What is Goebekli Tepe | Klaus Schmidt | TEDxPrague

Summary

The transcript details the groundbreaking archaeological project at Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey, dating back to the 10th and 9th millennium BC. This site, older than any other in the region, provides crucial insights into the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to early farming communities. The unique T-shaped pillars and monumental art suggest a complex cultist community and a significant chapter in human history. The project, a collaboration between German and Turkish institutions, has been transformative for our understanding of early civilization development.

Takeaways

• 🌍 The project at Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey is considered one of the most important archaeological projects of recent years, revealing insights into the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to farming societies.
• 🏺 Göbekli Tepe, meaning 'mound with a belly', is an artificial mound made of limestone and is not a natural formation, but rather a testament to ancient human construction.
• 🏛 The site dates back to the 10th and 9th millennium BC, post-Ice Age, and features monumental structures that were built by humans at a time when the rest of the world was still in the hunter-gatherer phase.
• 🔍 The German Archaeological Institute leads the project in collaboration with local authorities and universities, focusing on conservation, restoration, and scientific research, funded primarily by the German Research Foundation.
• 🗺 The site is part of a 'Golden Triangle' within the Fertile Crescent of the Near East, a region critical to the development of early agrarian civilizations and the domestication of plants and animals.
• 🏞️ Göbekli Tepe is unique for its monumental architecture, including T-shaped pillars that are believed to represent stylized human forms, marking a significant shift in artistic and cultural expression.
• 🐏 The domestication of different animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs occurred in various parts of the Near East, contributing to the Neolithic 'package' that enabled farming societies to thrive.
• 🎨 The site features large-scale sculptures and a rich narrative art that challenges our understanding of prehistoric culture and the beginnings of storytelling and mythological representation.
• 🔮 The T-shapes at Göbekli Tepe are unique and have no direct predecessors or successors, suggesting a specific cultural phenomenon that was significant during the site's period of use.
• 🍲 The construction of Göbekli Tepe's monumental structures likely involved large communal feasts, suggesting social and ritual practices that brought people together for cooperative work.

Q & A

What does Göbekli Tepe mean and where is it located?

Göbekli Tepe means 'mound with belly' and it is located in southeastern Turkey on a natural limestone plateau.

Who is responsible for the Göbekli Tepe project?

The project is conducted by the German Archeological Institute in close cooperation with local authorities, including the General Directorate for Antiquities in Ankara, and the University of Sanliurfa, the Harran University, and other institutions.

How long has the Göbekli Tepe project been ongoing?

The project has been ongoing for 20 years and is expected to continue for many more years.

What is unique about the age of Göbekli Tepe?

Göbekli Tepe is unique because it dates back to the 10th and 9th millennium BC, making it much older than other similar sites and dating it to just after the Ice Age.

How does Göbekli Tepe relate to the history of human civilization?

Göbekli Tepe adds an important chapter to the history of humanity by showcasing the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to farming and food-producing societies, which is a form of subsistence our agrarian societies are still based on.

What is the significance of the T-shaped pillars found at Göbekli Tepe?

The T-shaped pillars are stylized representations of humans and are unique in history, not found before or after Göbekli Tepe's time. They signify a shift where human forms are depicted as superior to animals, indicating the beginning of human dominance and the domestication process.

What role does Göbekli Tepe play in the Fertile Crescent?

Göbekli Tepe is situated within a 'Golden Triangle' in the Fertile Crescent, an area with the most favorable conditions for early agrarian civilizations, and it plays a significant role in the development of early farming practices.

What evidence is there of early domestication at Göbekli Tepe?

Zoologists have identified early domestication of cattle on the Syrian Euphrates, sheep on the Turkish Euphrates, goats in the Taurus Mountains, and pigs in the Tigris basin from the archaeofauna found at Göbekli Tepe and other sites.

How were the large monoliths at Göbekli Tepe moved and erected?

While there is experimental archaeology on moving monoliths, there are also authentic photos from Indonesia showing similar megalith movement techniques, suggesting that similar methods were used at Göbekli Tepe.

Why was Göbekli Tepe abandoned and what happened to its culture?

The reasons for Göbekli Tepe's abandonment are unknown, but it is speculated that large feasting events may have been used to gather people for the construction of the monumental architecture. The culture and practices at Göbekli Tepe were eventually incorporated into the broader Neolithic package, which spread throughout Europe.

What is the current status of research at Göbekli Tepe?

Research at Göbekli Tepe is ongoing, with the aim to continue for many years to answer open questions about the transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers and the impact on world history.

