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High on a hill in Turkey...

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one of the most important

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archaeological
discoveries of our time.

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We thought

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these are the ruins

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of a lost civilization.

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An ancient wonder,

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12,000 years old;

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over 6,000 years older
than Stonehenge.

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{\an8}

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Oh, my God!

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A mysterious collection

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of circular structures

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lined with
massive stone pillars,

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adorned with carved creatures.

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What were these monuments for?

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We never expected
monumental architecture.

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This was totally new.

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Who were the people
who gathered here?

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Human remains are special.

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These are the people
that built the site.

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These are
the people who lived here.

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Now, new discoveries are
leading some archaeologists...

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Wow.

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...to rethink their most
basic ideas

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about the origins
of civilization.

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It's a very strong

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indicator that the
settlement was permanent.

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"Stone Age Temple Mystery."

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Right now, on "NOVA."

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In Southern Turkey,

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hidden beneath
a modern protective canopy...

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...a mysterious
collection of stone structures.

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This is Göbekli Tepe.

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Named for the hill it
stands upon.

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Here, towering stone pillars,

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some 18 feet tall,

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stand guard in
nine circular enclosures

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up to 65 feet across.

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Older than
the Great Pyramid of Giza.

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Older, even, than Stonehenge.

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For over 30 years,

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archaeologists have been trying

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to solve the riddle
of this enigmatic site.

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But now, with new technology...

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...unearthing new discoveries...

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Fantastic.

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...we may finally have answers
to the questions

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scientists
have been asking for years.

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Who built this place?

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For what purpose?

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And why was it abandoned,

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with all traces
of human settlement

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ending thousands of years ago?

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In 1994,

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archaeologist Michael Morsch

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was part of a small group
who set out across

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the landscape... in search of
a rumored hilltop site.

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Talked of since the 1960s,

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but never explored.

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This is the road

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{\an8}we took when we first
discovered Göbekli Tepe.

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It was the first team
to investigate the site,

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led by German archaeologist
Klaus Schmidt.

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We saw all these masses
of flints on the ground

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{\an8}and we saw these T-shaped
pillars.

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{\an8}
Knowing they'd come across
something special,

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{\an8}they returned the following year

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{\an8}to begin the excavation.

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{\an8}Over the next 14 years,

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{\an8}one of the most remarkable sites
ever discovered

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{\an8}slowly emerged from the earth.

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{\an8}Sweeping, curved stone walls

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{\an8}lined with monolithic pillars.

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Some covered
in reliefs of animals,

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and some
depicting human figures.

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We had the feeling this is
the neolithic gold mine.

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We thought these are the ruins
of a lost civilization.

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Using digital technology
to remove modern structures,

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it's possible to see the
hillside

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as those first
archaeologists encountered it.

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They uncovered
four great circular buildings.

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Archaeologists labeled them
A, B, C and D.

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Archaeologist and architect
Moritz Kinzel

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has studied the site
for almost ten years.

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He's trying to piece together
a chronology of the structures.

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Inside Building B, he has
identified layers of walls.

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What we have here
is the outer wall,

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with this niche feature
and then we have the second wall

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in front of it,
with what looks like

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a bench but it's actually a wall
and where we are now

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actually standing on is
the third wall

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and on the other side we have
the fourth wall.

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Radiocarbon dating
of the mud mortar

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from the remaining walls

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has revealed that they
were constantly

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being altered and renovated.

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{\an8}The architecture at Göbekli Tepe
was not built at once,

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it was growing over time,
but inwards.

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So what we

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see here in the background is

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also the oldest wall
of Building B

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and then building phases
are built inside the structures

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and making the buildings
over time smaller.

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The four circular buildings
were reshaped over time.

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The team has dated
the oldest outer walls

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to around 9,600 BCE...

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...with three inner walls,

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each constructed
300 to 500 years apart.

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Until building
appears to have stopped.

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We know that the buildings

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at Göbekli Tepe had
a lifetime

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over 1,500 years.

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{\an8}
The dating places Göbekli Tepe
right at the start of a period

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{\an8}during the Stone Age
known as the Neolithic.

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A time of radical change
for our ancestors

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that saw them adapt from
living in small nomadic groups

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and eating
wild plants and animals...

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...to settling
in larger communities

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and experimenting
with rearing livestock

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and cultivating crops.

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The question is,

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how does Göbekli Tepe fit
into this story?

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Archaeologist Lee Clare

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is field director
of the excavations.

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He believes there are clues
in the design of these

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circular structures...

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...and T-pillars.

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The T-pillars are depictions
of the human form,

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albeit very stylized.

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We have the shaft here
which is the body,

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and the top of the T of course,
is the head of the individual

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without any facial features.

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We have on this broad side
the arm coming down the forearm

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and of course the hands at the
bottom resting on the stomach.

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This stripe here is actually
the belt

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of the individual,

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and hanging down from
the belt buckle,

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we have the loin cloth made from
a fox fur,

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so that's seen as
a good indication

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of the clothing that was being
worn at the time.

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Lee believes the design
of this space echoes

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how it was used
12,000 years ago.

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We certainly have two very

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{\an8}important individuals
standing here

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{\an8}in the center of the building,

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{\an8}depicted at great height,
five-and-a-half meters tall,

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{\an8}centrally facing
towards the south.

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But in the surrounding walls
around us there are

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a dozen more pillars
incorporated into that wall

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and each of these was
representing an individual.

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What we have here
is actually a community

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sitting down, discussing.

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Huge numbers of animal bones
found here

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hinted at feasting.

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It's like a piece of
animal horn core.

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Probably a gazelle
or something like that.

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Leading to the conclusion
that these structures

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were communal ritual spaces.

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That led archaeologists to
name them "Special Buildings."

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But with few obvious
signs of living spaces...

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...and no apparent
water supply...

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...researchers believed
that this was a site

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built by
nomadic hunter-gatherers

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who came together here
for seasonal feasts.

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It was dubbed,
"The Cathedral on the Hill."

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But the radiocarbon dates
mean that prehistoric peoples

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must have constructed this
vast ritual site

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at Göbekli Tepe,

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before pottery...
metalworking...

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...or even the wheel.

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Forcing researchers to rethink

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what they understood about
early Neolithic people.

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The assumption was
that hunter-gatherer communities

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were not capable of constructing

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a site like Göbekli Tepe.

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It was thought that first
you needed agriculture

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and organized society
to have

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this sort of a building.

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The received wisdom
about hunters

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and gatherers was mobile groups.

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We expected shamanistic rituals,

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dances in small groups.

186
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But we never expected
rituals in

187
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sites with
monumental architecture.

188
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This was totally new.

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Who were the people
that built Göbekli Tepe?

190
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The age of the site points

191
00:10:55,389 --> 00:10:57,990
to hunter-gatherers.

192
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Yet monumental ritual spaces
were thought to be tied

193
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to the development
of agriculture.

194
00:11:06,166 --> 00:11:10,536
So were these people
hunter-gatherers or farmers?

195
00:11:10,537 --> 00:11:13,606
And what did they do here?

196
00:11:13,607 --> 00:11:16,042
{\an8}
What was their purpose?

197
00:11:16,043 --> 00:11:17,209
{\an8}Were they nomadic?

198
00:11:17,210 --> 00:11:19,111
What kind of lifestyle did
they have?

199
00:11:19,112 --> 00:11:21,614
These are the things
we are curious about.

200
00:11:25,952 --> 00:11:30,589
In 2012, ground-penetrating
radar revealed

201
00:11:30,590 --> 00:11:33,092
the Göbekli Tepe site
extended beyond

202
00:11:33,093 --> 00:11:36,562
these first four
special buildings.

203
00:11:36,563 --> 00:11:39,999
Showing more solid
structures underground

204
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:41,968
to the north and west.

205
00:11:46,139 --> 00:11:49,842
Lee and his team are
exploring this larger plot,

206
00:11:49,843 --> 00:11:52,846
slowly exposing
more stone walls.

207
00:11:56,049 --> 00:11:57,883
Over the past ten years,

208
00:11:57,884 --> 00:12:01,455
dozens of smaller stone
structures have been uncovered.

209
00:12:05,392 --> 00:12:07,326
We have a very dense
agglomeration

210
00:12:07,327 --> 00:12:09,395
of buildings around the slope.

211
00:12:09,396 --> 00:12:10,796
These aren't
monumental buildings.

212
00:12:10,797 --> 00:12:12,031
They're much smaller,

213
00:12:12,032 --> 00:12:13,499
four or five meters in diameter,

214
00:12:13,500 --> 00:12:14,901
sometimes even
smaller than that.

215
00:12:17,070 --> 00:12:19,939
Dating these buildings places
their construction

216
00:12:19,940 --> 00:12:21,774
more than 500 years later

217
00:12:21,775 --> 00:12:24,845
than the earliest walls
of the special buildings.

218
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Were they simply spaces
for preparation

219
00:12:30,750 --> 00:12:32,518
for the feasting and rituals

220
00:12:32,519 --> 00:12:34,086
that took place
in the special buildings?

221
00:12:36,756 --> 00:12:39,593
Or did they have
some other purpose?

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Have a look.
Oop!

223
00:12:44,297 --> 00:12:46,932
It's like a shallow bowl
on the floor, doesn't it?
Yeah.

