| Göbekli Tepe is an amazing site that gets surprisingly little attention given its importance. It is the oldest building in the world. The only older constructions that we know of is a small wall made from piled rock to protect a cave from the weather. Not only is it the oldest but it also is large : 1000 feet across and at least 50 feet deep with several layers covering at least two millennia. The site was only discovered 20 years ago and only about 20% have been excavated so far! Cultivation first started in the Gobekli area. We know from DNA analysis that the wheat we use today is based on a wild variety of wheat that grew miles away from Gobekli. It is located in the middle of the fertile crescent: the birthplace of civilization. It is located between the Tigris and Euphrates near their source which is the location of Eden in the bible. It also is located right next to Şanlıurfa which is said to be the birthplace of Abraham. The size of the monuments also are impressive given that the people who built them were still hunter-harvesters living in small tribes without the knowledge of the wheel or pottery. It required a large workforce working over a large amount of time. I am happy that the recent discovery seems to confirm my personal theory that Gobekli is a Dakhma [0], a place where bodies were left in the open for vulture to cleanse. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Silence |
Our focal point of the site was the incredible stone monoliths. A massive endeavor requiring advanced technology, organization, and craftsmanship to quarry, transport, and carve the reliefs, all happening 5x as far back in history as the time between present day us and the Greeks. That's a lot of really advanced stuff, and obviously advanced social relations and intelligent people, happening a really, really long time ago. If you're the kind of person who likes to identify with your fellow man, regardless of nationality or race or whatever, it makes you a larger person knowing things about our very distant ancestors.