Outlines

00:00

🗺️ Introduction to Göbekli Tepe

The speaker, the director of the Göbekli Tepe project, introduces the site located in southeastern Turkey, known as 'mound with belly' due to its artificial mound on a limestone plateau. The project, a collaboration between the German Archeological Institute, local authorities, and universities, is funded by the German Research Foundation and is in its 20th year. The site's significance lies in its dating to the 10th and 9th millennium BC, post-Ice Age, and its role in understanding the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to farming societies. The speaker emphasizes that Göbekli Tepe is adding a crucial, previously unknown chapter to human history.

05:03

🌏 The Global Context of Göbekli Tepe

The speaker expands the discussion to a global perspective, highlighting regions where the transition from hunter-gatherer to food-producing cultures occurred independently. The Near East, particularly the Fertile Crescent, is identified as a core area where this transition happened around 9,000 years ago. Göbekli Tepe is situated within a 'Golden Triangle' in this region, playing a significant role. The speaker differentiates Göbekli Tepe from contemporary settlements, clarifying that it is a sanctuary, not a settlement, and discusses the beginnings of domestication of plants and animals, which are foundational to Neolithic societies.

10:06

🏺 The Unique Monuments of Göbekli Tepe

The speaker delves into the unique features of Göbekli Tepe, focusing on its monumental architecture, particularly the T-shaped pillars that are stylized human forms with animal attributes. These T-shapes are unique to Göbekli Tepe and are not found in other periods, suggesting a connection to the phenomenon of domestication where humans are depicted as superior to animals. The speaker also discusses the rich narrative and mythological character of the site's art, comparing it to later developments in Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, and the discontinuity between the site's abandonment and the later invention of writing systems.

15:06

🌾 The Agricultural Revolution and Göbekli Tepe's Role

The speaker concludes by discussing how the agricultural revolution, symbolized by the Neolithic package, gave an advantage to farming communities over hunter-gatherers. The spread of this new way of life across Europe is illustrated through a map. The speaker speculates on how large gatherings and feasting may have been used to mobilize labor for the construction of Göbekli Tepe's monumental architecture. The talk concludes with a nod to the collaborative nature of archaeology and the ongoing efforts to uncover the mysteries of this pivotal period in human history.

Keywords

💡Göbekli Tepe

Göbekli Tepe is an archaeological site in southeastern Turkey, dated to the 10th-9th millennium BC. It is significant for its monumental structures, which predate other similar constructions by thousands of years. The term 'Göbekli Tepe' translates to 'mound with a belly,' reflecting the site's artificial mound structure. In the video, it is highlighted as a key location that challenges our understanding of early human societies and their transition from hunter-gatherers to food producers.

💡Archaeological Project

An archaeological project refers to a systematic investigation of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts. The video discusses the project at Göbekli Tepe, which is a collaborative effort involving the German Archaeological Institute, local authorities, and universities, aiming to uncover and understand the site's significance in human history.

💡Monumental Architecture

Monumental architecture refers to large-scale, impressive structures that often hold cultural or religious significance. In the context of the video, Göbekli Tepe features unique T-shaped pillars arranged in circles or ovals, which are considered monumental due to their size and the labor-intensive effort required to construct them.

💡T-shaped Pillars

The T-shaped pillars are a distinctive feature of Göbekli Tepe, representing stylized human forms with animal attributes. These pillars are central to the site's architecture and are believed to have had a significant ritual or symbolic role. The video explains that these pillars are unique to Göbekli Tepe and are not found in other periods, suggesting a specific cultural or religious significance.

💡Hunter-Gatherers

Hunter-gatherers are societies that rely on hunting animals and gathering wild plants for subsistence. The video discusses the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to food-producing societies, which is a significant development in human history. Göbekli Tepe is situated at a time just after the Ice Age when such a transition was beginning to occur.

💡Fertile Crescent

The Fertile Crescent is a region in the Near East, known for its favorable climate and geography for early agriculture. The video mentions that the Fertile Crescent is where the transition from hunter-gatherer to food-producing societies occurred independently, with Göbekli Tepe located within a 'Golden Triangle' of significant activity within this region.

💡Domestication

Domestication refers to the process by which humans began to control the breeding of plants and animals for food, labor, or other purposes. The video discusses how the early domestication of certain animals, such as cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, played a crucial role in the development of food-producing societies.

💡Pre-Pottery Neolithic Culture

The Pre-Pottery Neolithic Culture is a term used to describe early Neolithic societies that existed before the invention of pottery. The video explains that Göbekli Tepe belongs to this period, marking the beginning of the Neolithic era, which is characterized by the shift towards food production.

