I had a light bulb moment when I saw a totem pole for the first time in my life up close in Alaska. Of course, I have seen pictures of totem poles before but seeing them in person has made an impact on me and prompted me to compare them to stone totems in Göbekli Tepe. The resemblance was so striking and obvious.
Could the indigenous people in Northwest Coast of North America and Göbekli Tepe might have shared common ancestors?
Totem poles in the Northwest coast of America are carved from the trunks of large trees, especially the Red Cedar. While the oldest totem poles we know, are from the 19th century, it has been suggested that this tradition has existed since long before then. Totem poles are rich in symbolism, and used for a variety of purposes.
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| Totem Heritage Center, Ketchikan, Alaska |
After the contact and missionary activities of the westerners in the mid-1800’s, the cremation practice was replaced with burial but the memorial poles are continued to be placed near the clan house of the deceased or in a designated area near their village. Especially if a chief has passed away, the new chief would raise a totem in his honor. The pole would typically commemorate the lineage of the dead chief.
Ensign Albert Niblack of the US Navy who was stationed in Alaska between 1885-87 , has made observations of mortuary practices observed in the Northwest coast. Below, I’ve attached some pictures from his book.
Now, let’s go halfway around the world to Gobeklitepe. Scientists agree that Gobeklitepe is somehow related to death and a ritual for transition to death. (more for Gobeklitepe and Death, pls. refer to my article https://reikinewsletter.blogspot.com/2022/12/gobekli-tepe-and-ancestral-reverance.html)
Göbekli Tepe is a 12,000 year old ritual area and cult center in Southeast Turkey, where T-shaped pillars in the center of the ritual area are surrounded with 12 other smaller stones. Discovery of Göbekli Tepe has changed our understanding of evolution of civilization forever and proved that our ancestors were much more capable than we’ve imagined.
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| From my archive at Sanli Urfa Museum, Turkey |
In 2009, a large sculpture was discovered in Göbekli Tepe and excavated the next year. The sculpture was 1.92 mt length, with a diameter of 30 cm, weighing 500 kgs, where 10 people struggled to lift and carry it. The sculpture features three main figures one above another. The top part of the column is a predator, the front part of the head is not visible, but a short neck, arms and hands are visible. The arms are holding another head, probably a human. Also large snakes are visible, below the heads of snakes, possibly structures of legs of the upper human body. This sculpture is not the only one, similar totem pole-like sculptures were discovered some 20 years ago in Nevali Cori, only 20 miles away from Göbekli Tepe.
Archeologists agree that this sculpture found in Göbekli Tepe and other nearby locations were reminiscent of totem poles of Northwest Coast erected by indigenous people of North America.
To assert this similarity, we need more information on where Göbekli Tepe people have come from and where they brought this tradition of building 3 dimensional, stone sculptures/poles from.
Even though many cultures around the world have totem poles, the oldest monumental wooden sculpture known today, the Shigir idol, was carved shortly after the last Ice Age, approximately 12.000 years ago and found in Russia (middle Ural mountains, near Kirovgrad) in 1890 .
Just like in Göbekli Tepe, when this first radiocarbon dating was carried out, scholars suggested that the dating was incorrect, because they believed that the hunter-gatherers who inhabited the area 9,500 years ago would not have been capable of crafting such a massive object. A later analysis gave an age of 11,500 years!
Shigir Idol is displayed in Sverdlovsk Museum in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigir_Idol
The top portion of the Shigir totem pole, is a head with a face with eyes, nose, and mouth. The body is flat and rectangular. Horizontal lines at the level of the thorax may represent ribs. Geometrical motifs decorate its surface, including zigzag lines and depictions of human faces and hands. The arrangement resembles a totem pole for sure.
Scholars have proposed various theories about the carvings' meaning, such as a creation myth, a navigational aid or map, depiction of mythological creatures or to serve as a warning not to enter a dangerous area.
Scholars also noted that the Shigir Idol's decoration was similar to that of the oldest known monumental stone ruins at Göbekli Tepe.
We should remember that if a piece is made of stone, it may also have had parallels in wood. However, it would have probably failed to survive the millenia. However, if there are wooden totem poles in central Asia, it’s fair to assume that there could have been stone ones as well. It’s just that scientists should find more examples of these poles to be able to link it to Göbekli Tepe.
We know that, once there was an ice bridge between Siberia and Alaska across which people migrated to America. One of the Alaska tribes,Tlingit’s oral history describes their ancestors arriving by taking a risky trip through the "hole-in-the-ice". Another oral tradition describes the arrival of Tlingit descendants by boat. I guess both possible and could have happened.An earlier story mentions people living in Alaska already when the Tlingit population moved into the area.
The oldest dated settlement in Southeast Alaska is 10,000 BC towards the end of the last Ice Age. We now know that there were humans in America way before that, anywhere from 23,000 to possibly 26,000 years ago. So, it's still a mystery to resolve, when exactly these early ancestors have moved.In summary:
The oldest wooden totem pole found in Russia dates back to 12,000 years agoThe oldest stone totem/sculpture found in Southeast Turkey resembles the Russian wooden pole, dating back to 11, 600 years ago.
There is a long tradition of Northwest American indigenous people to erect totem poles for the deceased.Scientists agree that at least one function of the Göbekli Tepe ritual areas is a ritual for transition to death.We know that at least some ancestors of Northwest American tribes migrated from Asia.The question is, could the ancestors of Göbekli Tepe and Northwest American tribes share the same ancestors, i.e ancestors from Central Asia?
To prove this, we need more archeological evidence for the stone or wood pole erection practices in the migration routes as a practice to honor deceased. Also, we need burial practice similarities in Central Asia, Northwest America and Göbekli Tepe to prove the link for common ancestors.
I really hope we will have professors of Archeology to consider this as a graduate study and assign this investigation to their master or PhD students, so we can lift the veils.
References:
“The Coast Indians of Southern Alaska and Northern British Columbia” by Albert Niblackhttps://bit.ly/4ciSVTy
Shigir Idol at Wikipedia- image source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigir_Idol“
“Human Migration Map”https://www.ipsnews.net/2018/03/map-human-migration
"The Göbekli Tepe Totem Pole” by Cigdem Koksal Schmidt & Klaus Schmidt https://bit.ly/4fuLj2L
From Albert Niblack's book, evolution of burial practices:
1- Haida column containing a box holding the ashes of the dead.
2- Haida totem mortuary column with compartment for the remains of the dead in a box.
3- Two column support a box containing the body of the dead
4. Haida commemorative column erected in front of the house of the deceased , while the body is deposited some distance from it.
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| An animal predator above a human
at Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan, Alaska |
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