Even hunters and gatherers were amazingly sophisticated architects, researchers report: They identified geometric patterns in the structures of the 11,500-year-old cult complex on Göbekli Tepe. They suggest that the Stone Age monument was created at least in part by a complex design process. Until now, this type of architectural planning was considered a development of the later peasant cultures, report Gil Haklay and Avi Gopher from the University of Tel Aviv.
“Göbekli Tepe is an archaeological wonder,” says Gopher. Excavations at the site in south-eastern Turkey have shown in the past decades that a monumental complex had already been there around 6000 years before Stonehenge. They were wide, ring-shaped structures, the largest of which were 20 meters in diameter. They were formed from stone pillars up to 5.5 meters high and weighing up to 20 tons, some of which were richly decorated. Scientists assume that the monumental complex was used by people as a place for rituals and for exchange.
Built by hunters and gatherers
According to data, the structures on the mountain plateau were built around 11,500 to 11,000 years ago. They were created at a time before hunters and gatherers became settled farmers in this region. “Since there is no evidence of agriculture or animal husbandry, it is believed that the site was built by hunters and gatherers. The architectural complexity of the structures is therefore extremely unusual, ”says Gopher.
Most researchers assume that the parts of the plant were built gradually. So far, however, there has been little systematic questioning as to whether there are indications of architectural planning, say Haklay and Gopher. You have therefore now carried out a computer analysis of the building structures in order to uncover possible traces of architectural design processes which could have played a role in the construction of the Stone Age cult site. “We used an algorithm as an analytical tool that can identify geometric patterns in floor plans,” says Haklay.
Geometric patterns are emerging
As they report, their system found what they were looking for: three of the monumental circular structures of Göbekli Tepe therefore have coherent geometric patterns. Apparently, certain laws and the same orientations were observed during construction. Among other things, the centers of the three circles form an equilateral triangle when they are connected. “The layout of the system is characterized by spatial and presumably symbolic hierarchies,” summarizes Haklay. The researchers also see this as an indication that the three structures were planned and built as a single project.
As the scientists explain, this is an interesting finding because complex architectural processes, such as the use of geometry and the planning of floor plans, were previously considered a later development. It was only when the hunters and gatherers became farmers about 10,500 years ago that they left clear indications of correspondingly complex architectural techniques. But apparently the roots of these methods go deeper into history, as the analysis results suggest. “This case of early architectural planning can serve as an example of the dynamics of cultural change in the early phase of the Neolithic,” says Haklay.
As the two researchers announce, they now want to continue using their architectural analysis method in the service of archeology: they intend to examine further remains of Neolithic building structures in the Levant.
Source: American Friends of Tel Aviv University, technical article: Cambridge Archaeological, doi: 10.1017 / S0959774319000660