THE PLACE OF THE OWL-FACED IDOLS IN ANATOLIA WITH REFERENCE TO KULLUOBA EXAMPLES

Abstract

Anthropomorphic figurines, observed in the world since the Upper Palaeolithic, and their earliest appearance in Anatolia is in the Neolithic. Figurines shaped in different forms and made of various raw materials (baked clay, stone, bone, metal etc.), and idols, which start to be seen from the Early/Middle Chalcolithic, are among the find groups that could provide information about the beliefs, relationship networks, positions within the socio-economic organisation, and art of the human communities to which they belong. The differences seen among the idols, the types of which varied between geographical areas, stem from regional beliefs and understanding of art. The increase in the settlements excavated in Anatolia after the earlier excavations of Troy has furthermore enabled the recovery of called 'Owl-Faced Idols', in other regions of Anatolia. In Kulluoba, located in the Seyitgazi District of Eskisehir Province, seven owl-faced idols were found as a result of excavations carried out since 1996. As in Troy and Seyitomer, the fact that the number of idols recovered in Kulluoba is larger than in other settlements makes its chrono-typological development more definable. In the light of the Kulluoba examples, evaluated here for the first time, this article aims to determine the origin and development of owl-faced idols in Anatolia.