According to associated Prof. Semih Guneri, various archeological and cultural findings prove that Turks had come to Anatolia around 2000s BCE. Prof. Guneri and his team recently unearthed artifacts in excavations in Turkey's eastern provinces of Erzurum and Hakkari. According to experts, steles discovered by Associated Prof. Veli Sevin in Hakkari will shed light on the question of 'When did Turks first come to Anatolia?'. Experts started to discuss this matter when a statue head which was sculpted around 2000 BCE was unearthed in Bulamac Tumulus in Pasinler town of Erzurum under a project to reveal Turkish Culture's Archeological Resources in Central Asia (OTAK).
     Associated Prof. Semih Guneri, the chairman of the Eurasia Archeological Studies Association, said that OTAK project had been conducted together with scientists from Mongolia and Russian Federation and under the project, they focused on some motifs engraved on Hakkari steles and they compared them with motifs found in Eurasia.
     ''Some details on steles are compared with the motifs in compositions on obelisks and rock paintings belonged to Turks and Pro-Turks in whole Eurasia,'' he said. ''Especially the motif of 'a pot in hand' is seen on statues belonged to Gokturk era. Also the scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences St. Petersburg Material Culture History Institute, found it interesting that some details on the Hakkari steles are very similar to the Turkish art style. Besides, our Russian partners say that they have not seen such steles before with such details. We will soon release the results of our project which we initiated in February,'' he said.
     Guneri stressed that the figure which shows warriors ''holding pots'' engraved on the Hakkari steles, was a very common figure during the Gokturk era. ''As our Russian counterparts agree that weapon models definitely point to 2000 BCE. Holding pots was about the 'milk thrower', a Shamanistic tradition that dates back to 3000 BCE, particularly among Turks in the Altay region. Peculiarities of weapons on the Hakkari steles and the motif of 'holding pots' on same steles are the cultural elements which connect the Bronze Age to the Gokturks,'' he said. ''Besides, details on the statue head belonged to the Bronze Age, which was unearthed in the Bulamac Tumulus reflect the characteristics of the Gokturk era. These findings prove that Turks were in Anatolia in 2000s BCE''

Source: Turkish Press (27 August 2004)