224
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That's really fantastic.

225
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In a world before pottery,

226
00:12:54,074 --> 00:12:57,443
{\an8}any kind of containers
for storage, cups or bowls,

227
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{\an8}would have been made from wood,

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00:12:59,079 --> 00:13:03,482
{\an8}bone,
or carved from solid stone.

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00:13:03,483 --> 00:13:05,317
Now this space is very small,

230
00:13:05,318 --> 00:13:07,887
too small to actually be used
for habitation,

231
00:13:07,888 --> 00:13:09,622
but what we could be looking
at here is obviously

232
00:13:09,623 --> 00:13:11,490
a storage area.

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00:13:11,491 --> 00:13:14,894
Even after being buried
for more than 10,000 years,

234
00:13:14,895 --> 00:13:17,596
the stone vessel
could still contain clues

235
00:13:17,597 --> 00:13:20,800
as to what these
small walled areas were for.

236
00:13:22,402 --> 00:13:24,270
Inside the bowl,
of course, the contents

237
00:13:24,271 --> 00:13:25,538
seems to be preserved.

238
00:13:25,539 --> 00:13:27,339
I mean, of course,
we'll take the contents here

239
00:13:27,340 --> 00:13:29,275
and send it off for analysis,
for floatation,

240
00:13:29,276 --> 00:13:30,609
for various things,

241
00:13:30,610 --> 00:13:32,846
and look if we can perhaps see
what was inside it.

242
00:13:34,347 --> 00:13:35,814
Earth from the bowl

243
00:13:35,815 --> 00:13:38,919
and from the surrounding space,
is sent off for analysis.

244
00:13:40,420 --> 00:13:43,723
Anything of archaeological
interest can be isolated...

245
00:13:45,258 --> 00:13:48,694
...using a specially
designed floatation tank.

246
00:13:48,695 --> 00:13:51,964
Archaeo-botanist Ferran Antolín

247
00:13:51,965 --> 00:13:55,134
and PhD student
Núria Morera Noguer

248
00:13:55,135 --> 00:13:57,704
sift through bones,
flints and plant remains.

249
00:13:59,806 --> 00:14:02,474
Lots of flints, splinters.
Yeah.

250
00:14:02,475 --> 00:14:06,645
The process will split
the sample, washing away

251
00:14:06,646 --> 00:14:08,714
sediment and separating
what's left

252
00:14:08,715 --> 00:14:10,149
by what floats

253
00:14:10,150 --> 00:14:12,318
and what sinks.

254
00:14:12,319 --> 00:14:13,986
The light fractions

255
00:14:13,987 --> 00:14:16,722
{\an8}float into the water tank.

256
00:14:16,723 --> 00:14:18,958
{\an8}The heavy fraction
stays here with this huge mesh,

257
00:14:18,959 --> 00:14:21,994
and all the other sediment

258
00:14:21,995 --> 00:14:24,163
goes down to the bottom
of the tank.

259
00:14:24,164 --> 00:14:26,632
There's quite a lot
of charred material

260
00:14:26,633 --> 00:14:28,235
in the light fraction.

261
00:14:29,636 --> 00:14:31,704
The floating light
fraction will contain

262
00:14:31,705 --> 00:14:33,773
prehistoric plant remains.

263
00:14:34,841 --> 00:14:37,543
Flints and bones will sink.

264
00:14:37,544 --> 00:14:38,644
Oh, look,

265
00:14:38,645 --> 00:14:40,813
The finger bone.

266
00:14:40,814 --> 00:14:42,582
Finger bone.

267
00:14:44,484 --> 00:14:46,286
So here is the heavy fraction.

268
00:14:48,588 --> 00:14:49,955
We have this finger bone,

269
00:14:49,956 --> 00:14:51,857
here,

270
00:14:51,858 --> 00:14:53,392
from an animal,

271
00:14:53,393 --> 00:14:55,995
possibly a gazelle--
we also find

272
00:14:55,996 --> 00:14:57,429
this tarsus,

273
00:14:57,430 --> 00:15:00,567
so it's part
of the paw of the animal.

274
00:15:03,403 --> 00:15:06,839
{\an8}
It was the discovery of large
numbers of animal bones

275
00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:08,540
{\an8}in the special buildings

276
00:15:08,541 --> 00:15:10,977
{\an8}that led to the
ritual feasting theory.

277
00:15:12,612 --> 00:15:16,115
For the team's zoo-archaeologist
Stephanie Emra,

278
00:15:16,116 --> 00:15:20,419
deeper analysis of bones found
across the site can reveal

279
00:15:20,420 --> 00:15:23,089
more about what
animals were being eaten.

280
00:15:24,691 --> 00:15:27,826
So, in terms of the number
of bones on the site

281
00:15:27,827 --> 00:15:32,332
{\an8}we've probably looked at...
over 100,000.

282
00:15:33,967 --> 00:15:36,770
Many of the fragments
are poorly preserved.

283
00:15:37,904 --> 00:15:40,706
And the first challenge
is identifying which bones

284
00:15:40,707 --> 00:15:43,008
came from which species.

285
00:15:43,009 --> 00:15:46,412
I've seen a lot of gazelle, so,

286
00:15:46,413 --> 00:15:47,780
these little vertebra,

287
00:15:47,781 --> 00:15:50,883
gazelle ribs--
some of the larger

288
00:15:50,884 --> 00:15:53,285
stuff are from cattle,
so the aurochs.

289
00:15:53,286 --> 00:15:56,389
We found boar, sheep.

290
00:15:57,924 --> 00:16:01,460
While gazelle make up more than
half of the identified bones,

291
00:16:01,461 --> 00:16:05,397
the presence of what
seem like familiar farm animals,

292
00:16:05,398 --> 00:16:08,534
such as cattle and sheep, raises

293
00:16:08,535 --> 00:16:11,637
the possibility that the people
of Göbekli Tepe

294
00:16:11,638 --> 00:16:13,740
were farming their food.

295
00:16:14,841 --> 00:16:17,409
Stephanie's research
is trying to distinguish

296
00:16:17,410 --> 00:16:19,144
whether these bones are from

297
00:16:19,145 --> 00:16:22,849
domesticated herds
or their still-wild ancestors.

298
00:16:24,784 --> 00:16:27,386
In a controlled
herding environment,

299
00:16:27,387 --> 00:16:30,356
you would have more adult
females and young males

300
00:16:30,357 --> 00:16:31,557
being killed off

301
00:16:31,558 --> 00:16:33,025
and this is not something
that we see.

302
00:16:33,026 --> 00:16:34,827
We would also see a

303
00:16:34,828 --> 00:16:36,895
shift in the size
of the animals,

304
00:16:36,896 --> 00:16:39,298
so domestic animals tend to be
a bit smaller

305
00:16:39,299 --> 00:16:40,834
than their wild counterparts.

306
00:16:42,635 --> 00:16:44,937
Early farm animals
were mostly smaller

307
00:16:44,938 --> 00:16:48,006
than their wild relatives,
due to poorer nutrition

308
00:16:48,007 --> 00:16:50,209
and being penned into enclosures

309
00:16:50,210 --> 00:16:52,212
rather than running free.

310
00:16:53,646 --> 00:16:55,781
I have these examples.

311
00:16:55,782 --> 00:16:57,483
{\an8}This one is from Göbekli.

312
00:16:57,484 --> 00:17:01,120
{\an8}And this one is from
a medieval site in Germany.

313
00:17:01,121 --> 00:17:03,857
{\an8}And you can see
the massive size difference.

314
00:17:05,759 --> 00:17:07,192
{\an8}You can never really say
from just

315
00:17:07,193 --> 00:17:10,562
one bone, whether it's going
to be a wild population

316
00:17:10,563 --> 00:17:12,164
or domestic population,

317
00:17:12,165 --> 00:17:14,566
but having thousands
of bone fragments,

318
00:17:14,567 --> 00:17:17,737
you can then get an idea of the,
sort of, size of the animals.

319
00:17:20,140 --> 00:17:23,842
The animal bones found at
Göbekli Tepe suggest the animals

320
00:17:23,843 --> 00:17:26,044
eaten here were wild.

321
00:17:28,281 --> 00:17:30,950
The people here
didn't keep livestock...

322
00:17:32,318 --> 00:17:34,687
...but slaughtered wild animals.

323
00:17:37,323 --> 00:17:40,025
In addition to the
heavier bone evidence,

324
00:17:40,026 --> 00:17:42,761
the lighter material from the
floatation tank

325
00:17:42,762 --> 00:17:44,798
is also filled with clues.

326
00:17:45,832 --> 00:17:48,834
ANTOLÍN:
The floatation process
is essential.

327
00:17:48,835 --> 00:17:50,736
{\an8}It's the only way
we can recover

328
00:17:50,737 --> 00:17:52,137
{\an8}a representative amount

329
00:17:52,138 --> 00:17:54,273
{\an8}of the plant remains
that accumulated

330
00:17:54,274 --> 00:17:55,608
in the site.

331
00:17:57,577 --> 00:18:00,713
Ferran Antolín is an expert
in ancient plants.

332
00:18:01,681 --> 00:18:04,751
ANTOLÍN:
Most of them are
beyond one millimeter of size.

