The first World Neolithic Congress kicked off on Monday in the southeastern Turkish city of Sanliurfa, attracting nearly a thousand scholars from 64 countries.
The event will explore a wide range of topics related to the Neolithic era, including traditional theories about settled lifestyles, social hierarchies, identities, beliefs, and environmental factors.
The discussions will also cover studies in bioarchaeology, dating methods, physical anthropology, and geoarchaeology.
“We are honored to share traces of one of the most important milestones of human history, the Neolithic era, from the heart of Anatolia (the Asian part of Türkiye) with the world,” Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said at the opening of the event.
Organized under the auspices of the ministry in cooperation with Istanbul University and Harran University, the event will continue until Friday. ■