The oldest structure in the world

How would you feel if I told you that the oldest structure in the world was 7,000 years older than Stonehenge? You probably wouldn’t care much. Then, what if I told you that the oldest structure in the world was a temple constructed by hunter-gatherers in 10,000 BC?

How, you might ask, is it possible that primitive people who did not even have houses to live in could have built a temple?

That, my dear readers, is where the mystery begins.

Gobeklitepe (or “Potbelly Hill” in English) is an archaeological site in Sanliurfa, in the southeast of Turkey. It was first discovered in 1963, but was not investigate until the famous German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt decided it could be an important discovery in 1995.

Klaus Schmidt in Gobeklitepe. Photo from agos.com.tr

The excavations at the site revealed major findings — findings that could change everything known about human history. Prior to Gobeklitepe, it was thought that social constructs began only after the discovery of agriculture. This notion was common because it was believed that hunter-gatherer “societies” had very little room for building a social order as they needed to use their time and resources to find food and shelter to survive. So, they lived on a daily basis — they only cared about making it through the day.

The findings of Gobeklitepe changed this notion drastically because this place was a temple built thousands of years before settled life had even began. Moreover, it showed signs of social layers among those who built it.

Gobeklitepe consists of twelve T-shaped obelisks forming a chamber of approximately thirty metres (~ ninety-eight ft). There are two obelisks facing each other at the centre of the chamber. The distinctive feature of this structure is that each obelisk is bound to each other by stone walls. There are depictions of a variety of wild animals on the obelisks and almost no human depictions. One curious thing about these depictions is that there are embossings and engravings of human arms and hands in some obelisks, which leads to the thought that the obelisks may actually represent humans.

Gobeklitepe. Photo from sozcu.com

The animal depictions in the obelisks range from lions, bulls, and wild boars to snakes, scorpions, and vultures. Especially, the various vulture depictions are believed to indicate that this structure was a site for funerary ceremonies. Another finding that supports this notion is the thousands of human bones found in the pits near the obelisks as well as the stone walls between them. Interestingly, almost none of the bones were intact — they were either drilled, scratched, or crumbled. Archaeologists and anthropologists believe that these were done to fulfil tradition as examples of damaging the body or bones after death have been seen in other societies as well.

One of the most interesting depictions in Gobeklitepe is the one and the only female human figure in one of the obelisks. This figure is in a sitting position that almost looks like she is giving birth, this is why some people believe that Gobeklitepe could be the oldest maternity hospital in the history of the world.

Female figure giving birth. Photo from brucefenton.info

Now, you might ask how we know that these people were not early farmers but hunter-gatherers. First of all, Schmidt and his team found absolutely no evidence of any settlement around the area: no houses, no cookware, nothing. Second, the animals depicted on the obelisks as well as animal bones found in the site were all wild animals. Early farmers who lived a settled life were known to have domesticated animals. However, the people who built Gobeklitepe did not have any domesticated animals.

Another evidence as to why these people were not farmers is that there are no tools related to agriculture while there were over 100,000 animal bones in the site. The majority of these bones had scratch and burn marks on them, indicating that they were cooked and eaten. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the people in Gobeklitepe fed mainly on wild animals including gazelle, sheep, boar, deer, and so on.

Gobeklitepe drawing. Photo from artkolik.net

Earlier, I said that although they had not even settled down, these hunter-gatherers had a social construct. The evidence for this notion comes from the difficulty of building a huge structure like Gobeklitepe. The obelisks in the site were all made of stones going up to seven metres (~ twenty-three ft), and they were brought to the site from approximately half a kilometre (~0.3 miles) away. It is approximated that around five hundred people must have worked in the construction of the structure in Gobeklitepe. Anthropologists suggest that for a construction this big, there had to be people in charge of managing the workers. Also, the people who worked in the construction had to be fed and sheltered. So, there must have been some sort of social layering among these hunter-gatherers.

The abundance of human bones as well as the human arm and hand depictions in the obelisks give rise to the idea that Gobeklitepe was probably a religious centre. It is now commonly accepted that this place was the centre of a religious cult (which also provides evidence to social constructs), and that not only religious ceremonies but also festival-like ceremonies were held in this temple.

Animal figures. Photo from tepetelegrams.wordpress.com

One final and major question is the meaning of the animal figures on the obelisks. A salient feature of these figures is that there are no mythological figures among them — all of them are real, wild animals. This raises the question of whether these may be more than simple depictions. Although there is little evidence of it, some researchers believe that the animal figures may be a sort of primitive hieroglyphic language and that there is a story told in the obelisks. If this is true, it would mean that the first writing system was not invented by the Sumerians but by a much more primitive society. It is obvious that such a finding would change the entire human history.

Despite many discoveries, Gobeklitepe is still a riddle waiting to be solved. It gives me great excitement to think about finding out more about people who lived 12,000 years ago — and I get even more excited to understand their motives for building such a site. In time, we shall see.