333
00:18:06,753 --> 00:18:09,855
Very small seeds,
charcoal fragments,

334
00:18:09,856 --> 00:18:12,090
allow us to reconstruct
both the diet

335
00:18:12,091 --> 00:18:15,261
and the landscape
around the settlement.

336
00:18:16,396 --> 00:18:19,832
The smallest fragments,
charred by ancient fires,

337
00:18:19,833 --> 00:18:23,635
hold clues to what
the people who came here ate.

338
00:18:23,636 --> 00:18:26,138
ANTOLÍN:
We are looking for charred seeds

339
00:18:26,139 --> 00:18:29,074
and charred pieces of wood,
because these are the only

340
00:18:29,075 --> 00:18:31,543
organic plant material

341
00:18:31,544 --> 00:18:35,782
that preserves in dry sites.

342
00:18:36,883 --> 00:18:39,952
Among the microscopic,
blackened plant remains,

343
00:18:39,953 --> 00:18:42,321
Ferran finds more
fragments of one plant

344
00:18:42,322 --> 00:18:44,389
than any other.

345
00:18:46,125 --> 00:18:49,795
A kind of wheat, called einkorn.

346
00:18:49,796 --> 00:18:52,097
ANTOLÍN:
It grew around Göbekli Tepe,

347
00:18:52,098 --> 00:18:54,266
it was probably intensively
harvested

348
00:18:54,267 --> 00:18:56,035
by people living at the site.

349
00:18:57,103 --> 00:19:00,839
Since we started
the new analysis in 2023,

350
00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,710
we've been
able to see that einkorn is the

351
00:19:04,711 --> 00:19:08,314
most frequent
plant that we are identifying.

352
00:19:10,283 --> 00:19:14,153
Einkorn was one of the world's
first domesticated grains.

353
00:19:15,955 --> 00:19:19,491
But Ferran's research is
revealing something surprising

354
00:19:19,492 --> 00:19:22,028
about the einkorn
eaten at Göbekli Tepe.

355
00:19:23,096 --> 00:19:26,865
ANTOLÍN:
Wild plants disperse their seeds
on their own.

356
00:19:26,866 --> 00:19:28,634
That's the goal;
that their seeds

357
00:19:28,635 --> 00:19:31,236
just produce new plants.

358
00:19:31,237 --> 00:19:32,738
In wild einkorn,

359
00:19:32,739 --> 00:19:36,842
those seeds just fall off
the ear themselves.

360
00:19:36,843 --> 00:19:39,045
It's called shattering ear.

361
00:19:40,313 --> 00:19:44,516
This shattering ear allows seeds
to spread naturally.

362
00:19:44,517 --> 00:19:49,121
But domesticated,
farmed einkorn is different.

363
00:19:49,122 --> 00:19:53,158
ANTOLÍN:
This is the ear
of domesticated einkorn.

364
00:19:53,159 --> 00:19:56,495
And all of
the spikelets are still attached

365
00:19:56,496 --> 00:19:58,363
to the central axis,

366
00:19:58,364 --> 00:20:00,032
what we call the rachis.

367
00:20:00,033 --> 00:20:02,635
And it means it's
a non-shattering rachis.

368
00:20:04,237 --> 00:20:07,773
Domesticated einkorn rachis
are more robust,

369
00:20:07,774 --> 00:20:10,510
allowing for the ears
to be harvested intact.

370
00:20:12,612 --> 00:20:15,847
The einkorn seeds Ferran
is finding at Göbekli Tepe

371
00:20:15,848 --> 00:20:19,052
are all from ears
with shattering rachis.

372
00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:23,255
This is wild einkorn.

373
00:20:23,256 --> 00:20:26,758
ANTOLÍN:
The fact that we have
wild einkorn at Göbekli Tepe

374
00:20:26,759 --> 00:20:29,061
is indicating that people

375
00:20:29,062 --> 00:20:32,030
were not yet
cultivating the plant,

376
00:20:32,031 --> 00:20:35,168
but they were
harvesting intensively.

377
00:20:36,703 --> 00:20:39,071
Until archaeologists
find clear markers

378
00:20:39,072 --> 00:20:42,841
of early crop cultivation, like
the presence of certain weeds

379
00:20:42,842 --> 00:20:47,245
that thrive in tilled soil,
the evidence suggests

380
00:20:47,246 --> 00:20:52,085
the einkorn was gathered from
the wild, not planted fields.

381
00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:57,155
When coupled with
the wild animal bone evidence,

382
00:20:57,156 --> 00:20:59,791
it points to the people at
Göbekli Tepe

383
00:20:59,792 --> 00:21:02,127
being hunter-gatherers,

384
00:21:02,128 --> 00:21:04,364
not farmers.

385
00:21:05,565 --> 00:21:09,901
And looking at the plant remains
beyond einkorn reveals

386
00:21:09,902 --> 00:21:12,505
something else about
the people who came here.

387
00:21:15,842 --> 00:21:17,209
ANTOLÍN:
We've been able

388
00:21:17,210 --> 00:21:20,445
to find different types
of plant resources, such as

389
00:21:20,446 --> 00:21:22,481
wild cereals and legumes,

390
00:21:22,482 --> 00:21:27,119
which were harvested mostly in
spring and early summer period,

391
00:21:27,120 --> 00:21:29,921
loads of fruits and nuts
that would be most

392
00:21:29,922 --> 00:21:33,458
typically harvested by
the end of summer and autumn.

393
00:21:37,664 --> 00:21:39,765
The discovery
is forcing researchers

394
00:21:39,766 --> 00:21:41,633
to rethink the traditional view

395
00:21:41,634 --> 00:21:45,003
of the people
who visited Göbekli Tepe.

396
00:21:45,004 --> 00:21:47,572
That they were nomadic
hunter-gatherers

397
00:21:47,573 --> 00:21:49,608
who camped across the
surrounding plains

398
00:21:49,609 --> 00:21:51,177
throughout the year...

399
00:21:52,512 --> 00:21:55,448
...congregating here
for occasional celebrations.

400
00:21:56,716 --> 00:21:58,750
ANTOLÍN:
We observe a diversification

401
00:21:58,751 --> 00:22:01,920
of gathered resources
that would be available

402
00:22:01,921 --> 00:22:04,322
in different months of the year.

403
00:22:04,323 --> 00:22:06,892
So instead of having
a mobile camp

404
00:22:06,893 --> 00:22:09,094
that would allow a population

405
00:22:09,095 --> 00:22:11,830
to follow a resource in the
landscape,

406
00:22:11,831 --> 00:22:14,633
this population at Göbekli Tepe,

407
00:22:14,634 --> 00:22:16,968
benefits from a number
of resources

408
00:22:16,969 --> 00:22:19,237
that are available in
different times of the year,

409
00:22:19,238 --> 00:22:21,540
and that can be stored.

410
00:22:21,541 --> 00:22:24,711
This allows them
to actually become sedentary.

411
00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:30,582
For decades, scientists thought
hunter-gatherer societies

412
00:22:30,583 --> 00:22:34,687
always moved with the seasons,
following herds of animals.

413
00:22:36,689 --> 00:22:38,690
But now, the finds

414
00:22:38,691 --> 00:22:40,759
at Göbekli Tepe
are telling a story

415
00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:42,627
of a settled community

416
00:22:42,628 --> 00:22:45,464
exploiting
the abundant wild plant

417
00:22:45,465 --> 00:22:48,034
and animal life
that surrounded them.

418
00:22:49,035 --> 00:22:51,871
This was a place to live.

419
00:22:54,207 --> 00:22:57,342
But if hunter-gatherers
settled at Göbekli Tepe,

420
00:22:57,343 --> 00:22:59,879
where are their houses?

421
00:23:02,415 --> 00:23:04,116
In one of the structures

422
00:23:04,117 --> 00:23:06,051
clustered around
the Special Buildings,

423
00:23:06,052 --> 00:23:09,521
Lee is finding evidence

424
00:23:09,522 --> 00:23:10,890
of daily life.

425
00:23:12,058 --> 00:23:14,326
{\an8}This rectangular
structure features

426
00:23:14,327 --> 00:23:17,796
{\an8}numerous elements which are
clearly domestic.

427
00:23:17,797 --> 00:23:20,432
This reminds us a bit
of a modern home in a way,

428
00:23:20,433 --> 00:23:22,033
We have a bench here
to my right,

429
00:23:22,034 --> 00:23:24,102
and in that bench we have
actually

430
00:23:24,103 --> 00:23:25,871
a grinding stone.

431
00:23:25,872 --> 00:23:27,806
Whether this was
used for actually grinding,

432
00:23:27,807 --> 00:23:29,875
whether it contained liquid,
perhaps water,

433
00:23:29,876 --> 00:23:32,511
but it's very much like
a worktop with a sink,

434
00:23:32,512 --> 00:23:33,713
if you like.

435
00:23:34,781 --> 00:23:38,850
And there's another discovery on
the opposite side of the room.

436
00:23:38,851 --> 00:23:43,488
We've got this Stone Age
cupboard ideal for storage

437
00:23:43,489 --> 00:23:45,157
with this wonderful
limestone vessel,

438
00:23:45,158 --> 00:23:47,425
so we've got this
Stone Age furniture

439
00:23:47,426 --> 00:23:49,928
as it were, and very reminiscent
of "The Flintstones" in fact.

