Göbekli Tepe (archaeological site)
Göbekli Tepe is an ancient archaeological site located in Southeast Turkey, dating back to the Neolithic Era, around 11,500 to 12,000 years ago. Often considered the oldest known religious site in the world, it features massive limestone pillars arranged in circles, some towering up to 18 feet tall and weighing 16 tons. Initially discovered in the 1960s, the site remained largely unexamined until intense excavation efforts in the 1990s revealed its complexity and significance. The pillars are adorned with intricate carvings of various animals, as well as depictions of human figures, suggesting a rich cultural and possibly religious life among the people who constructed it.
Interesting aspects of Göbekli Tepe include the puzzling lack of evidence for permanent habitation, indicating it may have served primarily as a ceremonial center rather than a settlement. Archaeologists have also found remnants of wild grains, leading to speculation about early cultivation practices and the origins of domesticated wheat. The site continues to be a focal point for research, with only a small percentage excavated, leaving open the possibility of further insights into the social and cultural dynamics of early human societies. Göbekli Tepe not only challenges traditional narratives of human development but also invites diverse interpretations and discussions about early civilization.
Göbekli Tepe (archaeological site)
Göbekli Tepe (pronounced Guh-behk-lee Teh-peh) is an ancient archaeological site in the Anatolia region of Southeast Turkey that dates back to the Neolithic Era of human civilization. When the site was discovered by surveyors in the 1960s, it was a large, earthen mound near the top of a ridge. Discoverers speculated that it was a manmade structure but did little research. Subsequent studies have indicated that an organized centuries-old community used the site, with initial construction beginning perhaps 11,500-12,000 years ago. The presence of dozens of decorated limestone pillars organized into circles has led archaeologists to speculate that Göbekli Tepe is the oldest religious site in the world.
Discovery and Excavation
In 1963, university researchers who were doing surveys on a hilly plateau in an area near the Turkish-Syrian border located an unusual, low mound. The presence of several limestone blocks scattered in the dust initially led them to believe that an unremarkable Byzantine or Islamic cemetery might lie beneath. As a result, the site remained largely unexcavated until 1994, when German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt recognized similarities between Göbekli Tepe and other Turkish Neolithic sites. Klaus's team soon discovered that the site was both larger and far more complex than anyone had anticipated. Using radiocarbon dating of used charcoal pieces found in the lowest levels of excavation, archaeologists estimate that the earliest builders of Göbekli Tepe may have lived in the region as long as 11,600 years ago. This era of human civilization—described as the late Stone Age or Neolithic Era—was primitive, with communities of people organized into nomadic hunter-gatherer societies. Other than fire, water, and primitive flint points, they had few resources available to them. Yet, somehow, the ancient peoples of Göbekli Tepe organized themselves into teams of builders who were able to transport huge blocks of quarried limestone, which weighed several tons each, a few hundred feet up a slope and onto a flat plateau where they chiseled these massive blocks into ceremonial structures.
Design and Function of Göbekli Tepe
The stones at Göbekli Tepe have sharp, clean edges despite the lack of sophisticated tools available to the people of this time. The blocks also have three-dimensional bas-relief depictions of various animals, including snakes, boars, donkeys, vultures, spiders, and scorpions. Some images of human beings also exist at the site such as depictions of a naked woman in a crouched position and several decapitated bodies surrounded by vultures, both of which likely had religious significance.
Excavation continues at the site. Using radar, archaeologists have located at least twenty limestone circles sunken into the earth. Each ring is composed of several t-shaped stone pillars stretched an arm's length apart and connected by stone walls. The largest pillars are 18 feet tall and weigh 16 tons, and in the center of each structure are two larger pillars that were likely propped up by wooden posts. Though they remain uncovered now, it is believed that each of the twenty structures probably had a roof. Archaeologists think that these structures likely had a ceremonial or ritualistic purpose and that the pillars may have been intended to be humanoid in appearance. If so, they predate any other known religious site by centuries.
However, archaeologists are puzzled by the lack of any evidence of human habitation at the site. At structures like this, they usually find remains of domesticated plants and animals that the residents used for food along with traces of homes, fires, and other signs of human occupation. Yet the only indications of human habitation are a few remains of wild oats and undomesticated animals. In addition, there is no known water source in the region. As a result, archaeologists have concluded that other than during a few short windows of construction, Göbekli Tepe was only used as a central ceremonial site rather than as a permanent settlement. Similarly, archaeologists are confused by how the site was managed. The archaeological remains showed regular patterns of disuse and deliberate burial, followed by periods of new construction. The oldest rings are typically the most elaborate in terms of design and size, with each newer ring becoming smaller and simpler, as if designed with less effort. By roughly 8200 B.C.E., Göbekli Tepe seems to have been abandoned and deliberately filled in with the remains of the site.
Wild Grain at the Site
The discovery of wild grain at Göbekli Tepe has led archaeologists to speculate that early hunter-gatherers may have constructed the site and been the first humans to cultivate the soil. A type of wild grain called einkorn that grows specifically in the Göbekli Tepe region may be one of the primary ancestors to modern domesticated grains, with nearly 70 types of modern grains having descended from it. Scientists have hypothesized that visitors to Göbekli Tepe may have carried the local grain home with them throughout the region, giving rise to the first cultivation of domesticated wheat.
Despite two decades of research, only about 5 percent of the site has been excavated thus far, meaning that Göbekli Tepe may yet have more to reveal about the evolution of human civilization.
Bibliography
Bahn, Paul G. and Jane Chapman. The Complete Illustrated World Encyclopedia of Archaeology. London: Hermes House, 2007. Print.
Curry, Andrew. "Gobekli Tepe: The World’s First Temple?" Smithsonian Magazine. Nov. 2008. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/gobekli-tepe-the-worlds-first-temple-83613665/?all
Hancock, Graham. Introduction to Göbekli Tepe: Genesis of the Gods: The Temple of the Watchers and the Discovery of Eden by Andrew Collins.Rochester, VT: Bear and Company, 2014. Print.
Jones III, Ronnie. "Göbekli Tepe." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. http://www.ancient.eu/G%C3%B6bekli‗Tepe/
Mann, Charles C. "Göbekli Tepe: The Birth of Religion." National Geographic. National Geographic Society. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/gobekli-tepe/mann-text/1