The sewn mouth and sea shell eyes

Skull collection is a reoccuring pattern amongst Tas Tepeler sites and the greater PPN. The apparent seashell eyes in the Sayburc statue add more weight to this dead body interpretation.

Cowrie shells and other marine shells appear across many PPN sites, including Jerf el Ahmar, Çayönü, and even early graves in the Levant.

Shells would replace missing eyes and create a more lifelike presence for the dead before being ritualistically placed in a niche or other areas.

Plastered skull from Jericho, around 7000BC, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Why the discovery matters

This statue plays an important role in understanding the early Neolithic of southeastern Anatolia. It demonstrates that symbolism related to death and fertility was present across different types of sites and social spaces. It shows that villages like Sayburç participated fully in the cultural system that produced the earliest monumental architecture in human history.

Every new find from Taş Tepeler adds another piece to the picture. The Sayburç statue shows that ritual life was not confined to large gatherings or elites. It was woven into the daily life of the community. It is another reminder that the people of this region shared a rich symbolic world that connected settlements, sanctuaries, and the dead.

What we still do not know

Important questions remain. Was this statue linked to a specific individual from the village, or was it a general ancestral figure? Did villages like Sayburç create their own smaller versions of the traditions seen at the larger sites, or were they part of a coordinated ritual network that spanned Taş Tepeler? And how did the symbols travel between communities?

Future excavations may clarify these connections. For now, the Sayburç statue adds another piece to the early Neolithic world. It shows that the ideas expressed at Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe were not limited to the monumental enclosures. They reached into the courtyards, the homes, and the daily lives of the people who lived beside them.

Learn more about Sayburc by watching this video

Want to Visit Sayburc or Tas Tepeler?

Sayburç is now open to visitors. While Göbekli Tepe has drawn international attention and a visitor center, Sayburc remains raw, windswept, and largely untouched—a living excavation site.

To explore either site respectfully and in-depth, use a reputable guide such as SanliurfaTour.com or +17076416697

As more of the Tas Tepeler sites are unearthed—including Sefer Tepe, Karahan Tepe, and Harbetsuvan Tepe —we may finally glimpse the mind of humanity before history!