440
00:23:49,929 --> 00:23:52,597
So this would have been
a household kitchen situation,

441
00:23:52,598 --> 00:23:53,932
perhaps a family unit,

442
00:23:53,933 --> 00:23:55,935
using this space to
prepare meals.

443
00:23:57,203 --> 00:23:59,939
All this
is pointing to domestic life.

444
00:24:03,376 --> 00:24:05,310
Lee believes many
of the structures

445
00:24:05,311 --> 00:24:08,246
packed on the slopes were homes,

446
00:24:08,247 --> 00:24:11,183
covered spaces
for permanent residence,

447
00:24:11,184 --> 00:24:13,852
huddled around
the Special Buildings

448
00:24:13,853 --> 00:24:16,556
at the heart of Göbekli Tepe.

449
00:24:17,723 --> 00:24:20,826
When combined with
the bone and seed discoveries,

450
00:24:20,827 --> 00:24:24,696
the infrastructure here,
with grand ceremonial buildings,

451
00:24:24,697 --> 00:24:27,532
and dedicated living spaces,

452
00:24:27,533 --> 00:24:30,669
hints at
a society in transition.

453
00:24:30,670 --> 00:24:34,674
Still foraging,
but now more permanent.

454
00:24:37,043 --> 00:24:39,744
We're dealing with a very
complex settlement structure

455
00:24:39,745 --> 00:24:41,980
very much contrary to what
people generally think

456
00:24:41,981 --> 00:24:44,583
when we say Neolithic
or Stone Age.

457
00:24:44,584 --> 00:24:47,752
At its peak, if the entire
area were to have been occupied,

458
00:24:47,753 --> 00:24:51,056
I wouldn't be surprised if
we're looking at anything from

459
00:24:51,057 --> 00:24:54,227
500 to over 1,000 people
living at Göbekli Tepe.

460
00:24:56,696 --> 00:24:58,530
The scale is surprising.

461
00:24:58,531 --> 00:25:01,566
Stretching over 22 acres,

462
00:25:01,567 --> 00:25:04,402
20 monumental buildings
and perhaps more

463
00:25:04,403 --> 00:25:07,272
yet to be uncovered.

464
00:25:07,273 --> 00:25:09,507
A settlement that could have
supported

465
00:25:09,508 --> 00:25:12,144
more than 1,000 people.

466
00:25:15,481 --> 00:25:17,582
It's just one of a handful
of early

467
00:25:17,583 --> 00:25:20,686
neolithic settlements
so far discovered in the region.

468
00:25:22,622 --> 00:25:26,092
{\an8}Jericho was big enough
for over 2,000 people.

469
00:25:27,994 --> 00:25:31,197
{\an8}Tell Abu Hureyra was home
to a few hundred.

470
00:25:34,533 --> 00:25:36,768
{\an8}But if Göbekli Tepe
was a settlement

471
00:25:36,769 --> 00:25:39,839
{\an8}where people lived
across 1,500 years...

472
00:25:41,540 --> 00:25:43,676
{\an8}...where are their remains?

473
00:25:45,745 --> 00:25:48,213
{\an8}During over
30 years of excavation,

474
00:25:48,214 --> 00:25:51,751
{\an8}only fragments of human bones
had been discovered.

475
00:25:53,619 --> 00:25:56,122
{\an8}But more recently,
that has changed.

476
00:25:57,323 --> 00:25:59,491
{\an8}Now, in one
of the walled structures

477
00:25:59,492 --> 00:26:01,594
{\an8}beyond the special buildings...

478
00:26:02,762 --> 00:26:06,097
{\an8}
Yeah, this is quite exciting
to see.

479
00:26:06,098 --> 00:26:08,767
...the researchers
have found a burial site

480
00:26:08,768 --> 00:26:10,468
with human remains.

481
00:26:10,469 --> 00:26:12,270
Yeah, wow.

482
00:26:12,271 --> 00:26:15,740
So what we've got here,
obviously, is a skull,

483
00:26:15,741 --> 00:26:18,977
and a few long bones here.

484
00:26:18,978 --> 00:26:20,846
So, it's a burial.
Really, really exciting to have.

485
00:26:22,114 --> 00:26:25,150
So another individual from
Göbekli Tepe.

486
00:26:25,151 --> 00:26:26,585
It can tell a story.
Yeah.

487
00:26:29,455 --> 00:26:33,358
It's only the third burial
to be discovered at the site.

488
00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:34,626
Human remains are special.

489
00:26:34,627 --> 00:26:36,728
I mean, these are
the people that built the site.

490
00:26:36,729 --> 00:26:38,263
These are
the people that lived here.

491
00:26:38,264 --> 00:26:42,367
And Lee sees something
right away that could make

492
00:26:42,368 --> 00:26:45,470
these remains even more special.

493
00:26:45,471 --> 00:26:47,305
The bones-- they're not fused.

494
00:26:47,306 --> 00:26:48,740
The skull is quite small.

495
00:26:48,741 --> 00:26:50,675
At the moment,
we were thinking that

496
00:26:50,676 --> 00:26:52,645
it's probably the remains
of a child.

497
00:26:55,481 --> 00:26:58,116
For Lee and Moritz,
the placement of the body

498
00:26:58,117 --> 00:27:01,386
within a decorated niche
inside a domestic space

499
00:27:01,387 --> 00:27:03,788
{\an8}gives clues
about the belief systems

500
00:27:03,789 --> 00:27:05,691
{\an8}of the people that lived here.

501
00:27:07,126 --> 00:27:10,362
{\an8}
By bringing somebody's bones
back into the house,

502
00:27:10,363 --> 00:27:12,397
{\an8}it's somehow claiming ownership,

503
00:27:12,398 --> 00:27:15,367
so the dead and the living
are living together,

504
00:27:15,368 --> 00:27:17,737
say, they are part of
the same cosmos.

505
00:27:20,239 --> 00:27:22,607
This new discovery adds to

506
00:27:22,608 --> 00:27:24,809
previous analysis
of skull fragments

507
00:27:24,810 --> 00:27:26,345
found across the site.

508
00:27:28,214 --> 00:27:29,781
These pictures are from

509
00:27:29,782 --> 00:27:32,018
the first skull
I found in Göbekli Tepe.

510
00:27:33,919 --> 00:27:36,621
1,600 miles from the dig,

511
00:27:36,622 --> 00:27:38,490
in her lab in Berlin,

512
00:27:38,491 --> 00:27:40,992
paleopathologist
Julia Gresky

513
00:27:40,993 --> 00:27:43,229
has been examining
the skull fragments.

514
00:27:44,897 --> 00:27:48,034
Here, we have a lot of
wild cut marks.

515
00:27:49,869 --> 00:27:51,369
At high magnification,

516
00:27:51,370 --> 00:27:53,805
she has identified
unnatural markings

517
00:27:53,806 --> 00:27:56,674
on the bone fragments.

518
00:27:56,675 --> 00:27:58,777
{\an8}This is something
that you would expect

519
00:27:58,778 --> 00:28:00,112
{\an8}when de-fleshing a skull.

520
00:28:01,414 --> 00:28:04,482
If you want to cut away
the soft tissue,

521
00:28:04,483 --> 00:28:06,852
then you would just
scrape on the surface.

522
00:28:07,853 --> 00:28:12,090
These incisions were done
while the bone was still fresh,

523
00:28:12,091 --> 00:28:14,592
but you can't say that
they were done during life,

524
00:28:14,593 --> 00:28:19,231
because there are no signs
of healing on this incision.

525
00:28:21,100 --> 00:28:23,001
The evidence suggests

526
00:28:23,002 --> 00:28:25,904
these skulls were stripped
of flesh after death.

527
00:28:25,905 --> 00:28:29,174
And there are more markings.

528
00:28:29,175 --> 00:28:32,143
This skull has three
main carvings

529
00:28:32,144 --> 00:28:33,311
on the frontal part.

530
00:28:33,312 --> 00:28:36,414
It is several
repeated scratches

531
00:28:36,415 --> 00:28:38,017
in this big line.

532
00:28:39,785 --> 00:28:43,488
Julia believes these and
other marks found on the skull

533
00:28:43,489 --> 00:28:45,925
were made intentionally.

534
00:28:48,727 --> 00:28:50,529
The reason is a mystery.

535
00:28:52,665 --> 00:28:55,900
But another clue
has led her to a theory

536
00:28:55,901 --> 00:28:59,437
of how the skulls
may have been used.

537
00:28:59,438 --> 00:29:01,906
We found that one
of these skulls

538
00:29:01,907 --> 00:29:03,342
had a drilling hole.

539
00:29:06,045 --> 00:29:09,581
{\an8}
The hole was bored
through the cranium,

540
00:29:09,582 --> 00:29:12,016
{\an8}right at the top
of the skull.

541
00:29:12,017 --> 00:29:15,253
{\an8}
Maybe they were trying to
fix things on the skulls

542
00:29:15,254 --> 00:29:17,123
or they wanted
to hang them with a cord.

543
00:29:18,824 --> 00:29:21,659
Red marks found on
some bone fragments

544
00:29:21,660 --> 00:29:24,195
suggest the skulls
could have been decorated

545
00:29:24,196 --> 00:29:26,598
and put on display.

