Page 9 - Tarih web edition

ÜNİTE 1

TARİH BİLİMİNE GİRİŞ

GÖBEKLİTEPE

Located in modern Turkey, Göbekli Tepe is one of the most important archaeological
sites in the world. In the 1990s CE, the discovery of this stunning 10,000 year old site sent
shock waves through the archaeological world and beyond, with some researchers even
claiming it was the site of the biblical Garden of Eden. The many examples of sculptures
and megalithic architecture which make up what is perhaps the world’s earliest temple at
Göbekli Tepe predate pottery, metallurgy, the invention of writing, the wheel and the beginning
of agriculture. The fact that hunter–gatherer peoples could organize the construction of
th
such a complex site as far back as the 10 or 11 millennium BCE not only revolutionizes our
th
understanding of hunter-gatherer culture but poses a serious challenge to the conventional
view of the rise of civilization.
Göbekli Tepe is a 1000-foot diameter mound located at the highest point of a mountain
ridge, around 9 miles northeast of the town of Şanlıurfa (Urfa) in south-eastern Turkey. Since
1994 CE, excavations conducted by Klaus Schmidt of the Istanbul branch of the German
Archaeological Institute, with the cooperation of the Şanlıurfa Museum, have been taking place
at the site. Results to date have been astounding; especially bearing in mind the excavators
estimate that their work has uncovered a mere 5% of the site.

Due to the presence of multiple monumental complexes at such an early date, Göbekli Tepe
is a somewhat unique site. The excavators of Göbekli Tepe believe that around 8,000 BCE, the
people at the site deliberately buried the monuments under mountains of soil and settlement
remains, such as flints and animal bones, brought from elsewhere. This backfilling is the main
reason why the site has been preserved after so many thousands of years. Why the inhabitants
of Göbekli Tepe abandoned the site is not clearly understood because the monuments had
obviously lost their relevance, which may have had some connection with the new way of life
which accompanied the development of agriculture and animal husbandry which occurred
around this time.

www . englishexampoint .com 9