The Paşalar fossil site, located in the Mustafakemalpaşa district of Bursa, is a scientifically significant paleontological site that provides important data on Anatolia’s terrestrial mammal fauna dating back approximately 15 million years. The fossil site was first discovered incidentally between 1965 and 1969 during forest road works as part of the Turkey Neogene Lignite Studies.
Scientific excavations began in 1983 with the permission of the Ministry of Culture, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Berna Alpagut, a faculty member of the Department of Paleoanthropology at Ankara University, Faculty of Language, History, and Geography.
Since 2020, the excavations have been conducted with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and under the scientific leadership of Asst. Prof. Dr. Ayşegül Şarbak from Hitit University’s Department of Anthropology. The excavations are carried out with an interdisciplinary approach, involving researchers and students from various universities.
Prof. Dr. Mustafa Tolga Çırak, Head of the Department of Anthropology at Hitit University, has also visited the excavation site. Most of the work is carried out by undergraduate and graduate students from the Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, Hitit University, providing them with a valuable opportunity to apply their knowledge in practice and gain hands-on field experience.