546
00:29:26,599 --> 00:29:28,266
The markings on these skulls,

547
00:29:28,267 --> 00:29:30,702
they point to
some ritual tradition,

548
00:29:30,703 --> 00:29:34,105
so a special focus on
the skull of these people.

549
00:29:35,608 --> 00:29:37,342
It's possible

550
00:29:37,343 --> 00:29:39,844
a so-called "skull cult"

551
00:29:39,845 --> 00:29:43,014
was practiced by
the people of Göbekli Tepe.

552
00:29:43,015 --> 00:29:47,252
A skull cult is a practice
of venerating dead people

553
00:29:47,253 --> 00:29:51,189
or memorizing important people
of their own family,

554
00:29:51,190 --> 00:29:53,225
of the community in general.

555
00:29:56,195 --> 00:30:00,431
The skull from the burial
shows no signs of decoration.

556
00:30:00,432 --> 00:30:03,168
But the practice
of burying bones

557
00:30:03,169 --> 00:30:04,936
within living spaces here

558
00:30:04,937 --> 00:30:07,705
and at later neolithic sites

559
00:30:07,706 --> 00:30:09,707
is a telling clue

560
00:30:09,708 --> 00:30:13,311
about how human societies
were changing.

561
00:30:13,312 --> 00:30:17,082
Perhaps the tradition began
at Göbekli Tepe.

562
00:30:18,417 --> 00:30:20,785
When people build communities,

563
00:30:20,786 --> 00:30:22,921
it's very important
to have this,

564
00:30:22,922 --> 00:30:24,923
this group feeling,
and to belong to somebody.

565
00:30:24,924 --> 00:30:28,194
Ancestors played
a big role in that.

566
00:30:29,828 --> 00:30:31,829
This really means that the,

567
00:30:31,830 --> 00:30:33,965
the dead were kept close
to the living,

568
00:30:33,966 --> 00:30:35,900
and this emphasizes
the importance

569
00:30:35,901 --> 00:30:39,071
of the dead, the ancestors
in this community.

570
00:30:41,207 --> 00:30:43,107
The settlement structures,

571
00:30:43,108 --> 00:30:46,077
the sheer volume of finds,

572
00:30:46,078 --> 00:30:48,513
and the burials
and skull remains

573
00:30:48,514 --> 00:30:51,249
lead many archaeologists
to conclude

574
00:30:51,250 --> 00:30:54,819
this was a place
inhabited year-round.

575
00:30:58,724 --> 00:31:01,759
Yet these people
were hunter-gatherers

576
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:04,296
who were not relying
on farmed plants or animals.

577
00:31:06,599 --> 00:31:08,766
How were they able
to survive year-round

578
00:31:08,767 --> 00:31:10,268
in this landscape,

579
00:31:10,269 --> 00:31:12,304
which is so dry
and challenging today?

580
00:31:16,809 --> 00:31:18,810
The diversity
of ancient animal

581
00:31:18,811 --> 00:31:20,545
and plant remains
discovered here

582
00:31:20,546 --> 00:31:23,114
suggests a different kind
of environment

583
00:31:23,115 --> 00:31:25,384
12,000 years ago.

584
00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:30,555
ANTOLÍN:
The biodiversity

585
00:31:30,556 --> 00:31:32,724
of the landscape
around Göbekli Tepe

586
00:31:32,725 --> 00:31:35,961
was certainly higher
than what it is today.

587
00:31:37,796 --> 00:31:41,432
It was wetter,
and it would even allow

588
00:31:41,433 --> 00:31:45,370
slightly denser forests
nearby the settlement,

589
00:31:45,371 --> 00:31:47,272
so there would be
parts of the landscape

590
00:31:47,273 --> 00:31:49,208
that would
be seasonally greener.

591
00:31:50,809 --> 00:31:52,076
At the time of Göbekli Tepe,

592
00:31:52,077 --> 00:31:53,878
the climate was
slightly different.

593
00:31:53,879 --> 00:31:55,446
It was a lot wetter,
more rainfall.

594
00:31:57,316 --> 00:31:59,117
On the hillside,

595
00:31:59,118 --> 00:32:02,053
just yards from
the Göbekli Tepe site,

596
00:32:02,054 --> 00:32:04,122
Lee has found evidence
that suggests

597
00:32:04,123 --> 00:32:06,125
the people that lived here...

598
00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:10,261
...may have
shaped the hillside

599
00:32:10,262 --> 00:32:12,931
to take advantage
of that rainfall.

600
00:32:16,035 --> 00:32:18,136
{\an8}So, this is not natural,
it's artificial.

601
00:32:18,137 --> 00:32:20,471
{\an8}It's carved into
a natural plateau.

602
00:32:20,472 --> 00:32:22,807
It's a channel,
as you can see, and it's,

603
00:32:22,808 --> 00:32:24,942
it's directing the
runoff rainwater from upslope

604
00:32:24,943 --> 00:32:26,878
down this cliff face.

605
00:32:29,515 --> 00:32:31,449
As Lee's team looked further,

606
00:32:31,450 --> 00:32:35,253
they found
large human-made holes.

607
00:32:35,254 --> 00:32:37,155
So, as you can see here,

608
00:32:37,156 --> 00:32:38,256
we have a shallow pool here,

609
00:32:38,257 --> 00:32:39,825
and a channel
actually leading down.

610
00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:44,028
A rainwater harvesting system.

611
00:32:44,029 --> 00:32:45,963
We have a row of water channels

612
00:32:45,964 --> 00:32:48,499
which were
carved into the bedrock,

613
00:32:48,500 --> 00:32:51,202
which are actually
directing the rain water

614
00:32:51,203 --> 00:32:53,504
down from the site, down slope,

615
00:32:53,505 --> 00:32:55,506
into cisterns like this.

616
00:32:57,676 --> 00:33:01,012
If people did settle
permanently at Göbekli Tepe,

617
00:33:01,013 --> 00:33:03,315
a secure water supply was vital.

618
00:33:05,751 --> 00:33:08,419
This system may have
helped provide that.

619
00:33:08,420 --> 00:33:10,888
{\an8}
These cisterns are really
quite remarkable,

620
00:33:10,889 --> 00:33:13,191
I mean, it's ingenious, in fact.

621
00:33:13,192 --> 00:33:15,126
People were
harvesting the rainwater

622
00:33:15,127 --> 00:33:16,961
here at Göbekli Tepe.

623
00:33:16,962 --> 00:33:18,696
This is something
which would have been

624
00:33:18,697 --> 00:33:21,666
essential for the people at
the time to live at this site.

625
00:33:25,404 --> 00:33:28,239
And there are more traces
of human activity

626
00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:31,242
that shaped the environment
for survival.

627
00:33:35,214 --> 00:33:37,615
{\an8}
All this landscape you see
around us

628
00:33:37,616 --> 00:33:39,117
really holds the clues

629
00:33:39,118 --> 00:33:41,285
to how hunter-gatherer people

630
00:33:41,286 --> 00:33:42,887
lived at Göbekli Tepe.

631
00:33:48,794 --> 00:33:50,762
Using satellite images,

632
00:33:50,763 --> 00:33:53,498
archaeologist Fatma Sahin
and her team

633
00:33:53,499 --> 00:33:54,799
have identified something

634
00:33:54,800 --> 00:33:56,401
she believes could explain

635
00:33:56,402 --> 00:34:00,338
how such a large
population fed itself.

636
00:34:00,339 --> 00:34:03,441
{\an8} Now we're
going to a place we define

637
00:34:03,442 --> 00:34:05,376
{\an8}as an animal trap.

638
00:34:06,478 --> 00:34:08,513
{\an8}
On the ground,

639
00:34:08,514 --> 00:34:11,183
{\an8}the structures appear as
long, low stone walls.

640
00:34:12,217 --> 00:34:15,153
But their true scale
and design becomes clearer...

641
00:34:15,154 --> 00:34:16,188
{\an8}SAHIN

642
00:34:18,290 --> 00:34:19,991
...when seen from the air.

643
00:34:19,992 --> 00:34:22,227
{\an8}

644
00:34:34,807 --> 00:34:36,542
{\an8}Oh, my god!

645
00:34:38,277 --> 00:34:39,710
{\an8}

646
00:34:39,711 --> 00:34:41,879
We weren't actually sure

647
00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:43,714
whether there was
a trap area here.

648
00:34:43,715 --> 00:34:45,616
We came to investigate it,

649
00:34:45,617 --> 00:34:47,418
but now,
when we flew the drone,

650
00:34:47,419 --> 00:34:50,154
we can see there really is
a trap site there.

651
00:34:50,155 --> 00:34:52,223
We can see it
very well-preserved.

652
00:34:54,827 --> 00:34:57,895
Sometimes extending
more than three miles,

653
00:34:57,896 --> 00:35:00,631
these structures
are called desert kites--

654
00:35:00,632 --> 00:35:04,069
named for their angular shapes
when viewed from above.

655
00:35:06,338 --> 00:35:10,508
This one is some 24 miles
from Göbekli Tepe,

656
00:35:10,509 --> 00:35:14,812
but structures like this
are spread across the landscape.

657
00:35:14,813 --> 00:35:16,614
The nearest
so far discovered

658
00:35:16,615 --> 00:35:18,817
is just a couple miles
from the site.

