MOTIF RECORD · 6 OBJECT RECORDS · CHECKED 2026-10-22

Bird imagery at Göbekli Tepe and Taş Tepeler

Bird depictions include animals identified as cranes, birds of uncertain species and human–bird composite sculptures. Species labels stay attributed.

Interpretive note: Descriptions retain the wording and uncertainty of the cited sources; a motif tag records a described depiction, not an agreed meaning. Sources: Of animals and a headless man: Göbekli Tepe, Pillar 43 2016 Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025 The Göbekli Tepe “Totem Pole” 2017 ‘The Earliest 3D Story’: Necmi Karul on Karahantepe’s Latest Discoveries 2025 The passage of matter: Transformations of objects and ritual meanings in the Neolithic of the Near East 2013

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Göbekli Tepe · pillar · CHECKED 2026-10-22

Pillar 43 (Vulture Stone)

Enclosure D · PPNA, Layer III; Enclosure D belongs to the early monumental phase

Record sources: Of animals and a headless man: Göbekli Tepe, Pillar 43 Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H The role of cult and feasting in the emergence of Neolithic communities

Broad stone face of Pillar 43 with animal reliefs and geometric carvings, surrounded by excavated masonry. — Pillar 43 (Vulture Stone): Pillar 43, with carved reliefs, in Enclosure D.Photo: Guérin Nicolas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences

Depiction in cited source: A second bird may be an ibis or young vulture; another bird’s head is described on the shaft. Of animals and a headless man: Göbekli Tepe, Pillar 43 2016

Identification note: The second bird’s species is uncertain.

Interpretations recorded for this object

Scholarly debate

The imagery is best read in relation to death and mortuary practices at Göbekli Tepe; the precise meaning of the signs remains unresolved.

By Excavation team members, including Notroff et al. · More than a vulture: a response to Sweatman and Tsikritsis Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H

Disputed — fringe claim

The animals encode constellations and a comet impact date.

By Sweatman and Tsikritsis · Decoding Göbekli Tepe with archaeoastronomy: What does the fox say?

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Göbekli Tepe · pillar · CHECKED 2026-10-22

Pillar 2

Enclosure A · PPNA, Layer III

Record sources: Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H

Pillar 2

No licensed photograph of this object is in the image register.

Depiction in cited source: A long-legged bird is identified as a crane in published descriptions. Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025

Identification note: The crane identification follows the cited published description.

Interpretations recorded for this object

Scholarly debate

The reliefs are part of the repeated animal imagery on the enclosure pillars; their precise symbolic meanings are unknown.

By Excavation publications · Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research

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Göbekli Tepe · statue · CHECKED 2026-10-22

Totem-like sculpture

Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum · PPNB, Layer II (reported context)

Record sources: Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum (visitor and collection page)The Göbekli Tepe “Totem Pole”The Göbekli Tepe “Totem Pole”: A First Discussion of an Autumn 2010 Discovery

Upright stone sculpture with stacked figures on a museum plinth, casting a shadow on the wall. — Totem-like sculpture: A carved, multi-figure sculpture from Göbekli Tepe displayed in the museum.Photo: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto credits & licences

Depiction in cited source: A bird form is described at the top of the composite sculpture. The Göbekli Tepe “Totem Pole” 2017

Interpretations recorded for this object

Scholarly debate

The sculpture may present a linked or nested group of human figures, but its composition does not establish a specific narrative.

By Klaus Schmidt and later excavation literature · The Göbekli Tepe “Totem Pole”The Göbekli Tepe “Totem Pole”: A First Discussion of an Autumn 2010 Discovery

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Karahan Tepe · object · CHECKED 2026-10-22

Nested stone vessel with fox, vulture and wild boar figures

Recovered in a nested vessel assemblage; context reported from excavations but awaiting full excavation publication. · Neolithic; an object-specific calibrated date has not been published.

Record sources: ‘The Earliest 3D Story’: Necmi Karul on Karahantepe’s Latest Discoveries Top 10 Discoveries of 2025: Tales from the Neolithic

Nested stone vessel with fox, vulture and wild boar figures

No licensed photograph of this object is in the image register.

Depiction in cited source: The vessel figures are identified by excavation director Necmi Karul as including a vulture. ‘The Earliest 3D Story’: Necmi Karul on Karahantepe’s Latest Discoveries 2025

Interpretations recorded for this object

Speculation

Karul described the arrangement as an intentional three-dimensional narrative. No specific story has been deciphered, and this remains a field interpretation.

By Necmi Karul, in a 2025 interview and field reporting · ‘The Earliest 3D Story’: Necmi Karul on Karahantepe’s Latest Discoveries Top 10 Discoveries of 2025: Tales from the Neolithic

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Nevalı Çori · statue · CHECKED 2026-10-22