Gobekli Tepe

Discussion of Julian Jaynes's third hypothesis - dating the development of consciousness to roughly 1500-1200 BCD in Egypt, Greece, and Mesopotamia (the transition occurred at different times in different places around the world). Includes analysis of ancient texts (such as the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Bible), linguistics, and archeological evidence from ancient civilizations as it pertains to the transition from the bicameral mind to consciousness.
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lenny52682
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Gobekli Tepe

Post by lenny52682 »

Anyone who subscribes to National Geographic magazine may have noticed that this month's cover advertises an article entitled, "The Birth of Religion: The World's First Temple." Not surprisingly, the article does not make any mention of the bicameral mind theory however, it does include several topics of relevance to that theory. Gobekli Tepe is the world's oldest religious site that has yet been found. It is located in Southeastern Turkey and was discovered by German archaeologist, Klaus Schmidt in 1994. It dates back to 9600 B.C. and excavations conducted over many years reveal it to be a most impressive piece of architecture. It basically consists of about 20 temples built with large pillars between 9600 B.C. to 8200 B.C. The largest pillars are 18 feet in height and weigh 16 tons. Every few decades the pillars were buried and a new temple was constructed in place of the previous one. This process was repeated for centuries.

Details regarding the manner of religious worship or the reasons for constructing Gobekli Tepe are largely unknown. However, what the temple represents is essentially the power religious influence in constructing civilization. Its discovery debunks many claims that the Neolithic Revolution was the sole basis for the creation of civilized life. Like the Natufian villages, which incidentally are mentioned in the OC, Gobekli Tepe confirms that people without agriculture of livestock domestication did, in fact, build lasting structures and organize themselves into not-so-simple social hierarchies. As Schmidt states, "Twenty years ago everyone believed civilization was driven by ecological forces. I think what we are learning is that civilization is a product of the human mind." For those of us familiar with Jaynes's work, the connection with this conclusion and the conclusions drawn in the OC is inescapable. Has anyone researched this discovery and considered its implications for the bicameral mind theory?
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Re: Gobekli Tepe

Post by Moderator »

Yes this was a very interesting article. There was also a documentary version that aired on the National Geographic channel called "Cradle of the Gods."
logictweek
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Re: Gobekli Tepe

Post by logictweek »

The really remarkable thing about Göbekli Tepe is the dating. It pushes the timeline back thousands of years before even Çatalhöyük.
angleblue63
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Re: Gobekli Tepe

Post by angleblue63 »

Does Jaynes' aptic structures sound something similar to Rupert Sheldrake's morphic resonances?
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