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0:11
The year is 2020. The global population stands at some 7.7 billion people, a number that may double by the end of the century. Humanity has now spread to cover almost every continent, has mapped every corner of the world, and has even made its first tentative steps beyond our planet. More than half the world’s people now live in cities or similar urban environments, marked by complicated social hierarchies, and that rely on agriculture and vast bureaucracies
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to survive. Yet in the grand scheme of history, these complex societies came into existence only recently. -artic wind noise begins- At the peak of the last ice age, just some 20,000 years ago, the global population was perhaps as low as just 2 million people, less than 0.1% of what it is now. Human societies consisted of widely dispersed bands of hunter-gathers, who followed a lifestyle
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that had not changed greatly since the appearance of recognisably modern humans some 300,000 years ago. (I said the wrong number sorry) Then the world’s population exploded. First people began to settle in one place, then to farm crops and animals. Villages appeared, followed by towns and eventually cities. The first temples were erected, and soon after came the first elites of humanity. Eventually societies grew so complicated that whole new types of administration were required to keep
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them going, along with new forms of record keeping and correspondence. The result of all this was Civilisation. And over the last 5000 years, it has come to shape the lives of almost every human on the planet. The speed at which complex human civilisations emerged across the planet is remarkable. For over a quarter of a million years, humanity remained nomadic in nature, following the seasons and migrating herds in search of food and useful resources. Vast changes in the
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global climate came and went, without any great change to this nomadic lifestyle. Then, after the easing of the last glacial maximum, humanity settled down into more permanent settlements. Over thousands of years these settlements became ever more complex, and by 3000 BCE, what can only be described as civilisations were appearing in several places around the globe. -ominous music begins-
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So how did these civilisations emerge? What was it that drove mankind away from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle? Was it the result of the many changes the Earth’s climate has seen since the end of the last Ice age, which would have forced human societies to change the way they functioned simply to survive? Alternatively did something change about humanity as a whole, which led them to the rapid adoption of agriculture, and eventually the development of urban societies?
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The exact answer to many of these questions are still being debated by archaeologists. Despite this, it now seems that we can chart many of the major developments that lead to the blueprints of the Civilisation we see today. And over the course of this three-episode series, we will do exactly that. We’ll begin by examining the slow transition from late hunter-gatherers, to societies wholly dependent on agriculture for survival.
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We’ll chart the emergence of ever larger settlements and ritual centres, along with the at times macabre practises that accompanied them. Finally,we’ll take a look at the factors that lead to the emergence of the world’s first city, which contained the basic blueprint for all others to come. Before we can do any of this however, we need to define what we actually mean when we say civilisation. Perhaps the easiest way of defining a civilisation would be an organised political state,
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one is that characterised by dense urban environments and that relies on agriculture to feed its populace. Other criteria we can cite as required for civilisation might include a visible social hierarchy, monumental building patterns, and the presence of administrative tools such as writing and literacy. When we try to apply these criteria to archaeology however, and define exactly when these civilisations first emerged, we run into problems.
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That’s because whilst many of these features are present within the societies that appeared in the millennia after the last ice age, often they are present in varying degrees of development. Some of these features, such as living in a settlement one year-round, or harvesting the seeds of wild grains and grasses appear relatively early in the picture, occurring well before the more systematic adoption of agriculture. Others, such as complex social hierarches, administration and writing,
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arrive millennia later, only appearing long after their societies had become reliant on a farming economy and urbanised living. So if we wish to explore these processes that lead to recognisable civilisations, -music fades out- where should we begin? According to the current weight of archaeological evidence, complex societies emerged at several locations across the globe, with these centres often being vastly separated by both distance and time.
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In each area the appearance of these complex -upbeat music begins- societies was preceded by the adoption of agriculture, which developed independently in at least six different areas. In South East Asia this included the emergence and spread of farming along the Yangtze and Yellow River basins of China from around 7000 BC. Around the same time agricultural villages were emerging along the banks of the Nile in Egypt, along with on the highlands of New Guinea. Two thousand years later, farming
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also emerged in parts of Southern America, and along the river basin of central Mexico, before finally spreading to North America around 2000 BCE. The exact forms these early agricultural societies took varied greatly depending on the availability of local crops and wildlife. In areas like Egypt and China, large herd animals such as wild cattle, pigs, sheep and water buffalo were available to domesticate. By comparison, areas such as South America had few large
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mammals, and the protein requirements of its inhabitants were instead met by the cultivation of plants such as beans, squash and maize. Often this process of cultivation has been associated with sudden environmental changes, which would have forced greater human intervention in the growth of wild plant and animal species. But now it seems clear that this transition was the result of a series of overlapping processes, each of which took many thousands of years to mature.
