[orthoganol]

Gobekli Tepe was the high point of an ancient near east archeology class I took in college. Interestingly, it was discussed as part of a more recent theory that the "origins of civilizations" were really in the Anatolian highlands, a region distinct from the fertile crescent.

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.