Sketches of Göbekli Tepe

Göbekli Tepe has been a  ‘want to go’ site on my Google Maps for many years. Having been properly discovered only about 30 years ago, it is still believed to be the oldest complex of human history, dating back as far as 10,000 B.C, seriously challenging the pre-established idea about the stages of human development.

Due to travel advisories the past weeks in Southeastern Turkiye, I did not originally plan to go there, but the inclement weather around Mt. Nemrut gave me the extra urge to drive there.

Gobelki Tepe, translating to Potbelly Hill in English, proves that complex human societies existed well before the time of agriculture, arguing that collective food production was not a requirement for building a community.

The simple idea that I was witnessing the earliest site of human history was a bit overwhelming. Realizing that this settlement precedes the Pyramids of Giza by over 7,000 years was beyond the capacity of my sense-making machinery – it was awe-some in the literal sense of the word.

While being grateful for the opportunity to feel for the space, I thought about how beliefs are central to shaping our understanding of the world and ourselves. As we use the term ‘human’, we naturally see them as our human ancestors, which makes us feel connected to them despite our profound differences. It is true that the word choice of ‘human’ is not arbitrary – one might argue that both of us share nearly identical genetic profiles. However, we are probably more of a product of the conceptual tools that we use to make sense of the world more than of genetic makeup alone. For example, I doubt that their ancient verbal vocabulary contained words such as society, meaning, and lineage. A modern human born into that ancient time would have grown up like one of them, and an ancient one born into the modern time would have had a world view identical to ours. Despite the connection enabled by the word human, it often leads us to see them as ‘less developed’ or perhaps unfortunate. But if we see them as they were, we can recognize them as ‘complete’ and self-sufficient – just as how we regard ourselves in our time.

14 April 2026

Göbekli Tepe, Turkiye