💡Sanctuary

A sanctuary, in an archaeological context, refers to a sacred or religious space. The video clarifies that Göbekli Tepe was not a settlement but a sanctuary, suggesting that it was a place of ritual or ceremonial importance, possibly serving as a gathering place for religious or cultural events.

💡Experimental Archaeology

Experimental archaeology is the practice of recreating ancient technologies or methods to better understand past human behaviors. The video mentions experimental archaeology in relation to understanding how the large monoliths at Göbekli Tepe were moved and erected, providing insights into the construction techniques of the time.

💡Archaeological Interpretation

Archaeological interpretation involves analyzing and explaining the significance of archaeological findings. The video discusses how the unique features of Göbekli Tepe, such as the T-shaped pillars and the site's function as a sanctuary, challenge and expand our ability to interpret the cultural practices and beliefs of early Neolithic societies.

Highlights

Göbekli Tepe is an archaeological site in southeastern Turkey, dating back to the 10th and 9th millennium BC, making it over 12,000 years old.

The site is a collaboration between the German Archeological Institute and local authorities, including the University of Sanliurfa.

Göbekli Tepe is significant as it predates other similar sites and provides insights into the transition from hunter-gatherer to farming societies.

The site's name, meaning 'mound with belly,' reflects its artificial mound structure made of limestone.

The project has been ongoing for 20 years and is primarily funded by the German Research Foundation.

Göbekli Tepe challenges the narrative that monumental architecture and complex societies only emerged after the Neolithic period.

The site features unique T-shaped pillars, which are believed to represent stylized human figures.

Artwork and sculptures at Göbekli Tepe depict a rich narrative, including combinations of animals and human forms.

The site is located within the Fertile Crescent, a region known for the early development of agrarian civilizations.

Göbekli Tepe is not a settlement but a sanctuary, suggesting a cultist community that gathered for feasting and monumental construction.

The site's findings include large-scale sculptures and a type of art that was previously unknown.

The T-shapes at Göbekli Tepe are unique in history, not found in the Palaeolithic period before or after the site's time.

The site's discovery suggests that early domestication of animals occurred in different regions of the Near East.

Göbekli Tepe's monumental architecture includes large enclosures with central pillars, some over 5.50 meters tall.

The site's importance is emphasized by its role in the development of the Neolithic package, which enabled a farming lifestyle.

The archaeological work at Göbekli Tepe is a collaborative effort involving local workers, students, and specialists from various fields.

The site's findings have the potential to fill a 6,000-year gap in understanding the development of human societies.

Göbekli Tepe is considered a 'smoking gun' in archaeology due to its many unexpected findings that challenge traditional interpretations.

Transcripts

Transcriber: Sandor Marazza Reviewer: Denise RQ

Ladies and gentlemen,

now we are going a little bit under the surface,

we are coming to archeology and to a project

which is one of the most important projects of the last years.

Those are not only my words, - I am the director of this project -

but it is internationally told like this.

It's a project in southeastern Turkey, the site called Göbekli Tepe.

Göbekli Tepe means 'mound with belly.'

It's just its name, an old name from the map.

We didn't invent this name, but it shows a little bit, or it's recognizable -

we've some natural limestone plateau here

and all this mound which is not a natural mound but an artificial mound,

this is the belly on the mound explaining the name.

The project is done by the German Archeological Institute

where I come from too,

but in close cooperation with the local authorities,

especially the General Directorate for Antiquities in Ankara,

and the University of Sanliurfa, the Harran University,

and some other institutions,

mainly responsible for the conservation and the restoration of the site.

For the scientific work, we have financing mainly from the German Research Foundation

which is financing the project, which is a long-term project.

We are now in the 20th year of work,

and we hope to continue for many, many years in the future.

Okay, that's the framing. I have to say all this:

who are the institutions

and who is giving money for our work at the site.

But what is the importance of this site?

At first, I already showed you this location.

It's a huge limestone ridge,

and this artificial mound is on top of it.

Such artificial mounds are very common in the Near East

They are called 'tell' in Arabic language

or 'tepe' or 'höyük' in Turkish language.

I think some will know 'Çatalhöyük, '

an old Neolithic site in central Anatolia,

and Göbekli is a site like this, but it has some specifics,

it's a unique site because it's much older than all the other ones.

It belongs to the 10th and 9th millennium BC.

So, it means, roughly spoken, some monuments there are 12,000 years old,

12,000 before today, or 10,000, the 10th millennium BC.

That's just after the Ice Age.

Who knows a bit about geology, knows that the Ice Age was a global phenomenon.

Now, with the ice corings in Greenland, we can date it very, very exactly.

It was not a long process, the end of the Ice Age.

It was what we call a rapid climate change.

