19846 - Cradle of the Gods: Göbekli Tepe

Course Overview

Göbekli Tepe is an ancient and significant site which has been pushing back the beginnings of civilization further than we previously assumed. As each temple at the Neolithic site is excavated, the story of human history is rewritten. Göbekli Tepe is situated in the city of Sanliurfa (or Urfa) Turkey and it stands out as one of the most interesting prehistoric archaeological sites today. As a result of scientific research, Göbekli Tepe temples have been dated to 9600 B.C.E., at the earliest - in archaeological language it’s regarded as Pre-pottery Neolithic A. During the construction of Göbekli Tepe there was no civilization as we know it, as there was in Sumer or Egypt. The discovery of Göbekli Tepe caused a paradigm shift of archaeology: religion was evident before the advent of agriculture and permanent settlement, not after, as it was thought. We will examine the history of this ancient civilization by viewing a documentary and having a discussion on its impact on our understanding of the Neolithic World.