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We could likely gain an understanding of these processes by looking at any of the multiple centres where agriculture emerged independently. For this series however, let us focus our attention on the area in which complex agricultural societies are thought to have appeared the earliest, and where the processes that lead to their development are perhaps best understood. It is here, in the Near East, that we see many firsts, including the earliest known
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evidence of crops being cultivated, of animal domestication, and of permanent villages and settlements. During this long period, we see the emergence of new ritual practises, along with a steady growth of population throughout the hilly flanks of what is termed the fertile crescent. From the 7th millennium onwards, the first proto cities emerged, only to be abandoned in the face of environmental decay. A millennium later, the development of irrigation
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allowed settlers to spread to the alluvial plain of Mesopotamia, where over the next two thousand years, we see the world’s first true cities emerge. -music ends- Within these cities we will find the first true urban environments, marked by a complex social hierarchy and specialised labour. Finally, we will see the development of sophisticated record keeping and administration, a process that culminated in the world’s earliest known examples of writing.
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But monumental as the achievements may be, it is not here that we begin our story. In fact if we wish to explore the origins of complex human societies in this region, we must begin not with the rise of the first recognisable cities, nor with the appearance of crops and animals bearing these hallmarks of domestication. Instead our journey begins long before any of these developments, at the height of the last ice age. -drumming music begins-
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The world of the last glacial maximum was very different from the one we know today. During this period, which lasted from around 21,000 to 15,500 BCE, temperatures on land were lower by an average of 20 degrees Celsius. In Northern Europe and America, vast areas lay under glacial sheets some 3km thick. Sea levels were up to 100ft lower than their modern coastlines, and the vast amount of water locked up in glaciers left a world far more arid than it is today.
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Deserts stretched for far greater distances, whilst tropical rainforests were reduced to small pockets around the equator. In Northern Europe, the low lying plain of Doggerland still connected Britain with the rest of the continent, whilst in South Eastern Asia, the single land mass of Sundaland still connected many of the islands of modern Indonesia and Malaysia. By this time, anatomically modern humans could be
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found throughout every continent of the old world, and may already have reached Northern America by the land bridge of Beringia. For most of the inhabitants of Eurasia and Africa, life continued to follow a hunter gatherer blueprint that had been familiar for much of human existence. Most peoples would still have followed a largely nomadic lifestyle, living in seasonal campsites consisting of simple dwellings and huts.
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In addition to hunting the larger mammals and megafauna of the period, these groups would also have exploited smaller prey, such as fish, reptiles and shellfish. This diet would also have been periodically supplemented by the gathering of simple plant foodstuffs, such as nuts, berries, tubers and occasionally the seeds of wild grasses. This time period, known as the Palaeolithic, or old Stone Age, would have been home to
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human societies similar to those of the past 50,000 years. But if we look a little closer at these communities, and consider wider social and technological trends, we find that hunter gatherer life had already been increasing in complexity for some time. Since around 40,000 BC, a culture known as the Aurignacian had been developing throughout much of Europe and the Levant. In addition to long established flake tools, this period is marked by the
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appearance of more refined implements, including carefully shaped hand axes, scrappers, and a range of specialised stone blades made from flint. Alongside tools made from stone, we also see increasing quantities of specialist bone and ivory tools appearing, including weapon points, needles, and small instruments known as awls designed for punching holes. The development of these tools coincides with the appearance of tailored clothing such as
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leggings and coats, as well as early textiles such as baskets. And along with these new technological developments, we also see increasing signs of cultural complexity within these -music ends- settlements, including perhaps the first examples of complex artwork in Europe and the Near East. These examples had been preceded for millennia by simple items of personal decoration, including pierced seashells, mammoth ivory, and animal bones and teeth. The first cave
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paintings also predate this period, with the earliest examples consisting of hand stencils and geometric shapes found in cave locations throughout southern France and northern Spain. From around 35000 years ago however, this seems to have changed. At places such as Chauvet Cave in South eastern France, we see complex depictions of predators and herbivores engaging in hunting and grazing behaviour, including animals such as lions, bears, hyena, rhinos, horses, and bison.
