A visitor observes Neolithic artifacts from Çatalhöyük on display at the Konya Archaeological Museum.
A remarkable collection of 322 artifacts unearthed at the UNESCO-listed Neolithic settlement of Çatalhöyük, one of the world’s earliest known urban communities, will go on public display at the Konya Archaeology Museum beginning July 24.
Titled “Çatalhöyük’s Hidden Heritage,” the exhibition brings together objects uncovered during archaeological excavations that began in 1961 and continue today at the site in central Türkiye’s Konya province. The discoveries shed new light on one of humanity’s earliest large-scale settlements, where an estimated 8,000 people once lived during the Neolithic period.
The exhibition features an extensive selection of everyday tools, jewelry, figurines, sculptures and ceremonial objects that illustrate the community’s sophisticated social structure, craftsmanship and burial traditions.
Among the highlights are several artifacts being exhibited for the first time. One of the most striking is the “Obsidian-Eyed Head,” a painted plaster sculpture inlaid with obsidian. Viewed from the front, it resembles the face of a feline or bear, while its profile evokes human features, making it one of the exhibition’s most enigmatic pieces.
Another debut is a marble mace head discovered above the right shoulder of an adult male buried at the site. Archaeologists believe such mace heads symbolized power and social status rather than serving as practical weapons, as they show no evidence of use and were likely placed in graves as funerary offerings.
Also on display for the first time is a rare double-faced ceramic vessel bearing human faces on opposite sides. Researchers believe the object served a ritual or symbolic purpose.
One of the exhibition’s most unusual discoveries reveals traces of woven baskets used in Neolithic infant burials. Although the organic baskets themselves decomposed over millennia, impressions preserved in the soil testify to the community’s advanced basket-weaving techniques using plant fibers and their careful burial practices.
The collection also highlights an array of ornaments and personal accessories used by Çatalhöyük’s ancient inhabitants.
Visitors will encounter necklaces crafted from snake vertebrae, wild boar skull fragments, seashells and deer teeth, alongside marble bracelets, bone hairpins, weaving tools, knives fitted with bone handles and the skeleton of an adult dating to around 6300 B.C.
Another centerpiece is a Neolithic figurine recently repatriated to Türkiye from the United States, underscoring ongoing international efforts to recover and preserve the country’s archaeological heritage.
Together, the artifacts offer an intimate portrait of a community that flourished millennia before written history, providing visitors with a rare opportunity to explore the hidden legacy of one of the most influential archaeological sites in human history.
