Who & How & Why – Gobeklitepe
The planners and builders of Gobeklitepe still remain a big mystery, and no one has been able to crack the code so far. Archeologists believe that the tail end of Hunter- Gatherer societies were organized in a shamanic way, suggesting that some individuals among them were more developed, possessed a higher intellect, and developed a calling for contact with the hereafter and as such became religious leaders, who presided over – and organized – their clans and societies. But the question here is: “Did they maintain their shamanic characteristics, or were they propelled to the divine and powerful level of priesthood, as seen later in the Orient as well as ancient Egypt?”
Those T-shaped pillars are 3 to 6 meters high in size, and weigh anything between 40 to 60 tonnes each. Even with today’s technology one would need very specialized equipment to move that stuff. In human terms it is roughly estimated that a minimum of 500 bodies might pull it off. But in a world of chaos and self-preservation how were these people organised, and by whom? Then again, it seems somehow they knew, and were coached to achieve this monumental task of transporting and sequencing these megaliths in specific order. There had to be quarrying experts, transport specialists, planners, ritual overseers etc. According to archeologists this kind of organization could have only existed in a society which already had established a solid system and a sound hierarchy.
The hypothesis here is that Gobeklitepe is a burial site. The excavations did not get as far as the actual graves yet, but they expect to find them under the floor or behind the walls, so far untouched. It is also surmised that Gobeklitepe’s main function was primarily ritual burials, and in some lesser capacity big feasts and social gatherings.
Only time will tell… but as more and more of this fascinating discovery gets unearthed, and layers upon layers of mystery are peeled back, then perhaps we may have to readjust – or even be forced to change – our way of thinking about our ancestors and human history in general.