Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A-D, F and H. With contributions by Laura Dietrich, Tilman Müller, Jens Notroff,Joris Peters, Nadja Pöllath, Julia Wagner and Sebastian Walter

Ricardo Eichmann; Joris Peters; Lee Clare; Oliver Dietrich; Klaus Schmidt; Laura Dietrich; Moritz Kinzel; Tilman Müller; Jens Notroff; Joris Peters; Nadja Pöllath; Julia Wagner; Sebastian Walter

doi:10.34780/j669-7s9d

Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A-D, F and H. With contributions by Laura Dietrich, Tilman Müller, Jens Notroff,Joris Peters, Nadja Pöllath, Julia Wagner and Sebastian Walter

https://doi.org/10.34780/j669-7s9d

Authors

List of Contributors

Ricardo Eichmann [Volume editor]
Joris Peters [Volume editor]
Lee Clare [Chapter Author] https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8187-2078 Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Oliver Dietrich [Author] https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7013-3317 Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt: Halle
Klaus Schmidt † [Author]
Laura Dietrich [Chapter Author] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7570-0576 Martin Luther Universität Halle
Moritz Kinzel [Chapter Author] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5836-9797 Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Tilman Müller [Chapter Author] Hochschule Karlsruhe
Jens Notroff [Chapter Author] https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0916-8400 Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Joris Peters [Chapter Author] https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0894-2628 Ludwig Maximilians Universität München
Nadja Pöllath [Chapter Author] https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8714-467X Ludwig Maximilians Universität München
Julia Wagner [Chapter Author]
Sebastian Walter [Chapter Author] https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5064-2405 Deutsches Archäologisches Institut

Synopsis

This scholarly volume offers the first comprehensive presentation of the imagery carved on the T-shaped pillars from the monumental special-purpose buildings of the Early Neolithic UNESCO World Heritage Site of Göbekli Tepe in present-day south-eastern Türkiye uncovered between 1995 and 2023. These monolithic pillars are examined not only as striking architectural elements but as carriers of an extensive visual repertoire rendered in high and low relief.

Set within their archaeological and architectural settings, the reliefs open new perspectives on the symbolic worlds, belief systems, and narrative traditions of Early Holocene hunter-gatherer communities in Upper Mesopotamia. For this publication, every carved motif has been systematically re-examined, allowing for revised identifications of animal taxa, updated quantitative assessments, and refined interpretations.

With the complete presentation of the reliefs and their critical reanalysis, the book advances new readings of Neolithic imagery and its possible meanings. As such, it provides an essential reference for researchers interested in early monumentality, symbolic communication, and the challenges of interpreting a fragmented yet exceptionally rich archaeological record.

Keywords:

Göbekli Tepe, architecture, belief systems, hunter-foragers, Early Neolithic

Chapters

Editorial Archaeologica Euphratica

Lee Clare, Moritz Kinzel
Preface of volume editors

Ricardo Eichmann, Joris Peters
1 Introduction
1.1 The site

Oliver Dietrich
1.2 Update on the stratigraphy

Jens Notroff
1.3 Past research on the pillars and their reliefs

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
2 The image carriers and the identification of image contents
2.1 Method, scope, and limits of interpretation

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
2.2 The T-shaped pillars: Anthropomorphic representations or anthropomorphised image carriers?

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
2.3 Taxonomic, anatomical, and ethological assessments of the depicted vertebrates

Joris Peters, Nadja Pöllath
2.4 Arthropods

Sebastian Walter
2.5 Representation of plants and landscapes

Laura Dietrich
2.6 Representation of architecture

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
2.7 ›Small signs‹

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
2.8 Anthropomorphic depictions

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
3 The pillars in context

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
3.1 Building A

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
3.2 Building B

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
3.3 Building C

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
3.4 Building D

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
3.5 Building F

Oliver Dietrich, Julia Wagner
3.6 Building H

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
3.7 Decorated pillar fragments

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
4 Towards a contextualised interpretation

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
4.1 Location, position, and categorization of images

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
4.2 Image choice and layout

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
4.3 Interpretation 1: Animistic/ shamanistic ontologies, transient humananimal identities , tension-aggressiondeath- transformation

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
4.4 Interpretation 2: Territoriality – Ancestor worship

Joris Peters, Nadja Pöllath
4.5 Concluding remarks

Oliver Dietrich, Klaus Schmidt †
5 Scanning and 3D-modelling of the T-pillars at Göbekli Tepe

Tilman Müller