Statues in walls weren't unique to Göbekli Tepe. Nevalı Çori had birdman statues & snake heads in walls, benches & niches. Plastered human skulls under floors at various PPNB sites & in niches at Tel Ramad show this was a widespread Taş Tepeler tradition. 🗿🕊️
Ritual Statue Placement in Pre-Pottery Neolithic Sites
TürkiyeArtifactNew Research
Site mentioned
Key facts
- Archaeologist explains ritual as repeated action carrying cultural, social, spiritual, or religious significance
- Statues placed within walls is seen at multiple Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites, not just Göbekli Tepe
- At Nevalı Çori, statues were found embedded in benches, walls, and niches including birdman statues and snake heads
- Carvings of human figures within walls found at Karahantepe and Çayburti
- Plastered human skulls deliberately buried beneath floors found at sites like Tel Ramad and Çayönü
- This represents ritualistic behavior seen across the wider Taş Teplar phenomenon
Was this story useful?
Keep exploring
Every site on this page sits on the globe, and the people who research them are on the Discord.
3D Globe · Sites by country · Story Archive · Research Library · Weekly Journal · Search
AI-generated text · images from the original sources · always verify with the sources.