Göbekli Tepe, an archeological site dating back 12,000 years, has baffled scientists for decades. This is because the site’s towering stones have complex and mysterious engravings from ancient human civilization.
After years of research, archeologists from the University of Edinburgh suggest that marks on its stone pillar may represent the oldest solar calendar in the world. They believe it was designed “as a memorial to a devastating comet strike.”
The engravings also indicate a grasp of precession, the Earth’s wobble on its axis, and the possibility of recording its effects on star positions. Surprisingly, this implies that the ancients were aware of precession thousands of years before Greek astronomer Hipparchus described it.
Calendar’s V-shaped carvings
Göbekli Tepe, located in southern Turkey, is an ancient complex with temple-like enclosures adorned with intricate motifs.
According to the research, our ancestors developed a solar calendar based on observations of the sun, moon, and stars to track the year’s cycle. This evidence comes from the peculiar V-shaped symbols made on the pillars.
Researchers assume that the V-shaped patterns indicate days. By counting them, they’ve deciphered a 365-day solar calendar divided into 12 lunar months plus 11 additional days. The discovery is noteworthy given that writing had not yet been developed.
Interestingly, the summer solstice is designated as a separate, unique day in this potential calendar. It is depicted as a bird-like creature with a V-shaped necklace on the stone pillars.
“Since both the moon’s and the sun’s cycles are depicted, the carvings could represent the world’s earliest so-called lunisolar calendar , based on the phases of the moon and the position of the sun – pre-dating other known calendars of this type by many millennia,” the authors noted in the press release.
Similar V-shaped symbols adorn the necks of other sculptures in the area, which may depict divine entities.
Many ancient calendar records have been discovered in many cultures, including the Aztec calendar stone. The ancient date system was utilized for a variety of reasons, including agriculture, religion, and astronomy.
Comet that led to mini ice age
But why this obsession with time? The answer might lie in a catastrophic event.
Experts believe a comet struck Earth 13,000 years ago, causing a “mini ice age” lasting over 1,200 years. It wiped out countless large animal species. Göbekli Tepe could be a memorial to this disaster.
This astronomical event was likely a pivotal turning point in the ancient human settlement, changing how they lived and farmed.
Furthermore, a different pillar at the site seems to depict the Taurid meteor shower. It is hypothesized that the comet debris originated during a 27-day outburst radiating from the Aquarius and Pisces constellations.
“It appears the inhabitants of Göbekli Tepe were keen observers of the sky, which is to be expected given their world had been devastated by a comet strike. This event might have triggered civilization by initiating a new religion and by motivating developments in agriculture to cope with the cold climate.
“Possibly, their attempts to record what they saw are the first steps towards the development of writing millennia later,” concluded Martin Sweatman, the lead author, in the press release.
The findings were published in the journal Time and Mind.
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