Gobekli Tepe and Ancestral Reverance

How many archeological excavations changes the history books and requires history to be re-written? 

Gobekli Tepe is one of them. I remember a group of us sitting at the breakfast table during a Meditation retreat and the moderators getting excited when they heard I’m from Turkey. They said they’ve read an article in National Geographic about Gobekli Tepe and they asked me about it. They were referring to the June 2011 issue of National Geographic that introduced Gobekli Tepe to the world. Honestly I didn’t know much about Gobekli Tepe at that time, other than I vaguely remember seeing a short article in a Turkish Newspaper. They said, “This is very important; this is the first evidence of humans having faith long before they invented agriculture, the wheel or pottery.” I made a mental note to check it out. 

Fast forward to January 2020, I’m standing in front of these awe inspiring majestic structures at Gobekli Tepe. So, what makes them so special? The common thought up until the discovery of Gobekli Tepe was that agriculture came first, then faith. Humans developed faith after they discovered agriculture as they became more dependent on Nature, the sun, and the rain for the harvest. However, Gobekli Tepe proves this theory wrong. Gobekli Tepe is the world's first known sanctuary and ancient cult center, 12,000 years old, predating Stonehenge by 6,000 years and the pyramids by 7,000 years. When these large megaliths (20 ft high, weigh 16 tons) were erected, humans still lived as hunter-gatherers. They may not have yet discovered the wheel, pottery or agriculture, but they had a reason to build these structures, conduct rituals, and had a story they engraved on the stones. 

When I think of Stone Age people, I used to think of hunter-gatherer savages who lived in primitive conditions. I have an image of a stone age man with rough hair in locks, body covered with hair, and clothed with animal skin. Well, Gobeklitepe proves that these ancient ancestors were more sophisticated than we ever thought and had social norms earlier than we could imagine. They were capable of organizing massive tasks, distributing work amongst themselves, had capable skilled workers, craftsmanship and an agreement process for what, where, and how to build these structures. They had knowledge of geometry, astronomy and most importantly, they had a vision, a belief and a reason to build these structures. How can we call them primitive? 

The question is: what was it that made these ancient ancestors honor, revere, do rituals, and have faith?

There are many theories about the function of Gobekli Tepe. One theory is for Gobekli Tepe being a date stamp for an earlier apocalyptic event that erased an ancient civilization with a flood. This theory claims stone #43 carvings  commemorate a meteor hit that led to Younger Dryas, a mini Ice age; which resulted with a rise in sea levels and a flood. The theory claims the carvings represent constellations visible at Gobekli Tepe at that time.

Another theory claims Gobekli tepe to mark the beginning of an ancient brotherhood that eventually led to Illimunati today. Yet another one claims that  an ancient sound technology is used to lift heavy stones.These theories are  all interesting and entertaining for sure. Some of these theories might have merits but also hard to prove scientifically, at least until we have more evidence.

So, what is one theory that most scientists agree on?

A passage to death.

I know it doesn’t sound as fun as a lost civilization but one thing scientists agree is Gobeli Tepe’s association with passages to death and the use of ancestral veneration for it.

One thing that humans tried to understand, avoid, refrain and at least ease into, when they realize they can’t avoid it, was death. The average age in Neolithic times was 30. I can only imagine how scary it would be, being so vulnerable, so dispensable. A wild animal encounter, a simple infection, even child birth and you’re dead.  

Our ancestors knew death was not preventable so they tried to make sure, their transition to death was eased. For that reason they seeked help from ancestors who have already transitioned to the other side. Ancestor reverence is the custom of venerating deceased ancestors who are considered still a part of the family and whose spirits are believed to have the power to intervene in the affairs of the living. This includes helping with transition to the other side.

Catalhoyuk 

For our ancestors the concept of time was cyclical. Like us, they didn’t think there was a beginning (Big Bang) and that there would be an end (like the apocalypse as in most religions). They thought their ancestors lived in another realm after they died. They believed the soul is in the head and for that reason they severed the head from the body and in some cases they drilled a hole for the soul to escape. Archeologists have found 3 such sculls in Gobekli Tepe with flint carvings and one with a hole drilled. 

Skull cult is not uncommon in ancient Anatolia. We find similar images painted on the walls at Çatalhöyük, another Neolithic aged site in Konya that dates back to 7500 BC. In the drawings, headless men are portrayed while birds fly above their heads. 

There are also multiple portholes found at Gobekli Tepe, whose functions can not be verified but consistent with other portals around the world, representing a passage to the other side. 

When I was in Mumbai years ago, I noticed a tower with vultures on it. My colleague explained to me the Parsi funeral practice, the Sky burial. I saw it in a Tibetan movie before but I didn’t think it was still practiced, let alone it being practiced at the center of the city. Sky Burial is a practice in which a human corpse is placed on a mountaintop or a tower to be consumed by birds, mainly vultures. The idea behind the practice is that Earth is so sacred that it can not be polluted with a corpse. It’s still practiced in parts of China, Mongolia, Tibet and used to be an ancient practice for some American Indian tribes. Whether a sky burial site or not, scientists agree that Stone 43 depicts the soul of a departed one ascending to heaven. 

One thing is for sure, we will never know the exact purpose, practice and rituals performed at Gobekli Tepe. Passage to death is only one function of Gobekli Tepe and there could be more. We can only have glimpses of the thinking of these ancient ancestors based on more similar archeological findings and continued practices like sky burials and ancestor veneration. 

There is only one thing we can do: honor all ancestors who contributed to building Gobekli Tepe for leaving us these monumental structures that open a window into their thinking and more importantly their wisdom and capabilities. 

May they be at peace.

Here is the link to my talk on November 19,2022:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dCza-gL4NSJwi_0psTeJFTcwVYFDevL6/view?usp=share_link

 

https://www.archaeology.org/issues/281-1801/features/6165-turkey-neolithic-skull-cult