Gobekli Tepe

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Gobekli Tepe
UNESCO world heritage UNESCO World Heritage Emblem
Göbekli2012-16.jpg
Main cut from the east
National territory: TurkeyTurkey Turkey
Type: Culture
Criteria : (i) (ii) (iv)
Surface: 126 ha
Buffer zone: 461 ha
Reference No .: 1572
UNESCO region : Asia
History of enrollment
Enrollment: 2018  ( session 42 )

Coordinates: 37 ° 13 '22.8 "  N , 38 ° 55' 20.5"  E

Relief Map: Turkey
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Gobekli Tepe​
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Turkey
The excavation field on May 25, 2010 from the east
Overall view of the excavation field with the attachments A – D, status 2011
Finds from Göbekli Tepe in the Şanlıurfa Museum

The Göbekli Tepe ( German  'bulbous hill' , Kurdish Xirabreşk ) is a prehistoric site 15 kilometers northeast of the southeastern Anatolian city ​​of Şanlıurfa in Turkey . It is located on the highest point of the elongated mountain range of Germuş at 750 meters . It is a hill ( tell ) that was created by repeated settlement with a height of 15 meters and a diameter of around 300 meters. It has been excavated since the mid-1990s as a long-term project of the German Archaeological Institute . During this work around 1.5% of the area has been exposed. A full excavation is not planned.

A distinction is currently made between two phases of use, the first of which up to the 10th millennium BC. Goes back to BC . From this usage phase ( Epipalaeolithic  / early PPNA ) seven circular stone structures were excavated, some of which consist of T-shaped pillars in relief. On the basis of geophysical investigations , it can be assumed that over 200 additional pillars in around 20 circular systems are still below the ground. The individual pillars are up to 6 meters high and weigh up to 20 tons and were fitted into bases carved out of the rock. In the second, the more recent phase of use ( Pre-Ceramic Neolithic B  - 8800-7000 BC) there were additional, but smaller, pillars in rectangular rooms. These rooms usually had a floor made of polished lime. After that, the place was apparently abandoned. The foundation walls of a square building on the southern plateau are dated to Roman times.

The function of the systems is unclear. The most widespread is the hypothesis established by the excavator Klaus Schmidt (1953–2014) that it was a Stone Age mountain sanctuary.

Research history

Younger excavation areas

Göbekli Tepe was identified as a Stone Age site in 1963 by the American archaeologist Peter Benedict as part of a survey project by the Universities of İstanbul and Ankara . This also noted that there was a Muslim cemetery there. The latter is probably one of the reasons why he did not pay any further attention to the site, since Islamic cemeteries are usually not allowed to be excavated. In October 1994, during a visit to the hill , the German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt recognized fragments of pillars in stone walls that were comparable to the T pillars found during the excavations in Nevalı Çori . Schmidt could not find the Islamic cemetery believed by Benedict and assumed that he had misinterpreted the T-pillars as tombstones. As a result, the Nevalı Çori project of the German Archaeological Institute in cooperation with the Şanlıurfa Museum has now been continued under the name Urfa Project . In terms of personnel, the project is linked to the Orient Department of the German Archaeological Institute ; in Turkey, the Istanbul Department of the DAI is also responsible for the excavations. In addition to the Göbekli Tepe, it should also examine the nearby and also Stone Age Gürcütepe . Since then, excavations at Göbekli Tepe have taken place annually, and the Gürcütepe investigations were largely completed in 2000.

A complete scientific publication of the excavation project is not yet available. The results were presented in preliminary reports or popular scientific works.

Findings

The Göbekli Tepe is located on a flat and bare rock plateau that fans out in all directions. In the north it connects a narrow tongue of rock with the neighboring mountain range, in all other directions the ridge drops steeply over slopes and sometimes rugged cliffs. On this ridge there is not only the 15 meter high actual tell of Göbekli Tepe, the surface of which is littered with finds, there are also numerous other indications of human influence. Excavations mainly took place on the southern slope of the hill, south and west of a mulberry tree that marks an Islamic pilgrimage site. However, finds come from the entire rock plateau.

