Stone as Synapse: T-Pillars, Exograms, and the Materialization of Memory at Taş Tepeler Sites

The monumental enclosures of the Taş Tepeler region feature standardized animal iconography that was deliberately sealed through reverential backfilling. Building on prior quantitative analyses of motif distribution and termination rituals, this paper applies Material Engagement Theory to interpret the T-pillars as active cognitive processors—external symbolic storage systems ("exograms") that materialized and structured ideological knowledge in a pre-literate society. A re-analysis of motif co-occurrence networks reveals a robust core-periphery structure, with persistent central nodes (foxes, snakes) serving as mnemonic "index keys" for associative recall. We propose that the act of enclosure sealing marks a deliberate transition from material dependence to internalized oral/mnemonic systems—akin to removing cognitive training wheels once the neural pathways are established. These findings position the Taş Tepeler monuments as early evidence of extended cognition, driving the symbolic abstraction prerequisite for the Neolithic transition.