In May 2022, stone pillars were seen at the Göbekli Tepe archaeological site in Sanliurfa, Turkey. The first known protected area and possibly housing the oldest sacred site in the world.
Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images
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Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images
In May 2022, stone pillars were seen at the Göbekli Tepe archaeological site in Sanliurfa, Turkey. The first known protected area and possibly housing the oldest sacred site in the world.
Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images
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Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images
At first glance, there is not much difference between the V-shaped symbols carved on the pillars of Göbekli Tepe, an archaeological site in southern Turkey, and the adjacent animal shapes depicting the cycles of the sun and moon.
But according to researchers, the markings could be evidence of two major discoveries: The ancient pillars may hold the world’s oldest solunar and lunar calendar, and they may be a commemoration of the comet impact that hit Earth about 13,000 years ago and triggered a mini-ice age. .
Martin Sweatman, a scientist at the University of Edinburgh who led the research team, said: “It appears that the inhabitants of Göbekli Tepe had a keen eye for the sky, which is surprising given that their world had been devastated by a comet impact. That’s to be expected.
The findings were published last month time and soulshowing the pillars of Göbekli Tepe carved with a series of V-shaped symbols, each symbol representing a day. Taken together, they appear to record the date when a swarm of comet fragments hit Earth in 10,850 BC, triggering a 1,200-year ice age that led to the extinction of many large animals, including mammoths, steppe bison and other large Pleistocene mammals.
“This event may have sparked civilization by starting a new religion and promoting the development of agriculture in response to cold climates,” Sweetman said.
Possible comet impacts have long been a source of fascination and disagreement among scientists. If the V-sign hypothesis is correct, it could provide groundbreaking support for the hypothesis.
“Perhaps their attempt to record what they saw and heard was the first step in the development of writing thousands of years later,” he said.