A very rapid development, around 9,600.

And that's the time when the building activity at Göbekli started.

I told you, an artificial mound made by humans by erecting buildings,

walls, and other things above each other.

So, the mound was created.

This is not so special in the Near East, but, as I told you, the time frame,

10th-9th millennium, that's very strange.

We didn't expect it in this time,

when all over the world, people were still hunter-gatherers,

that they had been able to produce such buildings,

to do such huge work and much more.

We will see some examples of the world of Göbekli Tepe,

which is such an unexpected and unknown world before.

Many say Göbekli Tepe is changing the history.

That's not true, it's not changing it,

but it's adding a very important chapter to the history of humanity,

a chapter we didn't know that it existed before.

And this chapter is about the transition from hunter-gatherers societies

to farming, to food-producing societies.

This is a form of subsistence

that our basis agrarian societies are still based on,

and this was invented in this region at this time.

This region is the Near East.

We will see some maps later.

And here, about the mound, an aerial view.

When we started the project in '95, what we could see

was nearly nothing, just trees and fields.

It was used for agriculture by the local people,

but the surface [findings] had been showing us

very clearly the importance of the site,

and the dating by diagnostic flint tools and other tools.

Pottery is not existent, not yet invented.

So, we call this stage in archeology the pre-pottery Neolithic culture,

before the invention of pottery, but it's the beginning of the Neolithic.

The Neolithic period means food producing period in our terms.

To understand the importance of Göbekli Tepe

we have to enlarge our frame to a global view

On this map in red you see all the regions in the world where this transition

from hunter-gatherer cultures to food-producing cultures

happened independently from each other.

We have some regions in Meso-America, South America, in the South-East,

and, of course you are right, this are the numbers BC written about some.

In Africa very late in comparison to this core area in the Near East

where the transition happened around 9,000,

or late 10th, early 9th millennium.

The region, in the long time, we call the Fertile Crescent of the Near East

because in the South we have the Arabian desert,

to the North the Mountains of the Taurus and the Zagros Mountains.

This is the area with the most favorable climatic conditions,

the most favorable geographic conditions: the Fertile Crescent.

for a long time, we thought that the western wing was important

regarding the development of earlier agrarian civilizations,

but now we understand, through research not only by our team, but by many teams,

and in the national groups of American, French, British, Turkish, Italian,

Japanese, German, and other archaeologists working in this region,

we understand that there is

something like a Golden Triangle within this Fertile Crescent

where the most important things are going on.

And Göbekli Tepe is located in the Golden Triangle,

and it has a very important role.

We will see some of the monuments that we are excavating there.

The other sites marked here in red belong to this time, to the 10th-9th millennium,

but these are settlements of this period.

Settlements of settled hunters-gatherers.

It was a new discovery of 20-25 years ago,

that we already have settled hunters-gatherers.

We thought that hunters-gatherers are always nomadic, but in this region

they changed their life already before the invention of food-producing.

Göbekli Tepe is not a settlement.

It belongs to it, but is only a sanctuary, or many sanctuaries together.

We'll see examples.

Neolithic, just to have an idea of what it means: from wild to domestic.

Mainly here from wild to domestic cereals, they are getting much bigger.

With animals it's a little more difficult,

which is the reason why only four animals had been domesticated.

That's a beginning: goat, sheep, cattle, and pig.

We exclude the dog; it was domesticated earlier, by the hunters-gatherers already.

But it's a different story,

it was domesticated not for meat production,

but to be the fellow of the hunters.

But this means Neolithic societies, food-producing societies,

on the base of domesticated species, plants, and animals.

Our prediction that this site of Göbekli Tepe is so important

was completely fulfilled during the excavations.

Here the excavation work in an aerial view from 2011 with several areas.

And there are many findings, like these flint tools; very common.

Or findings like sculptures.

The flints are known from everywhere,

but not such large-scale sculptures

like these ones or composite monuments

like this totem pole sculpture with several elements on top:

maybe a lion, here an eye, an ear, and below a human and another human.

A very exciting composition and an art, which we didn't know before,

which is challenging our ability to interpret.

And the most important monumental architecture

- sorry, I'm mixing here - monumental architecture:

mainly ovals or circles with pillars, delineated by pillars.

Two of the pillars are very big ones, always in the center,

and the pillars always T-shaped.

This strange T-shape we can understand

- here another view of these enclosures: the surrounding oval with some T-shapes

which are smaller, and the central pillars here, the T-shapes.

Fortunately, we can understand the meaning of these T-shapes,

which at first seem a little bit strange.

Highly stylized humans are depicted

because in some cases we have arms depicted,

we have the hands, the fingers, and some parts of garment are depicted.

