Ancient burials shed light on Göbeklitepe’s human remains
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Archaeologists in southeastern Türkiye uncovered two ancient burial sites that may explain why scattered human bones have puzzled researchers at Göbeklitepe for decades.
Since 1995, excavations at the 10,000-year-old site revealed nearly 1,000 bone fragments, prompting questions about whether the remains were part of rituals or dispersed by natural events. Julia Gresky of Georg-August University in Germany and Lee Clare of the German Archaeological Institute in Türkiye examined the newly discovered burials for signs of natural damage.
One grave held a young woman resting on stones, while the other contained the remains of at least three people whose bones had been deliberately rearranged. Researchers found that the bones from these burials showed similar wear and damage, fractures, rodent marks, and mineral crusts, as the scattered fragments found across Göbeklitepe. This evidence suggests that erosion and landslides likely moved bones from higher ground graves downhill into the site’s monumental buildings over time.
While the study authors propose this as a strong explanation, they acknowledge that ritual practices may have also contributed to the distribution of the remains.
