Sometimes it happens. It happens that an archaeological discovery can undermine the timeline of the evolution of civilization in ancient history. It's happening now in Turkey, calls up some hills Göbekli Tepe near the plain of Harran, near the Syrian border. The discovery involves a complex of temples that dates back to thousands of years before the Great Pyramid, around 11,500 years ago, 6000 years before Stonehenge took shape. And, surprisingly, between 3000 and 1500 years before Çatalhöyük, considered one of the oldest settlements in history.
Göbekli Tepe is a particular site, such as particular the dedication that the German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt has put into his work over the past twelve years. The ancient civilization that built the ruins of Göbekli Tepe has been called "the Rome of 'Ice Age', an urban complex populated by hunter-gatherers with a refined religious culture, architecture and society. The site was first examined by the 'University of Chicago and from' University of Istanbul in the 60s. After visiting the site, which was only a "hit and run" on what anthropologists to look like an abandoned cemetery dating to the Middle Ages, Schmidt arrived in 1994, convinced that in that place there was more than an old cemetery. "Only the man may have created a hill like this, "Schmidt claimed" It 's clear that this is a huge site dating from the Stone Age. "You can find terraces, stone circles, six feet tall pillars in the shape of" T "and monoliths. And to make matters worse, the radar measurements showed that under the ground are hidden at least 15 other monumental ruins.
far have been brought to light some of the 50 pillars of the complex, one of which, according the dates, would be the oldest monumental work of art in the world. On one of the pillars you can see the abstract symbols, but in fact the whole site covered with bas-reliefs and sculptures of animals and plants. Wild boars, bulls, lions, foxes, leopards, you can find everything Göbekli Tepe. There are also representations of human beings, semi-humanoid sculpture without faces. Schmidt's argument is that cooperation between hunters and the formation of this center of worship for religious needs were born. The temple was the center of the city, was built around it all. This is not the "traditional" urban settlement with a few houses, we are talking about a city made and finished, with time, specialized laboratories, homes. This discovery is slowly revolutionizing the world of archeology. As stated by Ian Hodder of Stanford University's archaeological program, "Many people think that this could change everything. Completely change the cards on the table. All of our theories were wrong."
theories on the "Neolithic revolution" have always maintained that between 10 and 12 thousand years ago farmers and ranchers have begun to build villages, towns, skilled workers, writing, and everything that we know of ancient civilizations. But one of the highlights of the old theory is that the city is born before or after the places of worship. But now it seems that religion appeared before the organized and civilized life in urban centers, in fact, it's almost been the driving primary for the creation of the city. The site of Tepe Göbekli also seems to show that the region was born in agriculture, as well as domestic architecture.
The genetic mapping of wheat in this area seems to show that they have been, for the first time in history, cultivated cereals. Even the first wild hogs farmed here seems to have originated around 10,000 years ago. At the site were discovered more than 100,000 animal bones, slaughtered and cooked on the spot. Among the animals were found gazelles (about 60% of all bones so far examined), sheep, wild boars and red deer, along with dozens of bones of birds. All these animals were wild, which shows the nature of the population of hunters. The problem of the spread of this discovery is quite bizarre: it is the absence of evidence that might demonstrate his age, as you might think. The problem is there are too many tests.
"The problem with this discovery," said John Schwartz of the University Hopking "is that it is unique." Are not in fact been found in other monumental sites dating back to Göbekli Tepe, anywhere in the world. He has always believed in fact that at that time the man lived in caves, by painting with hunting scenes, building or some shelter on the edge of rough stone. Even after the period in which Göbekli Tepe was at its peak, for about 1500 years, there seem to be very little evidence of buildings even comparable to those found in the turkish site. The Walls of Jericho, so far considered the oldest monumental structure in the history of 'man, are probably born more than a millennium after Göbekli Tepe.
This is a discovery that could call into question the timeline on the evolution of human civilization. Until now it has been brought to light only 5% of the site, and work is continuing unabated, so much that locally there are 3 different teams of archaeologists. Excavations at Tepe Göbekli proceed slowly, given the region's climate: summer temperatures are prohibitive, during the winter, the rains do not allow the excavations, and the period for the archaeological work is represented by two months during the spring and two in the fall.
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