Scientists Found a 12,000-Year-Old Monument—Turns Out It May Be Humanity’s Oldest Calendar

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Scientists Found a 12,000-Year-Old Monument—Turns Out It May Be Humanity’s Oldest Calendar

But just how, exactly, did it track time?

www.popularmechanics.com

Scientists Found a 12,000-Year-Old Monument—Turns Out It May Be Humanity’s Oldest Calendar​

But just how, exactly, did it track time?

By Tim NewcombPublished: Aug 09, 2024 10:43 AM EDT

Chris McGrath//Getty Images

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  Carvings on a 12,000-year-old monument in Turkey appear to mark solar days and years, making it possibly the oldest solar calendar in ancient civilization.
  
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  Marking a massive comet strike as the start, inhabitants used symbols to record every astronomical event, including those as small as single days.
  
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  The summer solstice was called out on the monument as a special day.
  

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An ancient monument discovered in Turkey may just be an ancient monument. But, if its markings are what experts think they are, it might be the world’s oldest solar calendar.

In a study published in Time and Mind based on the work of researchers from the University of Edinburgh, experts write that markings at Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey, a temple-like archaeological complex filled with intricately carved symbols, indicate the makings of a solar calendar that tracks days, seasons, and years.

By analyzing the symbols carved onto pillars, the team believes that every “V” could represent a single day, given that one pillar featured 365 days. And among those, the summer solstice in particular was highlighted with a V worn around the neck of a bird-like beast meant to represent the summer solstice constellation during that time. The calendar explanation could help explain why the V symbol appears on so many other nearby statues of deities linked to time and creation, with the V almost always showing up around their neck.

The calendar’s preoccupation with day, night, and seasonal changes may have sparked anew with a world-changing comet strike, one that experts believed occurred in roughly 10,850 B.C. and helped contribute to a mini-ice age that eliminated numerous species.

“It appears the inhabitants of Gobekli Tepe were keen observers of the sky,” Martin Sweatman, lead study researcher from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering, said in a statement. “Which is to be expected given their world had been devastated by a comet strike. The 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 toward the development of writing millennia later.”

The carvings also track cycles for both the Moon and the sun, which pre-date other calendar finds of this type by “many millennia,” the group wrote. By tracking the movements of meteors and the Earth, the ancient research may have also shown for the first time that comet strikes happen more when Earth’s orbit crosses the path of circling comet fragments, something modern-day researchers have proven.

To help support this theory, the team points to another pillar at the site appearing to picture the Taurid meteor stream lasting 27 days, which was quite possibly the source of the ancient comet strike.

The researchers believe that the temple carvings show the ancient civilization was recording dates precisely, noting how the movement of constellations across the sky differed based on the time of the year. This would be 10,000 years before Hipparchus of ancient Greece documented the wobble in the Earth’s axis in 150 BC, making this newfound calendar well ahead of its time.

 

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Ancient carvings may be world’s oldest calendar

Markings on a stone pillar at a 12,000 year-old archaeological site in Turkey likely represent the world’s oldest solar calendar, created as a memorial to a devastating comet strike, experts suggest.

www.ed.ac.uk

Ancient carvings may be world’s oldest calendar​

Markings on a stone pillar at a 12,000 year-old archaeological site in Turkey likely represent the world’s oldest solar calendar, created as a memorial to a devastating comet strike, experts suggest.

The markings at Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey – an ancient complex of temple-like enclosures adorned with intricately carved symbols – could record an astronomical event that triggered a key shift in human civilisation, researchers say.

The research suggests ancient people were able to record their observations of the sun, moon and constellations in the form of a solar calendar, created to keep track of time and mark the change of seasons.

Marks on a pillar at Gobekli Tepe may represent an ancient calendar.

Decoding symbols​

Fresh analysis of V-shaped symbols carved onto pillars at the site has found that each V could represent a single day. This interpretation allowed researchers to count a solar calendar of 365 days on one of the pillars, consisting of 12 lunar months plus 11 extra days.

The summer solstice appears as a separate, special day, represented by a V worn around the neck of a bird-like beast thought to represent the summer solstice constellation at the time. Other statues nearby, possibly representing deities, have been found with similar V-markings at their necks.

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.

Comet strike​

Ancient people may have created these carvings at Göbekli Tepe to record the date a swarm of comet fragments hit Earth nearly 13,000 years ago – or 10,850 BC – researchers say.

The comet strike is suggested to have ushered in a mini ice age lasting over 1,200 years, wiping out many species of large animals. It could also have triggered changes in lifestyle and agriculture thought to be linked to the birth of civilisation soon afterwards in the fertile crescent of West Asia.

Another pillar at the site appears to picture the Taurid meteor stream – which is thought to be the source of the comet fragments – lasting 27 days and emanating from the directions of Aquarius and Pisces.

The find also appears to confirm that ancient people were able to record dates using precession – the wobble in Earth’s axis which affects the movement of constellations across the sky – at least 10,000 years before the phenomenon was documented by Hipparchus of Ancient Greece around 150 BC.

Early civilisation​

The carvings appear to have remained important to the people of Göbekli Tepe for millennia, suggesting the impact event may have triggered a new cult or religion that influenced the development of civilisation.

The find also supports a theory that Earth faces an increased risk of comet strikes when it crosses the path of orbiting comet fragments, which we normally experience as meteor streams.

It appears the inhabitants of Göbekli Tepe were keen observers of the sky, which is to be expected given their world had been devastated by a comet strike.

This event might have triggered civilisation 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.

Dr Martin SweatmanSchool of Engineering

The research is published in Time and Mind.

 

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not looking good for some religious beliefs