by E.doc
There was a Turkish temple that was found dating back 11,500 years that is causing a raucous. Apparently, this temple predates civilization, and is making scientists rethink how society evolved. The old thought is that religion is a product of society. "All our theories were wrong," says Ian Hodder, director of Stanford's archaeology program. This temple, called Göbekli Tepe (Turkish for Potbelly Hill), predates agriculture, animal domestication, and specialized labor. It is thought that the temple was the origin of the city, and that in order to maintain the temple, a culture of people sprang up around it.
Potbelly Hill also predates the Great Pyramid by 7,000 years, AND, get this, Stonehenge by 6,000 years.
I don't know about other readers, but this sheds new light and makes me rethink the possiblities of religion. No difinitive answers come up of course, but just something more to think about.
photo cred: Newsweek and Berthold Steinhilber /Laif-Redux
From what the link says, I think you got it backwards. This archeological discovery hints at the possibility that religion created civilization.
ReplyDeleteAs your link says, "An archeological find in Turkey, believed to be a temple built 11,500 years ago that predates "villages, pottery, domesticated animals, and even agriculture", suggests religion created civilization and not the other way around."
I hardly think that conclusion is justified given this discovery, however. Perhaps there is more evidence of "civilization" from 11,500 years ago that we haven't uncovered yet. Perhaps this has been dated incorrectly. Finally, even IF this does "predate civilization" (BTW isn't religion a part of civilization? moving on..), that doesn't mean that it *created* civilization. It's a fantastic logical leap!
I will agree that this is fascinating, and hope to follow the story as it unfolds. Thanks for sharing.