Rock plateau

View from Göbekli Tepe into the Harran plain ( Mesopotamia ), in the foreground Annex E with cistern-like depressions

The surface of the rock plateau has been changed by erosion , quarry activity in the Stone Age and later quarry activity. The latter can be traced back to about four 10 meter long and 20 centimeter wide canals that crossed a large area of ​​the south-eastern rock plateau. These are interpreted as the remains of an ancient quarry, from which rectangular blocks should be removed. It may be related to a neighboring square building, the foundations of which can still be seen. This building was probably a watchtower and was part of the Limes Arabicus during the Roman Empire . However, the identification is not secured.

Most of the structures in the rock plateau, however, can be traced back to Stone Age stone mining. Here in were Tell installed monolithic architecture components gained by their outer contours picked out of the rock and then the detached from its surroundings so monolith from the ledge has been removed. Such quarries for the production of circular workpieces could be identified on the western plateau. This interpretation was confirmed by the discovery of such a workpiece with a central hole on the south-east plateau. With a size of 3 × 3 meters, this is the largest of a whole series of such finds, the function and meaning of which cannot yet be determined. Three T-pillars, which have not yet been removed from the rock bank, are clearly attributable to stone age quarry work. The largest of them is located on the northern plateau and has a length of over 7 meters and a head width of more than 3 meters. Its weight is estimated at around 50 tons. The two other T-pillars of slightly smaller dimensions are located in quarries on the southern plateau.

In the broader context of these quarries, an area on the western edge of the hill in which a lion-like depiction was found belongs. Since flint waste and limestone splinters accumulate in a noticeable way, this area is understood as a kind of “sculptor's workshop”. However, it is unclear how three similar phallic representations are to be classified on a horizontal surface of the southern plateau. This is not least due to the fact that they are located in the vicinity of ancient quarries and their chronological classification is therefore uncertain.

Outside the actual tell is an area sunk into the rock, inside which there were two platforms with openings for pillars and a very flat bench surrounding it. The floor plan corresponds to the systems from layer III of the actual tell, which is why this area was called "system E" in continuation of the numbering of these systems. Because of its resemblance to a cultic building found in Nevalı Çori , it is also called the "rock temple". The floor of Annex E was carefully knocked out of the rock and smoothed. This is reminiscent of the terrazzo floors of the younger systems on Göbekli Tepe. Immediately to the northwest of this sunken area are two cistern-like , oval depressions in the rock, which are rated as part of this system. A five-step staircase leads down into one of these recesses, which has a tenon about the height of a table in its center.

A small cave was found in the western edge of the ridge containing a small rock relief of a cattle. The cave wall is covered with grooves and hollows, no further reliefs have been identified to this day.

Layer I.

The mighty stratigraphy of the Göbekli Tepe testifies to the several thousand years of use of the place. Layer I is the top and at the same time the narrowest layer of the hill, but it covers the largest time span. It consists of loose sediments that were created by erosion and the agricultural use of the hill, which continues to this day.

Layer II

A first layer of construction was found above the western areas of the older systems A and B. It is characterized by several right-angled, doorless and windowless rooms that are 4-6 meters long and 3-4 meters wide. This layer II was radiocarbon dating from 8800 to 8000 BC. Used. Finds of several T-pillars that could be up to 1.5 meters high come from this layer. These are mostly pairs of pillars that stood in the center of the rooms. In two cases, two additional pillars were found in the side walls across the longitudinal axis of the room. A few of these pillars are decorated with reliefs; The pair of pillars with felid depictions discovered in 1997 is particularly well known . The room in which they were located is therefore usually referred to as the “lion pillar building”, even if the zoological determination of the representation is uncertain. A bench was installed between the two pillars, on which the image of a woman was engraved.

Layer III

In the oldest settlement layer (layer III), monolithic pillars came to light, which were connected with roughly layered walls to form circular or oval structures. In the middle of the complex there are two even larger pillars. So far, four such structures with diameters between 10 and 30 meters have been discovered. Geophysical investigations suggest 16 additional structures with a total of around 200 pillars. Radiocarbon dates from 9600 to 8800 BC have shown that these plants were built. Used and after their use already deliberately filled in in the Stone Age.

