Göbekli Tepe, a 12,000-year-old archeological marvel located in southern Turkey has intrigued scientists with its towering stone pillars and carvings.
Now, archeologists from the University of Edinburgh propose that the marks on the stone pillars signify an early solar calendar. According to the researchers, these carvings were likely designed “as a memorial to a devastating comet strike.”
The carvings also reveal a sophisticated understanding of precession, the Earth’s axial wobble, suggesting that ancient people recognized its effects on star positions long before Greek astronomer Hipparchus documented it. This discovery implies that our ancestors had a deeper knowledge of astronomy than previously believed.
The site features peculiar V-shaped symbols, which researchers interpreted as representations of days. By analyzing these symbols, they have identified a 365-day solar calendar divided into 12 lunar months with an additional 11 days. Remarkably, this discovery predates the invention of writing. The summer solstice appears to be a uniquely marked day, 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,” noted the researchers in a press release.
Similar V-shaped symbols found on other sculptures in the area may represent divine entities. Ancient calendars, like the Aztec calendar stone, served various purposes, including agriculture, religion, and astronomy. The obsession with timekeeping at Göbekli Tepe might be linked to a catastrophic event.
Experts believe that around 13,000 years ago, a comet struck Earth, initiating a “mini ice age” that lasted over 1,200 years and led to the extinction of numerous large animal species. Göbekli Tepe may have been constructed as a memorial to this devastating event, which significantly impacted ancient human life and agricultural practices.
Additionally, another pillar at the site appears to depict the Taurid meteor shower, suggesting that comet debris caused a 27-day meteor outburst 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,” explained Martin Sweatman, the lead author. “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.”
These findings are published in the journal Time and Mind.