659
00:35:20,886 --> 00:35:22,620
Archaeologists
have determined

660
00:35:22,621 --> 00:35:25,356
that they were most likely
made to herd, corral,

661
00:35:25,357 --> 00:35:28,327
and ultimately
trap migrating animals.

662
00:35:31,230 --> 00:35:33,865
SAHIN
They were built along
animal migration routes,

663
00:35:33,866 --> 00:35:38,836
by watering spots,
stream banks, and on slopes.

664
00:35:38,837 --> 00:35:40,972
They collected stones
from the slopes

665
00:35:40,973 --> 00:35:43,074
and from the land
all around them

666
00:35:43,075 --> 00:35:46,410
using a technique
called dry-stone walling,

667
00:35:46,411 --> 00:35:49,347
they created
giant mega structures.

668
00:35:52,818 --> 00:35:55,786
{\an8}
This kite is a new discovery
for Fatma,

669
00:35:55,787 --> 00:35:57,856
{\an8}and so needs deeper research.

670
00:35:59,491 --> 00:36:01,392
But from first impressions,

671
00:36:01,393 --> 00:36:04,729
examining the flint blades
scattered along the walls...

672
00:36:04,730 --> 00:36:07,231
and the structure's similarity

673
00:36:07,232 --> 00:36:10,701
to other
early Neolithic kites,

674
00:36:10,702 --> 00:36:13,771
Fatma believes this
could have been constructed

675
00:36:13,772 --> 00:36:16,574
during the 9th millennium BCE,

676
00:36:16,575 --> 00:36:19,845
perhaps when Göbekli Tepe
was at its height.

677
00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:24,815
The scale is staggering.

678
00:36:24,816 --> 00:36:26,784
The traps can cover an area

679
00:36:26,785 --> 00:36:29,253
of 40, 50, even 100 hectares.

680
00:36:29,254 --> 00:36:31,255
By driving animals
down the slopes,

681
00:36:31,256 --> 00:36:33,824
hunter-gatherers
were able to trap them here

682
00:36:33,825 --> 00:36:35,359
and pen them
in these structures.

683
00:36:37,996 --> 00:36:43,100
The kites suggest
a radical idea.

684
00:36:43,101 --> 00:36:45,370
Look, it's very beautiful.

685
00:36:46,872 --> 00:36:51,475
Hunter-gatherers here were
organized on a monumental scale,

686
00:36:51,476 --> 00:36:54,478
coordinating
over vast landscapes.

687
00:36:54,479 --> 00:36:56,914
And Fatma believes
these structures

688
00:36:56,915 --> 00:36:58,883
may have played a role

689
00:36:58,884 --> 00:37:01,352
in the earliest steps
toward animal management.

690
00:37:02,854 --> 00:37:04,188
Most likely,

691
00:37:04,189 --> 00:37:06,290
animals caught here
were seen to reproduce,

692
00:37:06,291 --> 00:37:09,894
their lives were carrying on,
and in being confined here,

693
00:37:09,895 --> 00:37:13,599
the animals naturally began
a process of domestication.

694
00:37:17,636 --> 00:37:19,604
{\an8}
The people who used these traps

695
00:37:19,605 --> 00:37:22,374
{\an8}understood animals and
their environment intimately.

696
00:37:23,775 --> 00:37:26,544
No longer small bands
of hunters,

697
00:37:26,545 --> 00:37:28,913
but a large, organized group,

698
00:37:28,914 --> 00:37:31,015
digging into their landscape.

699
00:37:34,786 --> 00:37:35,953
While the kites themselves

700
00:37:35,954 --> 00:37:38,689
do not prove
a sedentary population,

701
00:37:38,690 --> 00:37:41,592
they might explain
the vast numbers of bones

702
00:37:41,593 --> 00:37:43,862
found at Göbekli Tepe.

703
00:37:45,864 --> 00:37:48,566
During hunting season,
traps like these

704
00:37:48,567 --> 00:37:50,201
could have
efficiently caught

705
00:37:50,202 --> 00:37:52,403
the large numbers
of animals needed

706
00:37:52,404 --> 00:37:54,171
to feed
a growing population.

707
00:37:56,441 --> 00:37:58,376
The wide variety of birds

708
00:37:58,377 --> 00:38:00,811
and small mammals
found at the site

709
00:38:00,812 --> 00:38:02,913
and other seasonal plants

710
00:38:02,914 --> 00:38:05,349
show that people here

711
00:38:05,350 --> 00:38:07,585
were finding
other sources of food

712
00:38:07,586 --> 00:38:09,688
when the migrating animals
had left.

713
00:38:11,423 --> 00:38:12,857
{\an8}It's quite evident

714
00:38:12,858 --> 00:38:15,192
{\an8}that those communities
were fully sedentary

715
00:38:15,193 --> 00:38:17,528
{\an8}and were living full-time
at Göbekli Tepe.

716
00:38:19,965 --> 00:38:22,900
Göbekli Tepe appears
to have expanded

717
00:38:22,901 --> 00:38:24,869
from a place for
special buildings

718
00:38:24,870 --> 00:38:29,473
to a year-round hub for
sedentary hunter-gatherers,

719
00:38:29,474 --> 00:38:31,542
surviving on wild crops,

720
00:38:31,543 --> 00:38:34,545
rainwater harvesting,

721
00:38:34,546 --> 00:38:39,250
and desert kites
for trapping animals.

722
00:38:39,251 --> 00:38:41,952
The question now is,

723
00:38:41,953 --> 00:38:44,121
were the people
at Göbekli Tepe

724
00:38:44,122 --> 00:38:46,323
unique for their time?

725
00:38:46,324 --> 00:38:48,894
Or was this lifestyle common?

726
00:38:53,765 --> 00:38:58,270
18 miles west of Göbekli Tepe
is Sayburç.

727
00:38:59,838 --> 00:39:01,338
For the last four years,

728
00:39:01,339 --> 00:39:05,543
a team of Turkish
archaeologists and students

729
00:39:05,544 --> 00:39:08,312
has been excavating
amongst the modern village,

730
00:39:08,313 --> 00:39:10,881
on this limestone hilltop.

731
00:39:10,882 --> 00:39:14,251
They've unearthed
familiar T-pillars...

732
00:39:14,252 --> 00:39:18,222
hidden just inches beneath
the modern ground level.

733
00:39:18,223 --> 00:39:20,624
{\an8}EYLEM ÖZDOGAN

734
00:39:20,625 --> 00:39:21,660
{\an8}STUDENT

735
00:39:26,264 --> 00:39:28,866
Archaeologist Eylem Özdogan

736
00:39:28,867 --> 00:39:31,469
is the site director.

737
00:39:31,470 --> 00:39:32,636
{\an8}
It's possible to find

738
00:39:32,637 --> 00:39:34,739
{\an8}numerous parallels
between the structures

739
00:39:34,740 --> 00:39:36,942
{\an8}at Göbekli Tepe and Sayburç.

740
00:39:37,876 --> 00:39:40,578
The T-shaped pillars appear here

741
00:39:40,579 --> 00:39:43,447
within smaller but
distinct circular spaces,

742
00:39:43,448 --> 00:39:45,584
with the same motifs
of wild animals.

743
00:39:49,888 --> 00:39:51,922
But current dating of the site

744
00:39:51,923 --> 00:39:55,326
places it much later than
the original circular buildings

745
00:39:55,327 --> 00:39:56,928
and T-pillars of Göbekli Tepe.

746
00:39:58,864 --> 00:40:00,297
ÖZDOGAN
We're in a place

747
00:40:00,298 --> 00:40:03,602
that dates back to roughly
the mid-ninth millennium BCE.

748
00:40:06,304 --> 00:40:09,306
{\an8}
The construction of Sayburç
appears to overlap

749
00:40:09,307 --> 00:40:12,277
{\an8}with the period when
Göbekli Tepe was expanding.

750
00:40:14,546 --> 00:40:18,048
But those early-established
symbolic ritual elements--

751
00:40:18,049 --> 00:40:21,318
the T-pillars, the carvings,

752
00:40:21,319 --> 00:40:23,521
and the circular structures--

753
00:40:23,522 --> 00:40:26,090
seem to have been
transplanted here,

754
00:40:26,091 --> 00:40:28,627
almost as the heart
of the settlement.

755
00:40:30,095 --> 00:40:32,963
ÖZDOGAN
Each settlement has its own
distinct character,

756
00:40:32,964 --> 00:40:34,698
but the cultural
environment here

757
00:40:34,699 --> 00:40:40,538
seems to be defined by very
deliberate and strict rules.

758
00:40:40,539 --> 00:40:42,373
Particularly in their art,

759
00:40:42,374 --> 00:40:45,544
and the construction
of the Special Buildings.

760
00:40:47,746 --> 00:40:49,547
The excavations here have

761
00:40:49,548 --> 00:40:53,318
so far uncovered a much larger
residential neighborhood.

762
00:40:55,020 --> 00:40:59,089
{\an8}And, as at Göbekli Tepe,
analysis of organic remains

763
00:40:59,090 --> 00:41:03,295
suggests only wild foods
were eaten here.

