A Short Note on a New Figurine Type from Göbekli Tepe

During the 2012 autumn excavation season at Göbekli

Tepe, a small figurine (5,1 x 2,3 x 2,7 cm) was handed in as a surface ind from the north-western hilltop of the tell (Fig. 1). The motif of the figurine is an ithyphallic person sitting with legs dragged toward his body on an unidentifiable object. He is looking up and grasping his legs. Between the legs, a large erect phallus is depicted (Fig. 2), while a quadruped animal is sitting on the person ́s left shoulder (Fig. 3). As one half of the figurine has a thick layer of sinter, the question whether there originally was another animal on the other shoulder remains open. The animal species cannot be determined with security either, but the general form is consistent with depictions of large wildcats or bears at Göbekli Tepe (e.g. Schmidt 1999: 9-10, nr. A8). The material of the sculpture is unusual for the site on the other hand. Nearly all sculptures and figurines so far known from Göbekli Tepe were made from local limestone. The new figurine is most likely made from nephrite2. The figurine is perforated crosswise in its lower part. A functional interpretation for this detail is hard to give as one perforation would have suited to wear it as a pendant for example. Maybe the figurine was meant to be mixed to a support.