The monoliths are decorated with animal reliefs or abstract pictograms . These signs do not represent scripture, but perhaps generally understandable sacred symbols, such as those found in Neolithic caves. The pillars are T-shaped but carved from one piece. Klaus Schmidt interprets them as "the embodiment of mysterious beings". In the crossbeam, however, he does not see the arms, but the head with a protruding chin and the back of the head in a side view, which would mean that the figures standing in a circle look inward at the two central pillars. This interpretation is supported by the fact that arms and hands can be seen in relief on the sides of some of the T-pillars. The very carefully worked reliefs show lions (or tigers or leopards), bulls, boars, foxes, gazelles, snakes, other reptiles, vultures, cranes, ibises and scorpions. In a relatively small representation, Schmidt recognizes a headless person with an erect penis .

Appendix A

Relief on the side of pillar 2 facing the room

Plant A is the first to be excavated. First two upright pillars ( pillar 1 and pillar 2 ) were 3 meters high . Pillars 3 and 4 were then found parallel to these and at approximately the same distance . Walls more than a meter thick were built around the pillars. They consisted of loaf-shaped stones about 80 centimeters long. Between the outer pillars 3 and 4 as well as the central pair of pillars ran a wall that took the form of an apse to the northwest of the pair of central pillars . The 2.1 meter high pillar 5 stood in this wall in the southwest of the facility . It was also followed by a stone slab bench in the area of ​​the apse. Pillar 17 was later discovered in the north-west corner of the building, which can also still be assigned to it. Overall, plant A has an approximately square shape, with several pillars and the walls arranged around a central pair of pillars. This shape has similarities with the so-called " Terrazzo Building " by Nevalı Çori. The entrance to Annex A was in the southeast, from which a carved stone slab has been preserved, which once belonged to a door construction. Above Annex A, there were only a few remains of buildings from Layer II, instead there were only thick fill layers.

Three of the pillars from Appendix A have reliefs. In the case of pillar 1, there are five snake representations on the front, which gave the entire complex the name “snake pillar building ”. On the other hand, a net-like structure can be seen on its left side, which is understood as a group of snakes based on comparative finds also discovered at Göbekli Tepe. Below it is a small representation of a four-footed animal. In contrast, pillar 2 has a high relief representation of a bucranion on its back . On the side of this pillar facing the room there was then a group of animals consisting of a bull, fox and crane. Pillar 5 again has a snake display. A number of animal-shaped sculptures also come from Appendix A.

Annex A has not yet been fully exposed. In particular, the floor has not yet been reached. The latest construction phase of this facility can currently be seen, but it was preceded by at least two further construction phases.

Appendix B

Appendix B was exposed after Appendix A. It also has a pair of central pillars ( pillar 9 and pillar 10 ) around which several pillars connected by walls were arranged concentrically. This arrangement did not apply to pillar 15 in the west of the complex, which also had a hole in its head. The diameter of the building is 9 meters in an east-west direction and 10 to 15 meters in a north-south direction. The two central pillars were oriented in a north-south direction and on the inside of their shafts each have a life-size high relief representation of a fox jumping south, which is why this building was also given the name "fox pillar building". These two pillars stood in a terrazzo floor in which a stone shell was set in front of pillar 9 , to which a small channel led from the outside. The heights of the individual pillars vary considerably, an argument for the assumption that the structure was not roofed. As with Annex A, there were only a few remains of buildings from Layer II above Annex B, and as in Annex A, the pillars of Annex B were also surrounded by fine debris.

Apart from the two central pillars, only two of the pillars in Appendix B were provided with reliefs. A bas-relief was affixed to the rear head surface of pillar 6 , which presumably shows a reptile from above. The only other relief so far on a pier head was found on the immediately adjacent pier 14 , although this is not yet fully visible due to the progress of the excavation.

