Gobeklitepe

GÖBEKLİTEPE GÖBEKLİTEPE 5 4 In order to understand the settlement conditions of Göbeklitepe, we must first talk about the Neolithic Era. Neolithic Era comes after Paleolithic and Meso- lithic Eras. Neolithic means “New Stone”. This period is also called New Stone Age. In Neolithic Era, for the first time in history mankind upped their hand against nature and focused on agriculture besides hunting and gathering. Göbeklitepe, Karahantepe, Sefertepe, Hamzantepe, and Balıklıgöl environs surround Harran Plateau like a crescent at 30-40 km distances from each other. These are the most important settlements of the Neolithic Era. Almost all of these settlements are 1St degree Ar- cheological Sites dating back to 12,000 years. Also dated back to the same period Nevali Çori (Val- ley of Illnesses) located between Hilvan township’s Kantara village and Süleyman Bey neighborhood, Biris cemetery in Bozova township, Sögüt Field, Akarçay Tepe and finally about 250 mounds in Harran plateau are settlements with architectural structures from the Neolithic Era. Through trial and error, humans began planting wheat, barley, lentil vs. which used to grow wildly. In time, they found the best products. Also in this period ani- mals were tamed and first religious and civilian archi- tectural structures emerged. Photo 3: Göbeklitepe Temple Photo 5: Limestone Male Head in Nevali Çori Photo 4: Human skull in Göbeklitepe