28 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists unearthed the earliest known evidence of body perforation in skeletons dating back 11,000 years at the Boncuklu Tarla in Türkiye

Archaeologists have unearthed the earliest known evidence of body perforation in skeletons dating back 11,000 years at the Boncuklu Tarla excavation site in southeastern Türkiye.

Furthermore, analysis reveals that only adults had body piercings, indicating that the prehistoric custom might have been a ritual associated with coming-of-age ritual.

The findings, which date back to around 11,000 BC, shed new light on early sedentary communities’ body modification practices and call into question existing narratives about their origins in South-west Asia.

A team from Ankara University unearthed more than 100 ornaments buried in the graves of 11 thousand-year-old individuals during excavations carried out in Boncuklu Tarla between 2012 and 2017.

The ornaments were discovered in situ next to the ears and chins of the skeletal remains, and are mostly made from limestone, obsidian, chlorite, copper, or river pebbles. The variety of the ornaments suggests that they were designed for use in both ear and lower lip piercings known as labrets.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



A team from Ankara University has unearthed more than 100 ornaments that were buried in the graves of 11,000-year-old individuals at the Boncuklu Tarla archaeological site in Türkiye.
A team from Ankara University has unearthed more than 100 ornaments that were buried in the graves of 11,000-year-old individuals at the Boncuklu Tarla archaeological site in Türkiye.

This is corroborated by a skeletal analysis of the remains, which shows wear patterns on the lower incisors that match examples of labret wear in various cultures both historically and currently.

Further examination revealed that both males and females had piercings, but they were only worn by adults. None of the child burials at the site contained any evidence of these ornaments.

This suggests that piercings were not only aesthetic but also had social significance, the researchers said, adding that they are likely to have acted as a rite of passage, signifying a person reaching maturity.

Emma Louise Baysal,  Associate Professor of Prehistory at Ankara University, a leading expert on Neolithic personal ornamentation, emphasizes the significance of these findings: The discovery of labrets and ear ornaments in situ at Boncuklu Tarla provides the earliest contextual evidence for the use of body augmentation requiring perforation of bodily tissue in South-west Asia. This challenges existing narratives that place initial engagement with body perforation practices around the middle of the seventh millennium BC.

Of the ornaments found, 85 are complete.
Of the ornaments found, 85 are complete.

These discoveries provide the first indication as to the purpose for which the earliest piercings were made and worn.

Labrets and ear ornaments were widely used in parts of southwest Asia during the early Neolithic period. Although some examples have been found in western Anatolia and the Aegean, there is no evidence for their use in the neolithic regions of central Anatolia.

The research team at Boncuklu Tarla, led by Dr Emma Louise Baysal, believes that this discovery will help clarify the terminology surrounding these artifacts and pave the way for a re-evaluation of existing South-West Asian Neolithic data.

These discoveries provide the first indication as to the purpose for which the earliest piercings were made and worn.
These discoveries provide the first indication as to the purpose for which the earliest piercings were made and worn.

Dr. Baysal said: ‘It shows that traditions that are still very much part of our lives today were already developed at the important transitional time when people first started to settle in permanent villages in western Asia more than 10,000 years ago.’

‘They had very complex ornamentation practices involving beads, bracelets, and pendants, including a very highly developed symbolic world which was all expressed through the medium of the human body,’ Dr Baysal added.

Researchers hope to learn more about the choices made regarding raw materials and the connections between general ornamentation activities and traditions of corporal ornamentation as they continue their excavations at Boncuklu Tarla.

The findings were published in the journal Antiquity.

https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.28

Cover Image: Illustration of the hypothetical use of labrets and ear ornaments found at Boncuklu Tarla. Credit: Ergül Kodaş, Emma L Baysal et al. / Antiquity

Related Articles

Archaeologists Uncover Rare Trojan War-Era Armor from 1200 BCE in Czechia

22 July 2025

22 July 2025

A remarkable archaeological discovery in South Moravia has brought new insights into Bronze Age Europe and its warrior elites. The...

Ancient Arabic temple art depicts early camel hybrids

29 January 2022

29 January 2022

Evidence of early camel hybrids of dromedary and Bactrian camels has been uncovered by archaeologists who were working to restore...

Pendants and beads reveal nine European Cultures living across the continent 30,000 years ago

1 February 2024

1 February 2024

In a new study, researchers have constructed a continent-wide database of personal ornaments worn by Europeans 34,000-24,000 years ago, a...

Bronze Age Settlement and Neolithic Relics Found at Skaņkalne Hillfort in Latvia

9 August 2025

9 August 2025

Archaeologists have uncovered remarkable evidence of ancient human habitation during the latest excavations at Skaņkalne Hillfort, offering fresh insights into...

Scandinavia’s Oldest Identified Ship Burial in Trøndelag “Rewrites History”

14 November 2023

14 November 2023

In Leka, a municipality in Norway’s Trøndelag county, archaeologists have uncovered Scandinavia’s oldest identified ship burial, dating back to around...

A Polish-Croatian team discovered Ancient Roman Temple under a Croatian 18th Century church

24 November 2022

24 November 2022

Under an 18th-century church, the Church of St. Daniel in Danilo near Sibenik, Croatia, the foundations of an ancient Roman...

Intricate Design Revealed on 1100-Year-Old Gold-Inlaid Ritual Spear from Japan’s Island of the Gods

13 June 2025

13 June 2025

A recent archaeological breakthrough on Japan’s sacred Okinoshima Island has unveiled an ornately decorated iron spear from the late Kofun...

Archaeologists found three large shipwrecks, 139 Viking Graves, and a ship-shaped mound in Sweden

21 October 2024

21 October 2024

Exciting discoveries in Sweden! Archaeologists were preparing to investigate a Stone Age settlement outside Varberg. But they came across a...

Archaeological settlements dating back 3000 years found in Qurayat, Oman

2 October 2022

2 October 2022

Archaeological research in Oman’s Qurayat Province has revealed numerous archaeological and historical settlements, some dating back more than 3,000 years...

Türkiye’s Neolithic Settlement Çayönü Hill Discovered New Tombs from Early Bronze Age

4 September 2023

4 September 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed 5 more tombs dating to the Early Bronze Age during the recent excavations on Çayönü Hill in...

The Longest Greek Papyrus from the Judean Desert Sheds Light on a Pivotal Roman Court Case

31 January 2025

31 January 2025

New research by a group of Austrian and Israeli scholars has finally deciphered a 1,900-year-old scroll describing a tense court...

Archaeologists unearth hidden tunnels under the 3,000-year-old temple complex

6 June 2022

6 June 2022

Archaeologists have discovered a system of hidden tunnels beneath the 3,000-year-old Chavín de Huántar temple complex in the Ancash Region...

The oldest meerschaum artifact found in Anatolia; of Çavlum Seal

18 July 2021

18 July 2021

The stamp seal unearthed during the rescue excavations of Çavlum Village on the Eskişehir Alpu Plain is the oldest meerschaum...

Archaeologists Uncover Extensive Ancient Irrigation Network in Eridu, the World’s First City

8 March 2025

8 March 2025

Recent research by a multidisciplinary team of archaeologists and geologists has revealed that the Eridu region of southern Mesopotamia, inhabited...

3,000-Year-Old Iron Age Statuette Discovered in Italian Lake, With Fingerprints of Maker

17 August 2024

17 August 2024

During work in Lake Bolsena, a volcanic lake in central Italy, at the submerged archaeological site of Gran Carro, a ...