Göbekli Tepe Part 2

What we've learned so far about Göbekli Tepe, is what it appears to be, which is that it is possibly the world's oldest sacred temple.  We think we know who built it: a collective of hunter-gatherers, who had not yet learned the skills of farming.  We also think we know approximately when.  But the answers to the questions of how and why and what did it all mean to these Neolithic peoples may not be so easily obtained.  In fact, since the 1960s at least in American archaeology, a debate still rages as to how far and by what methods archaeologists should proceed to interpret what they have dug up.  How closely should archaeology be tied to anthropology, how much informed speculation about their beliefs should be allowed and by whom?  Processual and Post-processual archaeology are two schools of thought within the field that currently define this debate.   Tonight we take a closer look at the art, the architecture, and the symbolism from Göbelki Tepe, and what it's lead archaeologist, Klaus Schmidt, thought about what it may have represented to our prehistoric ancestors.  We also get closer to an even grander question, did these ancient peoples know of events in earth's past that would blow our modern minds? For more information on this episode visit our website!