Aerial view of Karahantepe (Şanlıurfa Province, Türkiye)
© Karahantepe Project Archive/Yusuf Aslan
With the special exhibition “Built community. Göbeklitepe, Taş Tepeler, and life 12,000 years ago” the Vorderasiatisches Museum is focusing on art and sculptures from the first settled cultures in southeastern Türkiye. There, people erected monumental stone structures and populated them with spectacular stone sculptures. Curated in collaboration with Istanbul University, the exhibition presents the sculptures, many of which are being shown abroad for the first time, together with architectural reconstructions, media, and photos by Spanish photo artist Isabel Muñoz.
The sculptures bear witness to the complex spiritual world of early sedentary cultures. They contributed to the affirmation and order of communities in the context of rituals and festivals. A vibrant community was the key to the survival and resilience of early sedentary cultures. Recent research in Göbeklitepe and other sites of the “Taş Tepeler” project sheds new light on the social processes at the beginning of sedentarism. The connection between people, their ancestors, animals, and the spiritual world permeates life. The connecting theme of the exhibition is therefore “community” – looking at how community is formed, functions, and is held together at the beginning of sedentarism, and how community can be an important factor in resilience under changing conditions.
Stone vessels, slabs, and hammerstones found in a kitchen area in Karahantepe (Şanlıurfa Province, Türkiye), 9400–8000 BC.
© Karahantepe Project Archive
The exhibition is divided into eight sections and shows the artistic expression of early settled communities in various areas of life, from birth to everyday life to death. The images invite visitors to immerse themselves in the world of prehistoric cultures. Films, pictures, and reconstructions provide further background information. In addition, the archaeological and scientific presentation is accompanied by contemporary interpretations by Spanish photo artist Isabel Muñoz. Her photographs offer the opportunity to explore the symbolic world of the last hunters from a unique perspective.
“Built community. Göbeklitepe, Taş Tepeler, and life 12,000 years ago” is a cooperation between the Vorderasiatisches Museum, the Şanlıurfa Archaeological Museum, and the “Taş Tepeler” research project at Istanbul University, with the participation of the Deutsches Ärchäologisches Institut. The exhibition is based on the latest findings of a joint international research project involving Turkish scientists working with colleagues from the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Germany and colleagues from Japan, Italy, and England. The exhibition presents a selection of archaeological exhibits from the Şanlıurfa Museum that have never before been shown outside Türkiye, together with architectural models, media, and images.
Arrow shaft smoother with gazelle motif from Çakmaktepe (Şanlıurfa Province, Türkiye), 9600–8800? BC
© Çakmaktepe Excavation Archive, Fatma Şahin and Yutaka Miyake
A comprehensive program of events featuring artist talks, lectures, and guided tours accompanies and complements the exhibition.
The exhibition is accompanied by a publication entitled “Built community: Göbeklitepe, Taş Tepeler, and life 12,000 years ago“ available in three editions in German, Turkish, and English. It contains an overview of the exhibition as well as essays by some of the researchers involved.
Human head from Karahantepe (Şanlıurfa Province, Türkiye), 9400–8000 BC.
© Karahantepe Excavation Archive/Yusuf Aslan
The exhibition is made possible with funding from the Deutsche Stiftung Klassenlotterie, the Kuratorium (Board of Trustees) of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, the Freunde der Antike auf der Museumsinsel e.V., and the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz’s own funds.
Media partners for the exhibition:
arte, National Geographic, Radio3, Radio eins, tip Berlin, Tagesspiegel, Weltkunst
Female figurines from Gürcütepe, 7500–7000 BC.
© Şanlıurfa Müzesi Arşivi