764
00:41:04,563 --> 00:41:07,031
So much is similar
at Sayburç

765
00:41:07,032 --> 00:41:08,699
that archaeologists believe

766
00:41:08,700 --> 00:41:10,935
there must have been
a sharing of ideas,

767
00:41:10,936 --> 00:41:12,703
of ways of life,

768
00:41:12,704 --> 00:41:14,573
between the two sites.

769
00:41:16,107 --> 00:41:19,210
{\an8}ÖZDOGAN
These were complex communities
consciously choosing

770
00:41:19,211 --> 00:41:21,478
to live in
large, settled groups,

771
00:41:21,479 --> 00:41:23,747
creating their own
complex social environment

772
00:41:23,748 --> 00:41:26,785
and cultural infrastructure.

773
00:41:28,987 --> 00:41:31,121
And Sayburç is only one

774
00:41:31,122 --> 00:41:33,625
of Göbekli Tepe's
new-found neighbors.

775
00:41:35,293 --> 00:41:37,595
More than ten T-pillar sites

776
00:41:37,596 --> 00:41:40,364
{\an8}have been discovered
in the last few years,

777
00:41:40,365 --> 00:41:44,401
{\an8}most dating from the period
of Göbekli Tepe's expansion

778
00:41:44,402 --> 00:41:46,671
{\an8}in the mid-ninth millennium.

779
00:41:48,607 --> 00:41:51,942
Each with
the same animal motifs,

780
00:41:51,943 --> 00:41:55,246
the same monumental pillars,

781
00:41:55,247 --> 00:41:58,749
the same stories in stone.

782
00:42:02,754 --> 00:42:06,857
And this network even stretched
beyond the local hillside.

783
00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:11,629
The early Neolithic
throughout the region,

784
00:42:11,630 --> 00:42:13,797
all the way from Anatolia

785
00:42:13,798 --> 00:42:14,932
down to the southern Levant

786
00:42:14,933 --> 00:42:16,533
down to Saudi today,

787
00:42:16,534 --> 00:42:18,335
had many different unique sites.

788
00:42:18,336 --> 00:42:21,705
But they all shared some aspects
of common material culture.

789
00:42:21,706 --> 00:42:23,908
{\an8}So you have a sense
that there's

790
00:42:23,909 --> 00:42:26,410
{\an8}a flow of people

791
00:42:26,411 --> 00:42:27,745
{\an8}and ideas between them,

792
00:42:27,746 --> 00:42:31,482
which is maintaining some degree
of cultural cohesion,

793
00:42:31,483 --> 00:42:34,451
while each individual site
is also doing its own thing.

794
00:42:36,488 --> 00:42:37,688
Together,

795
00:42:37,689 --> 00:42:40,291
these sites form
a web of communities

796
00:42:40,292 --> 00:42:41,992
stretching across the region.

797
00:42:41,993 --> 00:42:43,994
And at the heart of it,

798
00:42:43,995 --> 00:42:45,462
in its time,

799
00:42:45,463 --> 00:42:47,531
the largest yet found:

800
00:42:47,532 --> 00:42:50,167
Göbekli Tepe.

801
00:42:50,168 --> 00:42:54,605
Göbekli Tepe is having
this huge influence

802
00:42:54,606 --> 00:42:56,774
throughout a whole landscape
of southwest Asia.

803
00:42:56,775 --> 00:43:00,144
There is a sense
of cultural unity.

804
00:43:00,145 --> 00:43:03,480
There was a constant flow
of people and ideas,

805
00:43:03,481 --> 00:43:06,684
and a substantial exchange
of gifts.

806
00:43:06,685 --> 00:43:08,954
So, it's like a social network
on a large scale.

807
00:43:11,489 --> 00:43:13,424
This wasn't just one site

808
00:43:13,425 --> 00:43:15,560
isolated in its culture
and traditions.

809
00:43:18,730 --> 00:43:20,197
The evidence suggests

810
00:43:20,198 --> 00:43:22,766
it was the beginning
of something larger:

811
00:43:22,767 --> 00:43:25,235
a regional identity,

812
00:43:25,236 --> 00:43:28,072
a shared imagination.

813
00:43:28,073 --> 00:43:30,341
A network of communities
bound together

814
00:43:30,342 --> 00:43:32,276
by stone,

815
00:43:32,277 --> 00:43:33,344
by symbol,

816
00:43:33,345 --> 00:43:36,146
and by story.

817
00:43:41,119 --> 00:43:43,354
Traditionally, we've assumed

818
00:43:43,355 --> 00:43:45,622
that hunter-gatherers
have simple lives,

819
00:43:45,623 --> 00:43:47,591
maybe rather simple minds.

820
00:43:47,592 --> 00:43:49,326
We now know
that hunter-gatherers

821
00:43:49,327 --> 00:43:50,894
are sophisticated
and as complex

822
00:43:50,895 --> 00:43:53,298
as any modern humans
in so many ways.

823
00:43:56,034 --> 00:43:58,035
Dating the buildings
and the finds,

824
00:43:58,036 --> 00:44:01,005
archaeologists
have come to the conclusion

825
00:44:01,006 --> 00:44:04,141
that Göbekli Tepe
was at its height

826
00:44:04,142 --> 00:44:06,311
during
the ninth millennium BCE.

827
00:44:08,346 --> 00:44:12,449
New buildings were erected,
old ones reworked.

828
00:44:12,450 --> 00:44:15,652
Then, by around 8,000 BCE,

829
00:44:15,653 --> 00:44:19,390
building seems to have stopped.

830
00:44:19,391 --> 00:44:21,959
Fewer archaeological finds
from this period

831
00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:25,162
suggest much
of the population left.

832
00:44:25,163 --> 00:44:27,564
So, if the site was booming,

833
00:44:27,565 --> 00:44:31,002
why did people leave?

834
00:44:33,538 --> 00:44:35,939
Moritz Kinzel thinks
that the size

835
00:44:35,940 --> 00:44:40,010
and location of the site
led to increasing problems.

836
00:44:40,011 --> 00:44:43,013
{\an8}When we look at the site,
we have this very steep slope,

837
00:44:43,014 --> 00:44:46,150
heavy buildings resting
on the slope.

838
00:44:46,151 --> 00:44:49,186
Heavy rain and snow
in winter time

839
00:44:49,187 --> 00:44:52,857
added a kind of trigger
of instability to everything.

840
00:44:54,692 --> 00:44:56,026
{\an8}
These buildings,

841
00:44:56,027 --> 00:44:58,095
{\an8}built on the dip
of the hillside,

842
00:44:58,096 --> 00:44:59,531
{\an8}have no real foundations...

843
00:45:01,166 --> 00:45:03,501
meaning collapse
was always a possibility.

844
00:45:05,170 --> 00:45:06,336
The fill of the building

845
00:45:06,337 --> 00:45:08,172
is comprised
of limestone rubble,

846
00:45:08,173 --> 00:45:10,974
large numbers of
flint tools, animal bone,

847
00:45:10,975 --> 00:45:13,777
evidence that
the special buildings

848
00:45:13,778 --> 00:45:15,846
at the lower part
of the depression

849
00:45:15,847 --> 00:45:17,281
were actually inundated by

850
00:45:17,282 --> 00:45:19,883
collapsed buildings
from the slopes.

851
00:45:19,884 --> 00:45:22,419
The buildings were
hit over time,

852
00:45:22,420 --> 00:45:24,721
again and again,
by landslide events.

853
00:45:24,722 --> 00:45:26,690
But cracks,

854
00:45:26,691 --> 00:45:30,794
tilts, and fractures
in the monolithic pillars

855
00:45:30,795 --> 00:45:34,732
are signs that the site was hit
by more than just landslides.

856
00:45:36,468 --> 00:45:39,069
When we excavated
this pillar here,

857
00:45:39,070 --> 00:45:41,438
we discovered that
it's leaning to the--

858
00:45:41,439 --> 00:45:42,539
towards the east,

859
00:45:42,540 --> 00:45:44,041
and shows this severe crack,

860
00:45:44,042 --> 00:45:47,778
which suggests
earthquake damage.

861
00:45:51,783 --> 00:45:54,518
Modern-day Turkey is no stranger

862
00:45:54,519 --> 00:45:56,754
to devastating earthquakes.

863
00:45:57,822 --> 00:45:59,623
The tell-tale scars
on the pillars

864
00:45:59,624 --> 00:46:01,758
are evidence
that Göbekli Tepe

865
00:46:01,759 --> 00:46:06,163
suffered the same forces
12,000 years ago.

866
00:46:06,164 --> 00:46:09,566
{\an8}We see here, a shear crack...

867
00:46:09,567 --> 00:46:11,068
in the T-shaped pillar shaft

868
00:46:11,069 --> 00:46:12,569
that is actually
leaning as well

869
00:46:12,570 --> 00:46:14,037
to the east.

870
00:46:14,038 --> 00:46:16,440
We have cracked walls,
cracked pillars,

871
00:46:16,441 --> 00:46:18,408
leaning pillars,

872
00:46:18,409 --> 00:46:19,810
cracks in the floor,

873
00:46:19,811 --> 00:46:22,112
and what is very significant

874
00:46:22,113 --> 00:46:24,915
is that they're all leaning
in the same direction.

875
00:46:24,916 --> 00:46:27,718
And what we have seen here
on this pillar,

876
00:46:27,719 --> 00:46:30,287
we actually also see on the
other pillars in the building.

