The exciting archaeological discoveries at Gobekli Tepe, a megalithic site in southern Turkey that predates Stonehenge by about 6000 years, are reported on the Smithsonian website. Gobekli Tepe consisted of multiple T-shaped stone pillars, up to 16 feet tall and weighing 7 to 10 tons each, arranged in circular patterns on a hilltop. The location was apparently used for religious purposes and probably preceded the advent of agriculture in the region.
The link is from Jebadiah Moore’s excellent The Jeblog, where he remarks:
I really like the theory that the desire to create this place led to the development of agriculture rather than the other way around. Perhaps I’m just romantic, but I like the idea that humanity only wrested itself into a single place in order to fulfill a higher goal.
In a similar context, speaking of the Hopewell mounds at the High Bank site in Ohio, I can remember Bob Horn observing that the gods can be useful to humans.
–Paul
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