Megaliths, 9500 BCE
Megalithic stone circles of 30 metre diameter with stones 5 meters high have been excavated in Turkey. But they date to 9500 BCE, some 4500 years before the earliest recorded megalithic structures. Furthermore, unlike the more recent megaliths which were built by horticultural/agricultural societies these were built by village-dwelling hunter-gathers. They are also covered in carvings of birds, pigs, lions and snakes.
See:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080421/FOREIGN01/54504074/1003/FOREIGN
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/apr/23/archaeology.turkey?gusrc=rss&\1feed=science
Labels: archaeology
posted by Larry Gambone at
9:12 AM
5 Comments:
I enjoyed reading the link from The Guardian. I wish there was pictures. I find archeology adventurous and romantic.
Archeology was my first choice for a career. I had been interested in it from age 10, but when I finally ended up at university at age 22, the student movement and anti-war movements were in full swing so I opted for sociology. But I am an ARMCHAIR archaeologist, nonetheless, usually reading at least one book a month on the subject and having visited megalithic sites in North America and Europe.
Mayday Greetings
In St. Paul we marched with an immigrants rights theme. It drew >800 people, mostly Latino.
But they date to 9500 BCE
That might be impressive in most countries, but not in Turkey. Catal Huyuk, in Turkey, is the oldest urban settlement in history. It dates from about the same time...
Catal Huyuk dates from 7500 BCE, the megaliths are 2000 years older. This is significant.
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