When we look at the history of Göbekli Tepe, it’s easy to focus on the structures, the pillars and the symbolism, and we sometimes forget this was the work of people, real people emerging from the harsh conditions of the Younger Dryas to try and build a life in the hills of southeastern Anatolia.
These people established a social structure, they had a way of life, a belief system and they had skills. They could carve tools, weapons and vessels from stone, they could quarry large pillars and erect structures that stood for several hundred years. They etched intricate relief carvings onto the T-shaped pillars and created sculptures depicted people and animals in very specific ways.
These people had a culture and we see this in many ways, through the excavations of places like Kortik Tepe, Göbekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe, Sayburc and so on.
It often goes unmentioned but the remains of people who lived at Gobekli Tepe have also been discovered but even these show unique characteristics of a long-forgotten culture.
In this video, I'm taking a look at the modified human skulls that have been discovered at Göbekli Tepe, which include a drilled perforation, deep incisions and the application of ochre, all of which were done after the people had died.
What could this all mean, and how does it relate to the iconography on the T-shaped pillars, stone plaques and statues at Göbekli Tepe and other Pre-Pottery Neolithic Tas Tapeler sites? Watch the video to learn more.