"The face staring out from a 135 cm-tall standing stone-featuring a prominent nose, deep-set eyes and a sharp, angular jawline-was unearthed last week by archaeologists at the Neolithic site of Karahan Tepe near the Syrian border, according to excavation director Necmi Karul of Istanbul University. It is the first finding of a human face on a T-shaped pillar-a type of monolith found en masse within a constellation of prehistoric sanctuaries known as Taş Tepeler, or the Stone Mounds."
"The etched face on this example helps bolster Karul and his fellow researchers' interpretation of the T-shaped pillars as not merely architectural features but as symbolic renderings of the human form. Like other T-shaped pillars, the latest find served as a buttress to support the conical roof of a building. Numerous anthropomorphic pillars bearing arms or hands or wearing garments, such as belts and fur, that are anatomically proportionate have been found at Karahan Tepe, where excavations began in 2019."
An 11,000-year-old limestone pillar carved with a human face was uncovered at Karahan Tepe in southeast Turkey. The 135 cm-tall T-shaped monolith features a prominent nose, deep-set eyes and a sharp, angular jawline, marking the first human face found on a T-shaped pillar within the Taş Tepeler complex. The pillar functioned as a buttress for a conical roof in a structure with domestic elements like grinding stones. Numerous other anthropomorphic pillars at Karahan Tepe display arms, hands and garments, suggesting T-shaped pillars symbolized humans and reflect a Neolithic cognitive and expressive transformation.
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