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A carved image of a horse decorated with a coloured pigment known as red ochre has similarly been unearthed at HaYonim cave in the Levant. These painted works are complimented by the appearance of carved animal and Venus figures throughout much of Europe. Many of these figures display exaggerated female characteristics, including prominent breasts and hips, which archaeologists have associated with motifs of fertility and childhood. -music begins-
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So by the time we reach the peak of the last glacial maximum, around 21,000 BC, it is clear that the cultural and technological complexity of hunter-gatherer societies was increasing. Over the next ten millennia, these societies would be subjected to a series of dramatic environmental changes. First, we have the easing of the glacial conditions from about 18000 BC, which saw temperatures and sea levels slowly rise. Around 11000 BC,
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this process was suddenly interrupted by another drop in global temperatures. Glacial conditions returned across much of Europe and North America, where they would persist for another millennium. At the end of this period global temperatures would rise once more. By 9000 BC summer temperatures were comparative to those of today. Still, it would take many millennia for the glaciers to melt, with global sea levels only reaching their current positions around 3000 BC.
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Many earlier theories held that the increased complexity of human societies came about directly as a result of these environmental changes. Specifically, it has been argued that the sudden return to glacial conditions during the younger dryas would have forced hunter gatherers in the Near East to intervene more actively in the management of their environment to acquire food. This intervention came to focus on the exploitation of the wild grasses
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and animal life of the fertile lands of South Western Asia, the former of which humans were already beginning to exploit in the Levant. Since the mid-point of the 20th century however, evidence has increasingly emerged that these processes began long before the onset of the younger dryas, and that the adoption of farming was neither certain nor irreversible. So what do we mean when we say farming? A simple definition might be the deliberate management
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of plants and animals for human food production. This production occurs in an artificial environment, with domesticated animals and crops being kept separate from their wild equivalents. In this environment, reproductive decisions are carefully controlled, with the end goal of breeding animals with human preferred traits. This sort of description works when considering the developed agricultural systems that appeared in the Near East from around 9000 BC, when more modern forms of
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crops and animals emerged. But when we try to extend this definition to earlier agricultural efforts, the picture becomes less clear. That’s because instead of there being a sudden changeover from hunting and gathering to farming, it seems agriculture took many millennia to develop. During this time a gradient in farming behaviour would have existed, ranging from simple gathering and cultivation of wild plants at hunter-gatherer camps in order to supplement their diets, to the more
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methodical exploitation of crops and animals observed at early farming settlements. It also increasingly seems that these two settlement types would have shared many common traits. Despite their more permanent nature, early farming communities would still have relied on hunting for their main supply of meat, and there is evidence that people in many of these societies continued to hunt long after the appearance of domestic animals.
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For their part, later hunter-gatherers often remained in one settlement for long periods of time, and in recent decades evidence has emerged of these communities processing grain and cereals into simple foodstuffs normally associated with the adoption of agriculture. So if we want to understand the overlap between these early societies, and how they eventually came to rely entirely on farming for survival, we need to understand two core processes.
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The first of these is domestication, the process by which wild animals and plants are slowly altered into forms more attractive for human food production. This process is a gradual one, involving slow changes to the animal’s physical characteristics over generations of breeding. In the early days of the Neolithic, these interventions were likely unintentional, occurring as a simple by-product of farmers continuing to manage and eat plants and animals
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that grew well within their local environments. In a more developed farming economy however, humans often deliberately intervene in the animal’s reproductive decisions, selectively breeding individual animals with more favourable characteristics. For example, the wild ancestors of sheep do not grow long fleeces, but instead gradually shed their hair throughout the year. By selectively breeding the individuals of this wild species with longer hair, humans
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were gradually able to develop a species with a more recognisable fleece. Similar processes occurred in plants such as wheat and barley, both of which were bred for larger grain size and ease of harvesting. In fact, by the time we reach the peak of the last ice age, there is evidence that hunter-gatherers had already begun to domesticate members of an ancestral species of wolf into mankind’s most loyal partner.
