KAYSERI, Turkey
Nearly 8 million years ago, five elephant species, known as the ancestor of elephants, lived in the now central Turkey, according to an archeology expert.
Oksan Basoglu, a professor of archeology at Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University, who is heading excavations, told Anadolu Agency that a wide variety of fossils such as that of giraffes, deer and antelopes, as well as five different species of elephants, were found.
Emphasizing that the fossils were determined to date back approximately 7.5-8 million years, as a result of evaluations, Basoglu said the studies on the subject continue.
Fossil salvage excavations, initiated by the metropolitan municipality in the Kayseri province in 2017, are carried out on the Yamula Dam's shore on the Kizilirmak River, when seasonal conditions permit.
The fossils belonging to various animals found in excavations are carefully cleaned up and kept with care by archeology experts at the Kayseri Science Center.
Basoglu underlined that the most interesting piece among those found was a complete elephant skull fossil belonging to Choerolophodon Pentelici, known as elephants' ancestor.
"This is the only sample fully uncovered. The species is also significant. It's a rare species in the world," he said.
