Archaeologists have discovered an 11,000-year-old stone sculpture depicting a human figure seated on the back of a leopard at Karahantepe, a major Neolithic settlement in southeastern Turkey.
The sculpture stands about 70 centimeters (28 inches) tall. Archaeologists uncovered it during the 2026 excavation season near Şanlıurfa, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced on Tuesday. Ersoy described the find as a “composite sculpture” and said it represented a style not previously encountered at Karahantepe. Archaeologists unearthed the sculpture where it had been left in antiquity, on a bench running along the wall of a structure about three meters (10 feet) in diameter. Flat stones covered the floor, Ersoy said.
Karahantepe forms part of a wider Neolithic landscape
Karahantepe lies about 30 kilometers (18.5 miles) from Göbeklitepe and is a separate prehistoric settlement. Both are part of the Taş Tepeler, or “Stone Hills,” archaeological project, which includes more than a dozen Neolithic sites around Şanlıurfa. The sites date to a period more than ten thousand years ago, when communities were moving from mobile hunting and gathering toward more settled forms of life. Monumental buildings and elaborate stone art show that complex social and symbolic traditions were evolving long before cities began being built and written records maintained.
Recent discoveries across the Taş Tepeler sites include human statues, carved faces, and animal figures. The discoveries continue to expand the understanding of how early communities in the region built, gathered and expressed ideas through stone.
Göbeklitepe adds context to a changing picture
Göbeklitepe is the most well known of the sites. Its monumental T-shaped pillars and animal carvings have helped reshape debate over the development of settled communities and large-scale construction during the Neolithic period.
Karahantepe’de 11 bin yıllık benzersiz bir heykeli gün yüzüne çıkarttık!
Geleceğe Miras Projemiz kapsamında yürüttüğümüz 2026 yılı kazılarında, daha önce benzerine rastlanmayan bir üsluba sahip kompozit heykel bulduk.
Yaklaşık 11 bin yıl önce bırakıldığı yerden günümüze ulaşan… pic.twitter.com/TOuB5xxrPf
— Mehmet Nuri Ersoy (@MehmetNuriErsoy) August 25, 2026
The archaeological picture is still evolving. Rectangular buildings recently uncovered at Göbeklitepe may have served as homes. Researchers say further study is needed, but the structures could add to evidence that domestic life existed alongside monumental activity.
Earlier finds show Karahantepe’s wealth of stone art
Excavations at Karahantepe commenced in 2019, and monumental structures and numerous representations of humans and animals have been unearthed since. In 2023, archaeologists found a human statue about 2.3 meters (7.5 feet) tall, along with a vulture sculpture. The towering figure of a human on a leopard from Karahantepe was among a series of finds that drew renewed attention to the site’s prehistoric works of art. According to Ersoy, the sculpture’s style, rather than its meaning, is something not previously encountered.
The excavation forms part of Turkey’s “Legacy to the Future Project,” which supports archaeological excavation and preservation across the country. The discovery, which Ersoy predicted would resonate widely within the scientific community, “opens the door to new questions about the earliest periods of human history.”
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