Appendix C

Annex C connects to Annexes A and B to the east. It consists of four concentric wall rings around a pair of central pillars ( pillars 37 and 35 ) and has a total diameter of more than 30 meters. However, the wall rings were not created at the same time, but were gradually drawn up from the outside inwards, making the interior of the complex at least twice smaller. Nine T-pillars were uncovered in the inner wall ring, whereby a few more pillars must have existed that were removed at some point - probably by farmers. So far, four pillars have been found of the second wall ring. The pictorial program of this facility is dominated by wild boars, which is why it was named "House of Boars". Six out of ten reliefs uncovered in this complex show boars and three of the total of four found boar sculptures from Göbekli Tepe were found here. The wedge reliefs are located on the front sides of the pillars 26 and 28 in the inner walling, the latter bearing another such relief on the right side of the shaft. Pillar 23, which is part of the middle wall ring, has an almost life-size representation of a wild boar's head on the left side of the shaft. Pillar 11 in the southwest of the complex is badly damaged, but has the remains of a representation of a powerful animal on the east side of its head. On its west side there is a hole similar to that of pillar 15, without it penetrating the pier head completely.

Almost fully plastic representation of a predator on pillar 27
Clear signs of destruction on pillar 37

Pillar 12 in the central curtain wall shows a particularly rich decoration . His head has five duck-like birds in front of a net-like pattern. Below that, a mighty boar was attached to the pillar and underneath the image of the fox known from pillars 9 and 10. At the height of the fox's neck was a terrazzo floor, which, as the partial cover of the relief shows, must belong to the most recent construction phase of the complex. The almost fully plastic representation of a predator on pillar 27 caused a particularly sensation .

Two walls running parallel to each other lead to the circular walls of Appendix C and cannot be assigned to any other system. These are built of very large stones with editing marks on its sides and meet almost at right angles to the southern Walling of Appendix C. Since they apparently flanking a way, it was suggested this as a kind of Dromos to see him from Mycenaean domed tombs is known . A large stone slab, reminiscent of the stone slab from Appendix A, pushed itself into this path. It had a central opening that was later blocked by masonry. On the back of this plate there was another relief showing a boar lying on its back.

The state of preservation of Annex C is comparatively poor. The central pillars in particular were smashed and left behind in ancient times. This must have happened after the plant was filled in, as a large pit was created especially for this work of destruction. The pillars south of the central pillar were also affected. The destruction can roughly be dated to the end of the pre-ceramic Neolithic on the basis of some fragments found in the pit.

Appendix D

Plant D is the largest, best preserved and most richly designed of the so far exposed plants. It has an oval floor plan with a maximum inner diameter of 20 meters. Its central pillars ( pillar 18 and pillar 31 ) are over 5 meters high, so project over the pillars in the circle by at least one meter and have indicated arms and hands on their shafts, which were once shifted in their position by the ancient sculptors. Otherwise the pictorial program of Annex D, in which almost every pillar is decorated with reliefs, is mainly characterized by depictions of animals.

View of Appendix D.

Pillar 19 was probably repaired once as early as the Neolithic, whereby the head of the pillar was placed on a plate, which in turn sits on a brick pedestal. Pillar 20 was also damaged in the Stone Age and has three reliefs on the chest of the shaft depicting the snake, bull and fox. Two fox reliefs appear on the left side of the shaft. Pillar 21 has an almost life-size relief of a gazelle's head on its left side, under which there is a relief of an onager and a big cat. On the right side there are two spiders or insects shown, but they are only very poorly worked out. Pillar 20 shows a fox on its left shaft, a snake on its chest and probably a hare on its right. The adjacent pillar 30 has a snake or a lightning bolt on its forehead in addition to geometric decoration. On its belly side there is an onager image and a group of snakes.

Pillar 32 is undecorated, while pillar 33 is particularly rich. It has reliefs on the front and on both broad sides, while its back is still in the wall. On its left side there are three depictions of birds, including two cranes . Numerous other representations are grouped around these cranes, but these were already picked out in the Stone Age and are therefore difficult to identify today. On the right side of the pillar there are mainly snakes, including a large fox. The ventral side has a particularly rich program of images, while most of the other pillars have no decoration there. The images can no longer be seen in the upper area, but underneath there are snakes, H-signs, an insect, a spider and a sheep. Pillar 38 bears a total of six depictions of animals, including a bull on its face . The other representations are those of a fox, a boar and three birds. There are also depictions of a bucranion and, on the opposite side, an ibis-like bird. The pillars 41 and 42 are undecorated, while on pillar 43, as far as exposed, an H-sign can be seen.