So, the T-shapes are stylized humans, and very often in Göbekli Tepe

we have animals depicted like attributes on the T-shapes.

The T-shapes are unique in history.

We don't have T-shapes in the Palaeolithic period before,

we don't have them after the time of Göbekli Tepe,

which ends with the 9th millennium.

There are just some very rough comparisons like the 'taulas' in Menorca,

but this is a very different function, a very different meaning.

It's really a table: 'taula' means table.

These are tables, no connection with the T-shapes of Göbekli Tepe.

These T-shapes are so important

because looking back to the upper Palaeolithic art

like Lascaux, Altamira, or the recently discovered caves of Chauvet or Cosquer:

here the animals are always dominant, the animals are at the center.

In Göbekli now we have the human form, being the superior form, and it's clear:

there is a connection with the phenomenon of domestication

because now the human is the boss,

and the animals are reduced to attributes of the humans.

Some impressions of the excavations

of these circles, of these enclosures,

here for example with in situ, in original position, the central pillars

with a height of 5.50 meters on top of the original floor.

We didn't erect anything. It's all found in its original position.

We are really very lucky to have the chance

to excavate such an exciting, such an important site like Göbekli Tepe.

This is unique, there is no parallel, there is no comparison.

We have contemporaneous sites as I told you, but they don't have

this kind of monumental art and monumental pillars.

Very often we have combinations of motives depicted.

They are very rich, showing a narrative character,

showing that we have illustrations of stories

of mythological stories in front of us.

And even more, when we look to this part,

we have objects of unknown function,

but we have animals: a bird, a quadruped, a reptile, a frog.

And such an association together with the objects is very similar

to things we know, for example,

from old Egypt, 4th millennium Egypt, on slate palettes.

So started the Egyptian hieroglyphic writing in the same way.

The sign of city and animals added to it, but in Göbekli Tepe it came to its end.

There was no continuation.

Unfortunately, Göbekli had been completely abandoned

for unknown reasons so far.

In Egypt, from these beginnings

the invention of the hieroglyphic writing started.

Göbekli Tepe is part of this story, but with a big interruption.

Here we have the image being an image, we have the transformation into what

in German we call the Bildzeichen, and from these Bildzeichen other signs

are developing, and here we are coming to our letter alpha or A.

You can easily understand it.

But this is a discontinuation of many thousands years

between Göbekli Tepe around 9,000

and the invention of true writing around 3,000.

There are at least 6,000 years of a gap we tried to fill,

but for the moment, we don't know how to fill it.

But we want to continue our work.

Hopefully young colleagues will continue the research

on this very exciting period of mankind.

One colleague said - it's not from me -

"Göbekli Tepe seems to be

the most smoking gun in archeology at the moment".

I think it's really true because we have so many unexpected new results,

which are changing our ability to interpret.

And we can see, reconstruct that there was something like a cultist community.

Göbekli Tepe with its sanctuaries [was] no settlement,

but [there were] settlements around Göbekli Tepe.

And our zoologists can recognize

from the archaeofauna, from the animal bones,

discovered in Göbekli and the other sites,

that the early domestication of cattle

was done on the Syrian Euphrates, sheep on the Turkish Euphrates,

goat in the Taurus Mountains, and pig in the Tigris basin.

Independently from each other, but very quickly.

All these discoveries, these inventions had been brought together

to what we call the Neolithic package.

This Neolithic package enables people to be superior to their neighbours,

to those neighbors that are still being hunters-gatherers.

Now the farming way of life was invented,

and was spreading all over Europe.

We saw this map at the beginning

with the distribution of this new way of life.

How did people come to Göbekli Tepe?

How do you bring a lot of people there

to be able to erect this monumental architecture?

Of course not just by saying: "Hello, come and we work", no.

Feasting. Big feasting.

We can expect big feasting to have happened at the mound,

so people came there and so they had the power for working events on the side.

We have a lot of experimental archeology

on how to move monoliths, on how to move big stones.

But we fortunately also have some authentic photos from Indonesia

done by European travelers,

showing how megaliths are being actually moved

for the construction of the tomb of a king.

We can be very sure in Göbekli Tepe it was looking similar.

This in short a story

which is just a rough framing of a story of results.

Not only my results: this is teamwork.

Archeology usually is teamwork,

including local workers from the nearby villages,

including students from Europe and Turkey,

including scientists, specialists

in archaeofauna, botany, and other things.

We will try to continue for many years

and to answer many of the still open questions

about this unexpected and exciting world of hunters-gatherers,

who changed to become farmers, and who changed the world history.

Thank you.

(Applause)