An expanding structure considered the oldest known temple in the world According to the researchers, it was designed with an understanding of geometric principles somewhat unusual for hunter-gatherer cultures.
Göbekli Tepe In Turkey, widely regarded as the first place of worship discovered, it is a vast Neolithic complex dating back over 11,000 years, but modern humans have come across this giant relic of Earth's Stone Age only in the decade from 1990.
Before other megalithic wonders such as the Egyptian Pyramids and Stonehenge (both for thousands of years), Göbekli Tepe was studied intensely since its discovery, researchers seeking to know what the site can tell us about the extinct culture that built it.
Göbekli Tepe, attachment C. (Gil Haklay / AFTAU)
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Despite the incredible age of the structure, a new analysis suggests that the architects who considered the design of the mysterious pillars and enclosures Göbekli Tepe had much more experience in planning geometric structures than we thought.
"Göbekli Tepe is an archaeological wonder" He says archaeologist Avi Gopher of Tel Aviv University.
"Since there is no evidence of agriculture or animal domestication at the time, it is believed that the site was built by hunter-gatherers. However, its complexity architectural is very unusual for them. "
According to the researchers, those who used a spatial algorithm To measure and analyze the architectural form of Göbekli Tepe's design, the complex is not composed of separate and independent structures, but rather of enclosures and linked pillars that were designed together according to the same plan and could even have been built on the same model. time, unlike the previous thought.
More specifically, the central points of three of Göbekli Tepe's most important spaces, called enclosures B, C and D, appear to be geometrically linked, based on the underlying pattern of an almost perfectly formed equilateral triangle, a form which The researchers could suggest a hierarchical relationship and an order between the speakers.
Triangular arrangement of Göbekli Tepe speakers. (Gil Haklay / AFTAU)
"I certainly didn't expect that," said archaeologist and study co-author Gil Haklay. Haaretz.
"All the sites have different sizes and shapes, so the ch ances that these central points will accidentally form an equilateral triangle are very low."
Such a level of pre-planning, especially thousands of years earlier than advent of writing
– would have required the use and counting of other types of markers, such as reeds arranged on the ground to draw a fortune card, researchers suggest.
The results could also mean that the amount of muscle required to perform these ambitious structures may have been much greater than we thought.
"The level of organization and manpower required for the construction of the megalithic architecture of Göbekli Tepe must be multiplied by three, compared to previous estimates, if our suggestion is simply accepted, because the potential size of a single project in Göbekli Tepe includes three constituencies in the case presented here, " the authors write.
Of course, it is also possible that these complex geometric planes were simply constructed over long periods of time, even centuries, as researchers allow, which could make work on a larger scale less pressing.
(Göbekli Tepe project)
As it stands, only a fraction, maybe as little as 5 percent – de Göbekli Tepe has been excavated so far, and many other enclosures and other types of structures are hiding under Turkish soil.
Whatever secrets long forgotten by these cameras, it is clear, think the researchers, that this special site reflects a monumental turning point in human history.
Not only in its architectural capacity, but also in the evolution of a society that could and would like to design such fantastic things, while leaving our earlier forms, simpler and perhaps more just, fade from sight.
"This is where it starts," said Gopher. Haaretz.
"The common instinct of hunter-gatherer societies is shrinking and inequality is increasing. Someone is directing the show. I don't know if these are shamans or political leaders, but it's a company that has an architect and someone who initiates a project like this. and it has the power to make it happen. "
The results are reported in Cambridge Archaeological Journal.