Discoveries of Yet Older Civilizations

Every few years, civilizations older than the ones we knew about previously are uncovered. The result often is that what we thought was true about the thread of humans through time changes. Old ideas about human history go into bin called myth and new truths emerge. 

This topic reminds me of an eccentric old man who used to drop into the Mayor's office to chat. His primary interest was what he called "ancient times." Ancient to him were stories from the new and old testament. These were not, of course, "ancient" but recent compared to other known sources of information. Stuff in the New Testament is dated something around 2,000 to 5,000 years ago. As discussed here often, the Bible stories have few artifacts to verify its stories. 

Recently, the ruins of a complex in Turkey was unearthed that date to around 9,000 years ago. That dates historical evidence twice as far back as the Bible. Ironically, the evidence tells us more about people then then does the Bible.  The discovery was a quite large complex of well engineered and precisely fitted materials that were made and installed before the Iron Age. The stones had to be cut with other stones. The physics of a high wall that did not fall had to be based on lots of experience and calculations.

The evidence of diet, tools and weapons led to the conclusion those who built the complex were not farmers but hunters who also ate foods the grew naturally around them. That is, it was concluded they were not farmers per se. 

The conclusion they seemed not to be farmers leaves unanswered the question raised by the large amount of labor needed in one location to build the structure. How were workers fed if the food supply was scattered about over a large area? To me, it suggests there were farmers somewhere else and food was carried in. 

The link concludes this unearthed complex which seems to indicate a religious site represents some level of development. That is, there was some pattern of thinking, religious belief and organizing that reached a high level at that time. Amateur that I am, I have doubt that this was a stage of development arrived at after several others had been cast aside. 

The 9,000 years is still relatively recent when compared to the 300,000 years of human life. Several other plateaus of development and reasoning surely had come and gone by then. Many other gods must have been worshipped and groups may have practiced farming but went back to hunting and gathering. Nevertheless, every discovery helps us leave behind myths like today's religions and discover more about ancient humanity.