Göbekli Tepe is a Neolithic archaeological site in the Southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The settlement was inhabited from about 9500 BC. to at least 8000 BCE, during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period.
Located atop a rocky peak, this 12,000-year-old complex is one of the first evidences of humanity’s shift toward permanent settlement.
In recent decades, archaeologists have gleaned valuable insights from the symbols etched into the site’s colossal stone pillars – some of the oldest megaliths known to man.
A recent one study reveals that certain carvings on these ancient monuments likely served as markers for solar days and years, indicating that the inhabitants of Göbekli Tepe may have created one of the earliest known calendars.
This early society is thought to have been intensely focused on the changing seasons, especially after a catastrophic comet impact around 10,850 BC that plunged the world into a mini ice age.
“It appears that the inhabitants of Gobekli Tepe were avid observers of the sky,” said lead author Martin Sweatman of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering. “That’s to be expected, since their world was destroyed by a comet impact.”
Sweatman further speculated that the comet impact could have been a catalyst for the birth of civilization, possibly sparking a new religious movement and advances in agriculture to combat the harsh climate.
“The event could have kick-started civilization by initiating a new religion and motivating agricultural developments to cope with the cold climate.”
“Possibly their efforts to record what they saw were the first steps toward the development of writing millennia later.”
Remarkably, these ancient people may even have tried to track meteor movements and predict future comet impacts. For a society of 12,000 years ago, the creation of such a calendar was an extraordinary achievement.
