ERZURUM - Various archeological and cultural findings prove that Turks had come to Anatolia around 2000s B.C., Associated Prof. Semih Guneri said on Friday. Prof. Guneri and his team recently unearthed artifacts in excavations in Turkey`s eastern provinces of Erzurum and Hakkari.
According to experts, steles discovered by Associated Prof. Veli Sevin in Hakkari in the past will shed light on the question of ``When did Turks first come to Anatolia?``. Experts started to discuss this matter when a statue head which was sculpted around 2000s B.C. and was unearthed in Bulamac Tumulus in Pasinler town of Erzurum under a project to reveal Turkish Culture`s Archeological Resources in Central Asia (OTAK), carried the traces of Turkish culture.
Associated Prof. Semih Guneri, the chairman of the Eurasia Archeological Studies Association, said that OTAK project had been conducted together with scientists from Mongolia and Russian Federation and under the project, they focused on some motifs engraved on Hakkari steles and they compared them with motifs found in Eurasia.
``Some details on steles are compared with the motifs in compositions on obelisks and rock paintings belonged to Turks and Pro-Turks in whole Eurasia,`` he said.
``Especially the motif of `a pot in hand` is seen on statues belonged to Gokturk era. Also the scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences St. Petersburg Material Culture History Institute with whom we have been carrying out this project together, found it interesting that some details on the Hakkari steles are very similar to the Turkish art style. Besides, our Russian partners say that they have not seen such steles before with such details. We will soon release the results of our project which we initiated in February,`` he said.
Guneri stressed that the figure which shows warriors ``holding pots`` engraved on the Hakkari steles, belonged to 2000s B.C. was a very common figure during the Gokturk era. ``As our Russian counterparts agree that weapon models definitely point to 2000s B.C.. Holding pots was about the `milk thrower`, a Shamanistic tradition that had roots in 3000s B.C. particularly among Turks in the Altay region. Peculiarities of weapons on the Hakkari steles and the motif of `holding pots` on same steles are the cultural elements which connect the Bronze Age to the Gokturks,`` he said.
``Besides, details on the statue head belonged to the Bronze Age, which was unearthed in the Bulamac Tumulus reflect the characteristics of the Gokturk era. This situation which actually seems like a contradiction can be undoubtedly explained by cultural continuity. Can there be such a coincidence?`` he said.
The Associated Prof. added, ``these findings prove that Turks were in Anatolia in 2000s B.C.``
(MS-ULG) 27.08.2004