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Türkiye's Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced the discovery of an 11,000-year-old composite statue depicting a new artistic style. The artifact was unearthed during the 2026 excavation season at the ancient site of Karahantepe as part of the government’s Heritage for the Future Project.
Sharing the news on social media, Ersoy noted that the 70-centimeter-tall sculpture depicts a human figure seated on the back of a leopard. It was found resting exactly where it was left in antiquity, positioned along a bench inside a stone-paved structure measuring three meters in diameter.
Annual excavations at Karahantepe have consistently yielded major historical breakthroughs since research at the Neolithic site began in 2019.
According to Ersoy, the statue depicts a human sitting on the back of a leopard. The piece combines a human and animal figure in the same composition, a feature noted as distinctive among finds from the site.
He said the artifact was found on a bench extending along the wall of a structure with a floor covered in flat stones, measuring 3 meters in diameter.
Ersoy added that he believes the discovery opens the door to new questions about the earliest periods of human history and will resonate widely in the scientific world.
He also thanked the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, the excavation team, scientists, and all colleagues who worked in the field.
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