877
00:46:30,288 --> 00:46:33,891
There were at least
two seismic events,

878
00:46:33,892 --> 00:46:36,326
one in the very early
phase of the site

879
00:46:36,327 --> 00:46:38,829
and one in the late phase
of the site.

880
00:46:38,830 --> 00:46:42,399
For centuries,
when disaster struck,

881
00:46:42,400 --> 00:46:44,134
the people had rebuilt--

882
00:46:44,135 --> 00:46:48,672
reinforcing walls,
reshaping the enclosures.

883
00:46:48,673 --> 00:46:51,008
After the final earthquake,

884
00:46:51,009 --> 00:46:53,343
the rebuilding
seems to have stopped.

885
00:46:53,344 --> 00:46:56,113
What we see over a long time

886
00:46:56,114 --> 00:46:57,748
is people moving away

887
00:46:57,749 --> 00:46:59,917
after these destructive events.

888
00:46:59,918 --> 00:47:04,656
They lack the people
to reshape certain areas.

889
00:47:06,491 --> 00:47:09,026
The monuments fell silent.

890
00:47:09,027 --> 00:47:11,695
The gatherings stopped.

891
00:47:11,696 --> 00:47:13,764
After 15 centuries,

892
00:47:13,765 --> 00:47:19,603
a thriving hilltop community
came to an end.

893
00:47:19,604 --> 00:47:22,373
But the story continued.

894
00:47:25,276 --> 00:47:28,645
Less than ten miles from
Göbekli Tepe,

895
00:47:28,646 --> 00:47:30,847
on the edge
of the Harran Plain,

896
00:47:30,848 --> 00:47:34,085
lies another ancient site:

897
00:47:35,320 --> 00:47:37,487
Gürcütepe.

898
00:47:37,488 --> 00:47:40,290
Gürcütepe holds the key

899
00:47:40,291 --> 00:47:43,695
{\an8}for what came next
after Göbekli Tepe.

900
00:47:45,196 --> 00:47:48,398
Archaeologists digging here
uncovered remains

901
00:47:48,399 --> 00:47:52,203
dating to the moment
Göbekli Tepe was falling silent.

902
00:47:55,106 --> 00:47:57,941
What we find here is change.

903
00:47:57,942 --> 00:48:01,011
A change in architecture.

904
00:48:01,012 --> 00:48:04,014
Ritual buildings disappear.

905
00:48:04,015 --> 00:48:06,650
The people were more interested

906
00:48:06,651 --> 00:48:09,087
in functional architecture.

907
00:48:11,456 --> 00:48:15,192
Gone are the grand
circular enclosures.

908
00:48:15,193 --> 00:48:18,096
In their place:
compact homes.

909
00:48:19,364 --> 00:48:20,831
{\an8}The T-shaped pillars

910
00:48:20,832 --> 00:48:22,867
{\an8}and their animal carvings
vanish, too.

911
00:48:24,302 --> 00:48:26,536
{\an8}
Monumentality had disappeared.

912
00:48:26,537 --> 00:48:28,338
{\an8}So, these age-old

913
00:48:28,339 --> 00:48:31,776
hunter-gatherer narratives
were being abandoned.

914
00:48:33,044 --> 00:48:35,812
This might mean a shift

915
00:48:35,813 --> 00:48:36,813
of the priorities

916
00:48:36,814 --> 00:48:38,850
of the society.

917
00:48:40,518 --> 00:48:43,487
And it's not only priorities
that are changing.

918
00:48:43,488 --> 00:48:46,924
Stephanie Emra has studied
animal bones from the site.

919
00:48:48,059 --> 00:48:49,893
{\an8}
So, at Göbekli Tepe,

920
00:48:49,894 --> 00:48:51,428
{\an8}we only find wild animals.

921
00:48:51,429 --> 00:48:54,164
Whereas at Gürcütepe,
we're finding

922
00:48:54,165 --> 00:48:57,801
{\an8}much, much fewer of those
wild species,

923
00:48:57,802 --> 00:48:59,603
{\an8}and it's almost entirely

924
00:48:59,604 --> 00:49:02,773
{\an8}sheep and goat,
the domestic version.

925
00:49:02,774 --> 00:49:05,942
That, alongside the
age profiles of the animals

926
00:49:05,943 --> 00:49:08,278
and the sex ratio
of the animals,

927
00:49:08,279 --> 00:49:09,846
that's a really clear
indication

928
00:49:09,847 --> 00:49:12,383
that they're
now herding animals.

929
00:49:13,751 --> 00:49:16,086
A new agreed way of life,

930
00:49:16,087 --> 00:49:18,889
primarily would depend on
domesticated crops

931
00:49:18,890 --> 00:49:22,459
and on herded sheep,
goats, and cattle,

932
00:49:22,460 --> 00:49:25,763
had become
accepted and universal.

933
00:49:27,598 --> 00:49:29,666
While earthquakes
and landslides

934
00:49:29,667 --> 00:49:31,201
might've been the driver

935
00:49:31,202 --> 00:49:33,503
for people
to leave Göbekli Tepe...

936
00:49:33,504 --> 00:49:37,240
there may also have been a draw.

937
00:49:37,241 --> 00:49:39,576
It's quite possible

938
00:49:39,577 --> 00:49:41,345
the population living
at Göbekli Tepe

939
00:49:41,346 --> 00:49:43,647
moved down into the plain
in order to have

940
00:49:43,648 --> 00:49:45,183
better conditions
for farming.

941
00:49:46,584 --> 00:49:47,984
It was flat.

942
00:49:47,985 --> 00:49:50,420
They had enough water
to plant,

943
00:49:50,421 --> 00:49:53,323
they had enough space

944
00:49:53,324 --> 00:49:54,792
and fertile land.

945
00:49:56,194 --> 00:49:58,996
This wasn't an isolated change.

946
00:50:00,998 --> 00:50:04,101
Sites across these hills
were abandoned

947
00:50:04,102 --> 00:50:06,937
as farming on the plains
took root.

948
00:50:06,938 --> 00:50:10,640
What we see is the emergence

949
00:50:10,641 --> 00:50:13,577
of an agricultural way of life.

950
00:50:16,013 --> 00:50:18,949
Before the discoveries
at Göbekli Tepe,

951
00:50:18,950 --> 00:50:21,818
many archaeologists believed

952
00:50:21,819 --> 00:50:24,254
that people first came together
in settlements

953
00:50:24,255 --> 00:50:27,225
because they needed
to be in one place to farm.

954
00:50:29,327 --> 00:50:31,194
But with the new findings here,

955
00:50:31,195 --> 00:50:34,664
scientists now see
a different dynamic.

956
00:50:34,665 --> 00:50:38,068
Hunter-gatherers
came together in community

957
00:50:38,069 --> 00:50:41,171
to express their spiritual
beliefs

958
00:50:41,172 --> 00:50:45,142
with monumental architecture
and ritual,

959
00:50:45,143 --> 00:50:49,379
and that process led
to an entirely new way of life.

960
00:50:49,380 --> 00:50:52,883
The fascinating thing is
having these big gatherings,

961
00:50:52,884 --> 00:50:56,820
that forced them
to harvest wild cereals

962
00:50:56,821 --> 00:50:59,256
in large quantities.
And by doing that,

963
00:50:59,257 --> 00:51:01,958
they pushed the domestication
of these plants.

964
00:51:01,959 --> 00:51:04,961
It was this religious drive

965
00:51:04,962 --> 00:51:07,297
that may have actually led to

966
00:51:07,298 --> 00:51:09,966
the emergence of domesticated
crops and ultimately farming.

967
00:51:11,536 --> 00:51:14,337
This was no sudden revolution,

968
00:51:14,338 --> 00:51:17,174
but instead
a slow transformation

969
00:51:17,175 --> 00:51:20,177
that unfolded over millennia.

970
00:51:20,178 --> 00:51:23,713
The creation
of a settled society,

971
00:51:23,714 --> 00:51:25,949
before farming even began.

972
00:51:25,950 --> 00:51:29,052
Göbekli Tepe is,
without doubt,

973
00:51:29,053 --> 00:51:31,388
a turning point
in human history.

974
00:51:31,389 --> 00:51:35,559
But it is the transition
from life as a hunter-gatherer

975
00:51:35,560 --> 00:51:37,462
to life as a settled farmer.

976
00:51:39,096 --> 00:51:42,199
As archaeologists
continue to make

977
00:51:42,200 --> 00:51:45,268
new discoveries
at Göbekli Tepe...

978
00:51:45,269 --> 00:51:47,737
the story of our ancestors,

979
00:51:47,738 --> 00:51:50,874
and how they went
from hunter-gatherers

980
00:51:50,875 --> 00:51:52,609
to settled farmers,

981
00:51:52,610 --> 00:51:55,378
will continue to be rewritten.

982
00:51:55,379 --> 00:51:58,882
Revealing more about
the people who lived here.

983
00:51:58,883 --> 00:52:00,550
They were people like us,

984
00:52:00,551 --> 00:52:02,719
but living in
a totally different time,

985
00:52:02,720 --> 00:52:04,287
in a totally different culture,

986
00:52:04,288 --> 00:52:07,324
but just as
ingenious as we are today.