Finds

Boar sculpture from Göbekli Tepe

Most of the finds from Göbekli Tepe are in the Archaeological Museum of Şanlıurfa. Some of them were found on the surface. This includes a stone slab depicting a reptile-like animal in high relief. A comparable piece was previously found by farmers. An anthropomorphic figure with an erect penis, which was also discovered by farmers, caused a sensation. Representations of animal heads, which may have been parts of steles , have been found several times . A stele depicting a wild boar was found immediately next to pillar 12 . A mask with human features was interpreted as part of a totem pole like the one found in Nevali Cori. Flint tools are particularly numerous .

interpretation

Based on the findings in around 1.5% of the area that have been uncovered so far, the excavators currently assume that Göbekli Tepe is a Stone Age sanctuary. However, it is unclear how this was used and which religion was followed there.

The only possible source for such interpretations is the pictorial program of the pillars. From the shape of the pillars and the arms shown on the side, Klaus Schmidt concluded that these were stylized anthropomorphic steles. However, these are in stark contrast to the realistic depictions of people and animals from that time. Since they lack anatomical details, Schmidt rejected the original thesis that it could be the representation of ancestors. Instead, they could be depictions of beings from another world who gathered at Göbekli Tepe for an eternal gathering. Nevertheless, Schmidt considers it possible that it was the place of a cult of the dead. The counter-argument that not a single burial has been found there is put into perspective by the large number of human bones in the debris. The archaeologists therefore assume that, as in Çayönü, burials will be found when the flagstone benches and floors are opened.

The pans on the pier heads, on the other hand, were a later addition that was only attached after the facility was buried. Schmidt sees here traces of circular movements that can be detected in religious places around the world.

Klaus Schmidt assumes that the groups of people who erected the monument were organized in a much more complex way than previously assumed for hunters and gatherers . In addition, the lack of evidence of residential use makes it clear that the construction of monumental structures in human history preceded the so-called Neolithic . After all, the Göbekli Tepe is located near the Karacadağ , in the vicinity of which the origin of the cultural grain is located. It is therefore believed that the Neolithic era began there. Therefore, among other things, Klaus Schmidt speculated that groups roaming around there had to cooperate to protect the early wild grain deposits from wild animals. This is how early social organizations of various groups arose around the sanctuaries. If one follows this thesis, Neolithic groups did not emerge gradually in a small style, but immediately in the form of large social organizations.

In a depth psychological interpretation proposal, Theodor Abt compares the symbolism of the older stone circles and the later rectangular arrangement of the stone pillars as well as the erection of double pillars in the middle of these structures and examines the symbolism of the animal representations on the pillars. Abbot comes to the conclusion that these structures reflect “the action of archetypes as unconscious spiritual driving forces on this cultural achievement” and indicate a “beginning strengthening of a centering self-consciousness, the development of a centered image of God and a detachment of man from a primordial unity with the Environment ”. This process was said to have been “ synchronized with the Neolithic Revolution ”.

Other authors suspect a connection with the beginning of agriculture. So wrote Yuval Noah Harari in its short history of mankind, the presumption lies close

“That the system on Göbekli Tepe must have something to do with the domestication of wheat and humans. In order to feed the people who built such monumental structures, huge amounts of food were required. It is quite conceivable that the hunters and gatherers did not move from collecting wheat to growing wheat in order to meet their usual caloric needs, but to build a temple. If so, then religious beliefs may have led people to pay the high price that wheat was asking. It used to be assumed that the settlers first settled in a village and then built a temple in the middle. Göbekli Tepe suggests that the temple came first and then the village. "

In a study by Martin B. Sweatman and Dimitrios Tsikritsis, representations on a stele were interpreted as a representation of the comet that triggered the younger Dryas period . Göbekli Tepe was at least also an astronomical observatory. This thesis is not undisputed.

Modern use

The Göbekli Tepe is today not only an archaeological excavation area but also a place of pilgrimage for the regional population. At its highest point there is a mulberry tree , which is known as the dilek ağacı 'wish tree' . He stands in a small square surrounded by a stone wall, on which there are also some Islamic graves. Scraps of fabric are tied to the tree and a wish or vow is expressed. This is a pre-Islamic custom that is widespread in Turkey.

