Human Shaped Stone Sculptures and Balbals Belonging to Early Period Turkish Culture in Ormanlı Village of Şenkaya District of Erzurum Cover Image

Erzurum’un Şenkaya İlçesine Bağlı Ormanlı Köyünde Bulunan Erken Dönem Türk Kültürüne Ait İnsan Biçimli Taş Heykeller ve Balballar
Human Shaped Stone Sculptures and Balbals Belonging to Early Period Turkish Culture in Ormanlı Village of Şenkaya District of Erzurum

Author(s): Yavuz GÜNAŞDI, Ahmet Cüneydi HAS, Burak BİNGÖL
Subject(s): History, Social Sciences, Archaeology, Cultural history, Ethnohistory, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Migration Studies, Identity of Collectives
Published by: Gazi Akademik Bakış
Keywords: Human Shaped Stone Sculptures; Balbals; Şenkaya Ormanlı Village; Cimmerians and Scythians; Turkish Traces;

Summary/Abstract: The Eastern Anatolia Region has been the first stop for the tribes coming to Anatolia from Eurasia. The wide plateaus and water resources in the region, which is a mountainous geography, have made this region a center of attraction for equestrian nomadic cultures that live on sheep and goats since ancient times. Although the Caspian Sea was a natural obstacle for these tribes who wanted to enter Anatolia from Central Asia, these cultures entered Anatolia using the Caucasus in the north and the Zagros in the south. These cultures left behind many cultural elements such as kurgans-graves, stamps-heaps, runic writings, rock paintings, toponyms and stone statues-balbals. In the article, Şenkaya Stone statues and balbals, which are among these elements, were examined. Stone sculptures were depicted and their motifs were evaluated, and then they were dated by comparing them with the Anatolian and Eurasian stone sculpture tradition.

  • Issue Year: 16/2022
  • Issue No: 31
  • Page Range: 327-344
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Turkish