Once upon a time, in the southeastern region of Turkey’s Şanlıurfa Province, there stretched a remarkable expanse known as Taş Tepeler, or Stone Mounds. This area spanned roughly 125 miles along the foothills of the Taurus Mountains, providing a scenic overlook of the Harran Plain and the Balikh River, a tributary of the mighty Euphrates. The landscape was characterized by plateaus nestled among modest mountains, enduring scorching summers and mild winters with minimal rainfall.
This harsh climate barely supported the growth of wild lentils, wheat, barley, and chickpeas, along with other resilient plant species adapted to the semiarid steppe environment. Despite these challenges, local farmers managed to cultivate pistachios, which were fondly referred to as “green gold.” The plain was also home to a few native animals, including several species of gazelle, which were legally protected. However, conservationists faced a constant battle to shield these animals from poaching, climate change, and the relentless march of urban expansion. The villagers scattered across the plain led lives deeply intertwined with the seasonal rhythms of agriculture, always at the mercy of rapidly changing weather patterns.
Rewind the clock more than 11,000 years to the early Neolithic period, and this very region was a lush paradise of towering forests brimming with wildlife. Cattle, sheep, goats, donkeys, gazelles, boars, leopards, snakes, and a myriad of other reptiles roamed freely, while the rivers and lakes teemed with fish and birds. This fertile land attracted groups of mobile hunter-gatherers. No longer compelled to wander seasonally in search of food, they began to construct semipermanent and permanent dwellings both on the plain and in the hills. Archaeologist Mehmet Özdoğan of Istanbul University observed, “This part of Anatolia had a significantly richer and more productive natural environment than arid regions to the south. This encouraged people to establish permanent settlements and liberated them from mere dietary concerns. Their newfound freedom allowed them to focus on endeavors beyond sustenance and shelter and on what we might define as true artistic pursuits.”
As decades of archaeological work have revealed, more than 20 sites dating back to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period (approximately 12,000 to 10,200 years ago) have been uncovered across the region. These sites shared common features such as monumental architecture, often taking the form of T-shaped or rounded pillars and large decorated stone benches. They also displayed stone carvings of humans with skeletal features, as well as human heads, masks, phalluses, and predatory mammals, including raptors and snakes. Between 1983 and 1991, at the site of Nevalı Çori, now submerged under the Atatürk Reservoir, researchers discovered a series of large T-shaped standing stones, recognized as the earliest known examples of monumental architecture in the region. Inspired by these finds, archaeologists in the 1990s revisited Göbeklitepe, a site discovered in 1963, located some 35 miles away. There, they unearthed structures reminiscent of those at Nevalı Çori.
The story of these ancient people took another fascinating turn in 2021, when archaeologist Eylem Özdoğan of Istanbul University excavated a stone bench at Sayburç, another Taş Tepeler site. The bench bore a carved relief depicting two humans, two leopards, and a bull. Özdoğan remarked that this scene represented the most detailed depiction of a Neolithic story found to date.
The tale of Taş Tepeler is one of resilience, adaptation, and a profound connection to the land. From its lush beginnings teeming with wildlife to the semiarid challenges faced by its modern inhabitants, the region holds a mirror to the enduring spirit of those who have called it home. The ancient carvings and monumental structures stand as silent witnesses to a time when humanity began to explore beyond mere survival, delving into the realms of art and community, leaving behind a legacy that continues to captivate and inspire.