For the future it is planned not only to present the finds from Göbekli Tepe in a museum, but to make the place and its surroundings accessible to the public in the form of an archeology park. This is to ultimately ensure that the place is preserved in its originality.

reception

The Göbekli Tepe now enjoys a fairly modern reception. This includes, in particular, articles in relevant science journalistic magazines and television documentaries. The site was previously represented with large articles in Geo magazine and National Geographic . The Terra-X episode Beyond Eden - Lifestyle in the Stone Age and the production Lost Civilization: Göbekli Tepe - 12,000 years ago by National Geographic also dealt intensively with this site.

In addition, the Göbekli Tepe is also received in modern painting. The artist Matti Braun also presented paintings on Göbekli Tepe in the Özurfa 2008 exhibition at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne . Hans Gustav made a cycle of portraits of the excavation team in 2007. The most extensive cycle goes back to Matthias Rummer , who made a number of watercolors for Göbekli Tepe.

On July 1, 2018, Göbekli Tepe was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO .

literature

  • Julia Gresky, Juliane Haelm, Lee Clare: Modified human crania from Göbekli Tepe provide evidence for a new form of Neolithic skull cult . In: Science Advances . tape 3 , no. 6 , June 28, 2017, doi : 10.1126 / sciadv.1700564 .
  • Göbekli Tepe Newsletter 1, 2014 ( PDF ).
  • Edward Bruce Banning: So fair a house: Göbekli Tepe and the identification of temples in the pre-pottery Neolithic of the Near East . In: Current Anthropology . tape 52 , no. 2 , 2011, p. 619-660 (English).
  • Theodor Abt : Göbekli Tepe. Cultural memory and knowledge of nature. In: Journal of Oriental Archeology. Volume 7, 2014, pp. 90-124.
  • Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (ed.): 12,000 years ago in Anatolia. The oldest monuments of mankind. Book accompanying the exhibition in the Badisches Landesmuseum from January 20 to June 17, 2007. Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-2072-8 .
    • DVD-ROM: MediaCultura (Ed.): 12,000 years ago in Anatolia. The oldest monuments of mankind. Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-2090-2 .
  • Marion Benz: Stone symbols of a new time . In: Spectrum of Science . No. 5.17 . Holtzbrinck, 2017, ISSN  0170-2971 , p. 12-17 ( partial view [accessed April 30, 2017]).
  • Oliver Dietrich, Manfred Heun, Jens Notroff, Klaus Schmidt, Martin Zarnkow: The role of cult and feasting in the emergence of Neolithic communities. New evidence from Göbekli Tepe, south-eastern Turkey. In: Antiquity. 86, 2012, pp. 674-695 PDF .
  • Oliver Dietrich, Çiğdem Köksal-Schmidt, Jens Notroff, Klaus Schmidt: Establishing a Radiocarbon Sequence for Göbekli Tepe. State of Research and New Data. In: Neo-Lithics. 1, 2013, pp. 36-47. PDF .
  • Karl W. Luckert: Stone age religion at Göbekli Tepe. From hunting to domestication, warfare and civilization. Foreword by Klaus Schmidt. Triplehood, Portland 2013, ISBN 978-0-9839072-2-0 .
  • Joris Peters, Klaus Schmidt: Animals in the symbolic world of Pre-Pottery Neolithic Göbekli Tepe, south-eastern Turkey: a preliminary assessment. In: Anthropozoologica. 39, 1, 2004, pp. 179-218. Full text (PDF; 4.7 MB).
  • Erika Qasim: The T-shaped monuments of Gobekli Tepe: Posture of the Arms. In: Chr. Sütterlin et al. (Ed.): Art as Behavior. An Ethological Approach to Visual and Verbal Art, Music and Architecture. Oldenburg 2014, pp. 252–272.
  • Klaus Schmidt : Early Neolithic temples. A research report on the pre-ceramic Neolithic Upper Mesopotamia. In: Communications of the German Orient Society . Volume 130, 1998, pp. 17-49.
  • Klaus Schmidt: First came the temple, then the city. Report on the excavations at Gürcütepe and Göbekli Tepe 1996–1999. In: Istanbul communications . 50, 2000, pp. 5-40.
  • Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe, Southeastern Turkey. A preliminary report on the 1995-1999 Excavations. In: Palèorient. 26, 2001, pp. 45-54.
  • Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe. A description of the most important findings, based on the work of the excavation teams in 1995–2007. In: Klaus Schmidt (ed.): First temples - early settlements. 12,000 years of art and culture. Excavations and research between the Danube and the Euphrates. For ArchaeNova e. V. Heidelberg. Isensee, Oldenburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-89995-563-7 , pp. 187-223.
  • Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe - the Stone Age sanctuaries. New results of ongoing excavations with a special focus on sculptures and high reliefs. In: Documenta Praehistorica. 37, 2010, pp. 239-256 ( full text ).
  • Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. 3rd, expanded and updated edition 2007. CH Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-53500-3 .
    • Turkish translation: Taş çağı avcılarının gizemli kutsal alanı Göbekli Tepe en eski tapınağı yapanlar. Arkeoloji ve Sanat Yayınları, Istanbul 2007, ISBN 978-9944-75-021-9 .
  • Metin Yeşilyurt: The Scientific Interpretation of Göbeklitepe: The Theory and the Research Program (Neolithic and Older Metal Ages. Studies and Materials, Volume 2.). LIT Verlag, Münster / Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-643-12528-6 .
  • Lars Hennings: Beginnings of Thinking. On the Sociology of the Early Paleolithic - Ontogenesis, Neuroscience, Epigenetics um Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2017, ISBN 978-3-7460-1536-1 (following: From cave painting to high culture at Göbekli Tepe. Open access: https: / /zenodo.org/record/51501#.Wdhl51pCTdQ ).

