An Alternative View on Animal Symbolism in The Göbekli Tepe Neolithic Cultural Region in the Light of New Data (Göbekli Tepe, Sayburç)

New archaeofaunal data challenges the traditional view that Neolithic Göbekli Tepe's animal symbolism reflected limited human-animal interaction. Instead, it suggests a deeper, possibly ritualistic engagement with animals, including deadly contests between humans and animals or among animals themselves. These rituals may have occurred in entrapment areas, indicating an already established intense human-animal relationship rather than fear of wildness as the driving force behind domestication. The study reinterprets animal symbolism in this UNESCO World Heritage Site, proposing a more interactive process that predates and influences domestication practices.

AYAZ, O. (2023). Yeni Veriler Işığında Göbekli Tepe Neolitik Kültür Bölgesi’ndeki Hayvan Sembolizmine Alternatif Bir Bakış (Göbekli Tepe, Sayburç). Iğdır Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, (33), 365–383. https://doi.org/10.54600/igdirsosbilder.1252928