Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey is around 11,600 years old. Its giant T-shaped pillars are carved with foxes, boars and vultures. The builders were hunter-gatherers, before farming was supposed to make monuments possible.
Truth label: Established. Strong evidence and broad agreement among experts.
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Before farming
The old story said people settled, farmed, then built temples. Göbekli Tepe suggests gathering came first, and farming may have followed to feed the crowds.
The pillars are people
Some pillars have carved arms and hands wrapping around the front, with belts and loincloths. They may represent ancestors or spirits.
Most of it is still underground
Geophysical surveys suggest only a small part of the site has been excavated. Nearby Karahan Tepe shows it was not alone.
Learn
- Where and when. A hilltop near Şanlıurfa, Turkey. The oldest layers date to roughly 9600 BCE, right after the last Ice Age ended.
- What it looks like. Circular enclosures ringed with stone pillars up to 5.5 metres tall, with two larger pillars standing in the centre of each.
- Why it changed the story. It pushed the start of monumental building back by thousands of years and raised a big question: what else have we underestimated?
Test yourself
Roughly how old is Göbekli Tepe?
11,600 years. Its oldest layers date to around 9600 BCE.
Who built it?
Hunter-gatherers. There is no sign of farmed crops or domesticated animals at the site.
Sources
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