11,000-year-old human-on-leopard statue unearthed at Karahantepe, Turkey

Turkish culture minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced on 28 August 2026 the discovery of a 70-cm limestone statue at Karahantepe, near Şanlıurfa, depicting a human seated on a leopard's back. UCLA professor emerita Elizabeth Carter told The Art Newspaper the pose has no documented parallel. Archaeologist Ergun Lafli said precise dating awaits further radiocarbon work.