Web links

Commons : Göbekli Tepe  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Göbekli Tepe  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe. A description of the most important findings is based on the work of the excavation teams in 1995–2007. In: First Temples - Early Settlements. 12,000 years of art and culture. Excavations and research between the Danube and the Euphrates. Isensee, Oldenburg 2009, p. 187.
  2. ↑ a b Oliver Dietrich, Jens Notroff: A sanctuary, or so fair a house? In defense of an archeology of cult at Pre-Pottery Neolithic Göbekli Tepe . In: Nicola Laneri (Ed.): Defining the sacred. Approaches to the archeology of religion in the Near East . Oxbow, Oxford 2015, ISBN 978-1-78297-679-0 , pp. 75 (English).
  3. ↑ a b c Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe. A description of the most important findings is based on the work of the excavation teams in 1995–2007. In: First Temples - Early Settlements. 12,000 years of art and culture. Excavations and research between the Danube and the Euphrates. Isensee, Oldenburg 2009, p. 188.
  4. ^ Peter Benedict: Survey Work in Southeastern Anatolia. In: Halet Çambel , Robert J. Braidwood (ed.): İstanbul ve Chicago Üniversiteleri karma projesi güneydoğu anadolu tarihöncesi araştırmaları / The joint Istanbul-Chicago Universities Prehistoric Research in Southeastern Anatolia. I. Edebiyat Fakanschesi Basimevi, Istanbul 1980, pp. 151-191.
  5. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 16.
  6. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe . CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 17 .
  7. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006. p. 83.
  8. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 92.
  9. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 102.
  10. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 104.
  11. ^ A b c Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 105.
  12. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, pp. 108-109.
  13. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, pp. 109-111.
  14. ↑ a b Klaus Schmidt: They built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 111.
  15. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 109.
  16. ↑ a b c d e Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe. A description of the most important findings, based on the work of the excavation teams in 1995–2007. In: First Temples - Early Settlements. 12,000 years of art and culture. Excavations and research between the Danube and the Euphrates. Isensee, Oldenburg 2009, p. 191.
  17. ↑ a b Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe. A description of the most important findings, based on the work of the excavation teams in 1995–2007. In: First Temples - Early Settlements. 12,000 years of art and culture. Excavations and research between the Danube and the Euphrates. Isensee, Oldenburg 2009, p. 198.
  18. ↑ a b c d Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe. A description of the most important findings, based on the work of the excavation teams in 1995–2007. In: First Temples - Early Settlements. 12,000 years of art and culture. Excavations and research between the Danube and the Euphrates. Isensee, Oldenburg 2009, p. 201.
  19. ↑ a b Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe. A description of the most important findings, based on the work of the excavation teams in 1995–2007. In: First Temples - Early Settlements. 12,000 years of art and culture. Excavations and research between the Danube and the Euphrates. Isensee, Oldenburg 2009. p. 192.
  20. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: The stone ghosts of Göbekli Tepe. In: Epoc-dossier. ISBN 978-3-938639-98-6 , p. 6.
  21. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, pp. 112-113.
  22. ↑ a b Klaus Schmidt: They built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 114.
  23. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 129.
  24. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 113.
  25. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, pp. 118-119.
  26. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, pp. 122-124.
