Gobekli Tepe - the world's first temple?

Evilsbane

Newspaper article on Gobekli Tepe

Smithsonian article

Official Website

This is the most fascinating thing I have read in quite a long time. In 1994, a shepherd in Turkey discovered an exposed section of a prehistoric site. Archaeologists from the German Archaeological Institute set to work straight away, and although the dig is still ongoing, they are saying it is possibly the most important archaeological find in history. It reveals a temple of sorts, with a subsequent settlement built around it. The carvings are quite ornate, one of which is apparently a sphinx (quite a long way from its much larger and more famous comrade in Egypt). So far, so interesting.

What is absolutely mind-numbing is that comparable sites such as Stonehenge are about 5,000 years old. Carbon dating places the temple at Gobekli Tepe between 11,000 and 13,000 years old. That's pre-agricutlure, pre-writing, pre-pottery, pre-everything. The original settlement would have been a community of hunter-gatherers, which arrowheads and other items found on-site confirm.

Then it gets more interesting. The geographical location is near Mt Karaca. In 2006, the Max Planck Institute for Breeding Research in Cologne has discovered that the genetically common ancestor of 68 contemporary types of cereal still grows as a wild plant on the slopes of Mount Karaca. Scholars suggest that the Neolithic revolution, i.e. the beginnings of grain cultivation, took place here. Some believe that mobile groups in the area were forced to cooperate with each other to protect early concentrations of wild cereals from wild animals (herds of gazelles and wild donkeys). This would have led to an early social organization of various groups in the area of Göbekli Tepe. Thus, according to Klaus Schmidt, the lead archaeologist on site, the Neolithic did not begin at a small scale in the form of individual instances of garden cultivation, but started immediately as a large scale social organisation ("a full-scale revolution").

Not only its large dimensions, but the side-by-side existence of multiple pillar shrines makes the complex unique. There are no comparable monumental complexes from its time. Nevalı Çori, a well-known Neolithic settlement also excavated by the German Archaeological Institute, and submerged by the Atatürk Dam since 1992, is 500 years later, its T-shaped pillars are considerably smaller, and its shrine was located inside a village; the roughly contemporary architecture at Jericho is devoid of artistic merit or large-scale sculpture; and Çatalhöyük, perhaps the most famous of all Neolithic villages, is 2,000 years later.

But there's more. The geographical location has also drawn comparison to the Garden of Eden, which is described in the Bible as being near four rivers - the Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris and the Euphrates. Gobekli Tepe is between all four. While scholars don't claim the existence of an Adam and Eve story, they do believe that the biblical story of Eden is based on an ancient oral tradition that relates a previous homeland. Gobekli Tepe, roughly translated, means 'Hill with a Belly' or 'Navel Mountain', suggesting the 'birth' of something here. In this context, Gobekli Tepe may symbolise prehistoric man's shame at having given up his carefree and innocent existence as a hunter gatherer in favour of the more stressful and demanding (though ultimately more secure) life of a farmer. This shame may stem from the fact that over-extensive farming had a negative impact of the environment, and today the site is located in a near-desert. Instead of having to leave Eden, early mankind's shame may be that Eden left them.

The story, unfortunately, doesn't stop there. The transition from one lifestyle to another appears to have a had a further negative impact on prehistoric man's psyche. Not far from the site, the earliest known instances of human sacrifice have also been discovered. Worth noting is the continuation of the Eden story, where after their banishment from the Garden, the children of Adam and Eve were Cain and Abel. The story goes on to say that, jealous of Abel's more bountiful offerings of lambs to God, Cain murdered his brother to usurp God's favour. In most historical instances of human sacrifice, the ritual is conducted to appease the Gods and is usually intensified during times of poor harvest because the people believe the Gods are displeased with previous offerings.

Finally, in the most mysterious twist, the site appears to have been intentionally buried roughly 10,000 years ago in what would have required a gigantic amount of effort. Archaeologists note that many of the pillars appear to have been damaged intentionally, though they resisted these attempts at destruction.

What's your take on this? It seems to me that this might be more important than the discovery of dinosaurs. If anyone knows anything more about it, let me know.