Submitted by coldrum in 2007:
On the shores of Lake Bafa in southwest Turkey, prehistoric rock paintings found on Mt. Latmos in the Five Fingers Mountains have been classified as unique anthropological works because of their use of language and social themes.
Archaeologist Annelise Peschlow has been conducting a survey of the area, the ancient city of Miletusare, since 1974 as part of the Latmos Project to find early traces of human settlements in the area. The city's evolution extended from prehistoric times to the Ottoman era. She found the first rock paintings in 1994.
According to her, the rock paintings found on Mt. Latmos were a significant discovery because they provided unique insight into the prehistoric culture of Anatolia.
There are numerous rock paintings in the world. However, those in Mt. Latmos are unique in terms of their language and theme. The rock paintings discovered in Western Europe featured mainly animal figures as well as war and hunting scenes whereas the representation of family and mother-child figures are the principal motives in the rock paintings found on Mt. Latmos. There are no hunting scenes or scenes from nomadic life here. They also don't focus on the individual but show man in a social context, emphasizing social life.
I found the paintings featured on the rocks of Mt. Latmos to be unique piece of artwork when I compared them to those found in western Europe, Peschlow said in a Tuesday press conference promoting the exhibition titled Prehistoric Rock Paintings which will open on Wednesday in the State Painting and Sculpture Museum in Ankara.
Sponsored by the Berlin-based German Archaeology Institute and Koç Holding, the exhibition, which is the culmination of five years of work, marks the beginning of the German term presidency of the European Union and features over 80 rock paintings as well as graphical works.
Peschlow said so far they had found 170 rock paintings dating back to 6,000 B.C. in the region, which also offered a wide array of traces of human settlements which began in prehistoric times and continue through the Middle Ages in western Anatolia.
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Turkish Daily News.
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