Built community: Göbeklitepe, Taş Tepeler, and life 12,000 years ago

Humans became sedentary for the very first time around 12,000 years ago, at the beginning of the Holocene.

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  Luftbild von Karahantepe

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  Steingefäße, Platten und Klopfsteine in Fundlage in einem Küchenbereich in Karahantepe, 9400 – 8000 v. Chr.

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  Leopardstatue aus Karahantepe, 9400 – 8000 v. Chr.

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  Pfeilschaftglätter aus Göbeklitepe, 9500 – 7800 v. Chr.

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  Göbeklitepe, Gebäude C im Vordergrund und B im Hintergrund , 9500 – 7800 v. Chr.

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This point marked the beginning of an irreversible development that would ultimately force human societies to undergo a fundamental restructuring. In Upper Mesopotamia, the onset of this transformation process was manifested in several monumental sculptures from the last hunter-gatherer cultures of the Stone Age. Today, the oldest and most well-known of these sculptures are from the UNESCO World Heritage site of Göbekli Tepe in south-eastern Turkey, which is now locally referred to as the “ground zero of human history”.

However, recent research conducted in the surrounding region has since yielded astonishing new discoveries that have permanently altered our understanding of this development process. This special exhibition at the Vorderasiatisches Museum will address this important era in the evolution of human civilisation via a series of media installations that are faithful to the original and a selection of new finds that have never before been seen outside Turkey.

A special exhibition of the Vorderasiatisches Museum – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin in collaboration with Istanbul University and the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum

Runtime: Fri, 06/02/2026 to Sun, 19/07/2026

Price info: Built. Community

Price: €14.00

Reduced price: €7.00

Takes place here:

• James-Simon-Galerie

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