  27. ^ A b c Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 128.
  28. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006. p. 133.
  29. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, pp. 132-133.
  30. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, pp. 136-137.
  31. ↑ a b c d Klaus Schmidt: They built the first temples. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 146.
  32. ↑ a b Klaus Schmidt: They built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 149.
  33. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 148.
  34. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, pp. 264-265.
  35. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006. p. 153.
  36. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 155.
  37. ↑ a b Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe. A description of the most important findings, based on the work of the excavation teams in 1995–2007. In: First Temples - Early Settlements. 12,000 years of art and culture. Excavations and research between the Danube and the Euphrates. Isensee, Oldenburg 2009, p. 196.
  38. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 165.
  39. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 172.
  40. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006. p. 173.
  41. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006. p. 174.
  42. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 177.
  43. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 178.
  44. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 181 f.
  45. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 185.
  46. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 186 f.
  47. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, pp. 93-95.
  48. ↑ Klaus Schmidt: You built the first temple. The enigmatic sanctuary of the Stone Age hunters. The archaeological discovery at Göbekli Tepe. CH Beck, Munich 2006, p. 151, Fig. 60.
  49. ^ Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe. A description of the most important findings, based on the work of the excavation teams in 1995–2007. In: First Temples - Early Settlements. 12,000 years of art and culture. Excavations and research between the Danube and the Euphrates. Isensee, Oldenburg 2009, p. 189 f.
  50. ↑ a b Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe. A description of the most important findings, based on the work of the excavation teams in 1995–2007. In: First Temples - Early Settlements. 12,000 years of art and culture. Excavations and research between the Danube and the Euphrates. Isensee, Oldenburg 2009, p. 197.
  51. ^ Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe. A description of the most important findings, based on the work of the excavation teams in 1995–2007. In: First Temples - Early Settlements. 12,000 years of art and culture. Excavations and research between the Danube and the Euphrates. Isensee, Oldenburg 2009, p. 197 f.
  52. ^ Klaus-Dieter Linsmeier: A revolution on a grand scale. Interview with Klaus Schmidt. In: Adventure archeology. Cultures, people, monuments. Spectrum of Science, Heidelberg 2006, 2, ISSN  1612-9954 .
  53. ^ Theodor Abt: Göbekli Tepe. Cultural memory and knowledge of nature. In: Journal for Orient Archeology. 7, 2014, pp. 90-124.
  54. ↑ Yuval Noah Harari: A Brief History of Humanity. Pantheon, Munich 2015, ISBN 978-3-570-55269-8 , kindle edition, p. 118.
  55. ↑ Martin B. Sweatman and Dimitrios Tsikritsis: Decoding Göbekli Tepe with archaeoastronomy: What does te fox say? In: Mediterranean Archeology and Archaeometry. Vol. 17, No. 1, 2017, pp. 233-250.
  56. ↑ See Jens Notroff et al.: More than a vulture: A response to Sweatman and Tsikritsis. In: Mediterranean Archeology and Archaeometry. Vol. 17, No. 2, 2017 (PDF; 2.2 MB), pp. 57–74.
  57. ^ Klaus Schmidt: Göbekli Tepe. A description of the most important findings, based on the work of the excavation teams in 1995–2007. In: First Temples - Early Settlements. 12,000 years of art and culture. Excavations and research between the Danube and the Euphrates. Isensee, Oldenburg 2009, pp. 220–222.
  58. ↑ Four sites added to UNESCO's World Heritage List.
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