Posted on 01/18/2007 1:56:25 PM PST by blam
Unique rock paintings reveal traces of prehistoric human settlement in Anatolia
Thursday, January 18, 2007
ANKARA – Turkish Daily News
On the shores of Lake Bafa in southwest Turkey, prehistoric rock paintings found on Mt. Latmos in the Five Fingers Mountains have been classified as unique anthropological works because of their use of language and social themes.
Archaeologist Annelise Peschlow has been conducting a survey of the area, the ancient city of Miletusare, since 1974 as part of the Latmos Project to find early traces of human settlements in the area. The city's evolution extended from prehistoric times to the Ottoman era. She found the first rock paintings in 1994.
According to her, the rock paintings found on Mt. Latmos were a significant discovery because they provided unique insight into the prehistoric culture of Anatolia.
“There are numerous rock paintings in the world. However, those in Mt. Latmos are unique in terms of their language and theme. The rock paintings discovered in Western Europe featured mainly animal figures as well as war and hunting scenes whereas the representation of family and mother-child figures are the principal motives in the rock paintings found on Mt. Latmos. There are no hunting scenes or scenes from nomadic life here. They also don't focus on the individual but show man in a social context, emphasizing social life.”
“I found the paintings featured on the rocks of Mt. Latmos to be unique piece of artwork when I compared them to those found in western Europe,” Peschlow said in a Tuesday press conference promoting the exhibition titled “Prehistoric Rock Paintings” which will open on Wednesday in the State Painting and Sculpture Museum in Ankara.
Sponsored by the Berlin-based German Archaeology Institute and Koç Holding, the exhibition, which is the culmination of five years of work, marks the beginning of the German term presidency of the European Union and features over 80 rock paintings as well as graphical works.
Peschlow said so far they had found 170 rock paintings dating back to 6,000 B.C. in the region, which also offered a wide array of traces of human settlements which began in prehistoric times and continue through the Middle Ages in western Anatolia.
National park project:
Stating that they also found ornaments and symbols during the survey, she said: “The images belonged to the settled communities who used to live in caves at the time. They also shed light on the conceptual and imaginary world of the prehistoric communities living in Anatolia and they are the first to give testimony to prehistoric human settlement in western Anatolia.”
“The most common figure in the paintings is the figure of Mt. Latmos. There is an important link between the images and Mt. Latmos, which is a volcanic formation. People reflected the volcanic change of the mountain into the rock paintings in which they sometimes depicted the mountain as a dragon or a sacred place. The mountain signified a holy place of worship for them because they used to believe that the changes were the will of a mountain god. That's why the mountain is an important motif in their paintings,” she noted.
Peschlow is now trying to convert the Five Fingers Mountains, one of the richest regions of Turkey in terms of archaeological remains, into a National Park.
“It is not only because I am in love with the region,” she said, adding: “The natural landscape of Mt. Latmos is unique in the world and there is no protection. The area should be preserved and utilized for tourism. Tourists are bored of sun and sea holidays in Turkey and it is an ideal site for cultural tourism. The site can be a great source of income for Turkey and the locals can be the natural protectors of the area.”
Peschlow also officially applied to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the inclusion of the Five Fingers Mountains on UNESCO's World Heritage List but “this is not enough,” she says.
The exhibit, which will be open until Feb.25, ran in Germany, Italy and Istanbul where visitors showed great interest and will move to the Muðla Archaeology Museum for a permanent display starting May 25
GGG Ping.
Which inevitably led to the first Critic.
I wish I could get paint that durable for my house!
;^)
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Lost city of Pteria found in Yozgat
Turkish Daily News | Tuesday, January 9, 2007 | unattributed
Posted on 01/10/2007 1:48:25 PM EST by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1765403/posts
Most interesting. I wish the photo was a bit clearer.
...prehistoric rock paintings... classified as unique anthropological works because of their use of language...That *would* pretty much do it, I think. ;')
How can a record of human life depicted with language and symbols and art be "prehistoric"? - I would think they are an actual historic record.
Sorry but my Turkish translator was busy...
LATMOS DAÐLARINDAN TARÝH ÖNCESÝ KAYA RESÝMLERÝ FOTOÐRAF SERGÝSÝ
4 Kasým 2006 tarihinde Sadberk Haným Müzesi -Sevgi Gönül Binasý’nýn giriþ ve 1. katýnda açýlan ve Müzenin 2006 dönemi ikinci etkinliðini oluþturan serginin konusunu, antik çaðda Latmos olarak bilinen Beþparmak Daðlarý'nda 1994 yýlýnda yapýlan arkeolojik yüzey araþtýrmalarý sýrasýnda ilk defa keþfedilen kaya resimleri oluþturmaktadýr. Sergi yirmi yýldýr Latmos Projesi’nin baþkanlýðýný yürüten Dr. Annelise Peschlow ve Ýstanbul Alman Arkeoloji Enstitüsü iþbirliði ile hazýrlanmýþtýr.
Gesundheit!
As always, nice find. My Turkish is rusty, but I think the caption on that top shot is showing where the new mosque is going up. ;')
Yeah, that's what I was gettin' at. Maybe if this had been found in Polynesia and depicted hula or something...
Veilen Dank. Allas Klae.
oops Klae= KLar
Prehistoric Rock Paintings in Latmos (Besparmak) Mountains- Bafa Lake
The Latmos Mountains in the hinterland of the westcoast of Turkey near Milet were one of the holy mountains of Asia Minor. On his peak, which - because of his rounded form- is called in Turkey Tekerlekdag (wheelmountain), has probably from neolithic times on been worshipped the god of weather and rain of Asia Minor. This tradition in cult lasted till the byzantine Middle Ages. In 1994 the first rockpictures of western Asia Minor have been found in this region. Till now the number reaches 170. They spread over a plateau, which is lying before the main mountain range in the west,with a focal point on the terrain between Sögütözü and the Karadere.
The pictures can be found at the faces of little caves and overhangs, mostly near to springs and brooks. In the nearer and farer surroundings no other traces of pre-historic settlements have been found. The constitution of the paintings - only in red color - is very different. For about the half of them one can make statemants about the subjects, the others remain only in little parts of the paintings, partially only in little traces of the color.
In nearly all of the representations humans are shown- hunters and animals and other figures, these paintings have a distinctive style with heads depicted as a flattened 'M'.
*Source: The prehistoric rockpaintings of the Latmos (Besparmak) /Turkey Anneliese Peschlow-Bindokat
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Middle_East/Turkey/photo553971.htm
The writing almost looks like little musical notes, doesn't it.
doesn't look decorative...more like 'shorthand' - could be some kind of hunting inventory...
Hunting inventory, there's a thought. Like tick marks on the wall.
I think I hit the mother-lode.
THE MAP OF ARMENIAN ROCK ART CARVING.
http://www.iatp.am/ara/
The last bit of it is the longest rest in musical history. ;')
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