Category موضوعي
The sacred before writing
Ritual, symbols and burial before written sources.
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Original photograph
Concept
Anthropomorphism
Representing a thing or being with human features, such as arms, hands and dress. The term describes a form, without establishing an ordinary human or divine identity.
Hands, belt and dress on a pillar in Building D at Göbekli Tepe, photographed in 2019. These visible features underpin the anthropomorphic reading; they do not identify a name or gender
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Original photograph
Study
Göbekli Tepe: Temple or Social Centre?
How have domestic and food-processing evidence changed our understanding of Göbekli Tepe? Buildings, pillars, feasting and social networks reveal the possibilities and limits of interpreting ritual before writing.
Building D at Göbekli Tepe, photographed in 2019. Central and perimeter pillars show the building’s arrangement. The visible shelter and support braces are modern conservation measures, not a reconstructed ancient roof
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Illustration
Concept
Work feasting
An interpretive model connecting collective labour and hospitality: food accompanies participation in a project. Proposed for some Göbekli Tepe evidence, it does not establish the details of a particular feast.
Modern conceptual diagram of work feasting: people around shared food and participation links. It does not portray specific ancient people, equipment or rites, or reconstruct an event at Göbekli Tepe
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Original photograph
Period
Pre-Pottery Neolithic
A regional term for early Neolithic phases in Southwest Asia before the local spread of pottery; it does not imply an absence of settlement, architecture or cereal processing.
Building D at Göbekli Tepe, photographed in 2019. Central and perimeter pillars show the building’s arrangement. The visible shelter and support braces are modern conservation measures, not a reconstructed ancient roof
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Original photograph
Study
Before We Knew the Names of Gods
What can burials, skulls, figurines and buildings tell us about early beliefs? A study of archaeological evidence and the boundary between observation and interpretation, from Jericho to Göbekli Tepe and Çatalhöyük.
Building C at Göbekli Tepe, southeastern Turkey, photographed in 2019. T-shaped pillars and communal architecture in a settlement with a ritual component; any proposed divine identities remain unknown. Some pillars have been restored
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Original photograph
Site
Çatalhöyük
A Neolithic site in central Anatolia where domestic houses combined dwelling with burial, symbolism and social memory.
The southern excavation area at Çatalhöyük in central Anatolia. Domestic building remains support study of dwelling, burial and social memory; the photograph is not a reconstruction of the original houses
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Original photograph
Site
Göbekli Tepe
A Neolithic site in southeastern Turkey, known for communal buildings and T-shaped pillars; the excavation team describes a settlement with a pronounced ritual component.
Building C at Göbekli Tepe, southeastern Turkey, photographed in 2019. T-shaped pillars and communal architecture in a settlement with a ritual component; any proposed divine identities remain unknown. Some pillars have been restored
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