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Moving on from domestication, our other major process is cultivation. This process refers to the deliberate planting and management of plants and seeds in artificial settings such as fields. Often this activity is heavily labour intensive. In forested areas, land would need to be cleared before cultivation couldn begin. After clearing, tools are required to make land ready for seeding and harvesting, whilst in areas with poor rainfall, irrigation
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systems needed to be developed. Even when the crops were ready to harvest, methods of collecting, processing and then storing the grain and seeds still needed to be implemented. All of these activities required major technical innovations, some of which took millennia to develop. With these two processes in mind, let us focus our attention on the hunter gatherer groups in the Near East, right at the peak of the last glacial maximum. -music slowly ends-
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Here this timepoint coincides with the beginning of a period known as the epipaleolithic. The first part of this period, which dates from roughly 21,000 BC, is associated with the appearance of small stone blades known as microliths amongst local communities. The appearance of these new tools are correlated with an increased range of hunting strategies, with human populations in these regions focusing on more mobile prey such as small mammals and birds. This fast-moving prey would have
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required precision weaponry with small stone tips, and whilst we currently lack direct evidence, the presence of arrow shaped microliths hints that the bow may well have been in use by this time. One suggested explanation for this shift in hunting strategy, was that the communities in these areas were slowly becoming more sedentary. By staying in place for longer periods, it is argued that these communities would
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have gradually depleted the supply of larger prey species such as gazelle and red deer in their local area, and that hunting strategies associated with a range of smaller prey were developed to sustain these more permanent settlements. And in addition to this broader spectrum of prey, there is evidence that these communities were also beginning to supplement their meat intake with a wider range of plant foodstuffs. -music begins-
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In the millennia before now, there is some scattered evidence of the processing of plants into simple foodstuffs. These activities take the form of Upper Palaeolithic grindstones found at sites outside of the Near East, at Italy, Russia, and the Czech Republic, the surfaces of which carry plant residue associated with the grinding of grains into flour. Beyond this small number of finds however, it is thought that this type of exploitation of
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plant foodstuffs at human settlements in Europe would not have occurred for many more millennia to come. In the Levant however, there is evidence that a small number of communities were already harvesting large quantities of plant material during this period. In the late 1980’s a remarkable site was uncovered on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in Northern Israel. Known as Ohalo II, this site dates from the very peak of the last Glacial Maximum.
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Here archaeologists have discovered the clustered remains of an early epipaleolithic settlement, including the preserved remains of six brush huts. The floors of each of these oval shaped buildings were carefully cut into ground level, after which walls were constructed from the branches of willows, tamarisks and oak trees. In addition to these huts, a large number of hearths were also found on site, along a designated area for
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domestic waste disposal. This highly organised settlement has been carbon dated to around 20,000 BC, and appears to have been occupied on a permanent basis for several successive generations. At the end of this occupation period, each of these dwellings was set alight, sealing their contents within. Shortly thereafter, the water level of the shore rose and covered the settlement. This combination of charring and sedimentation acted to preserve much of
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the organic material associated with this camp. Such was the state of preservation that one hut still contains recognisable bedding, along with a wealth of microliths, animal bones, and a vast assembly of plant material. From these remains it can be seen that the occupants of Ohalo II exploited a wide range of local prey species, including red deer, hares, foxes and a variety of seasonal birds. What is more significant however, is the collection
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of some 150,000 seeds and fruits and were found deposited within the huts. These seeds included acorns, legumes and wild cereals such as emmer wheat and barley. In addition to this plant material, stone tools resembling sickles have also been unearthed, along with simple grind stones which bear evidence of having been used to process plant seeds. So we can be reasonably certain that substantial amounts of seeds and cereal grains were being
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consumed at this site around the beginning of the epipaleolithic. A number of paleobotanists have even reported the presence of weed species at Ohalo II associated with cultivation, hinting that plant species were already being exploited in a systematic manner. But whilst these sickle blades and grinding tools were certainly in use in places like Ohalo II and at sites such as Ein Gev I further to the east, there is currently little evidence that
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their use was common throughout the Levant. Indeed, there seems to be little resemblance between Ohalo II and its surrounding communities, which remain small and mobile. Even so, this site still provides us with evidence that groups were beginning to experiment with sedentary living long before plant cultivation became a common way of life. This trend towards permanent settlements continues as we reach the middle epipaleolithic.
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In the Levant we see large camps appear from around 18,000 BC, where many different groups seem to have congregated on a seasonal basis. This includes sites such as Kharaneh IV, Nahal Hadera V and Azariq XIII, where hut structures similar to those found at Ohalo II have been unearthed. Each of these sites show evidence of prolonged habitation, with Kharaneh IV in particular showing rich assemblages of stone tools, worked bone objects, and red
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ochre and decorated shell beads. The presence of these shells in particular, at a site some 200km inland, demonstrates that long range social exchange mechanisms must have existed between the communities in this area. In addition to this human assemblage, this site also displays a wide variety of faunal remains, indicating that what is now little more than desert would once have sat within the vicinity of a varied set of environments, including open grass
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steppe, woodland, and expansive wetland areas. In addition to a diet heavy in gazelle and wild cattle known as aurochs, faunal and archaeological remains also show us that these people were increasingly exploiting the wild grasses of this region using early ground stone mortars -music slowly fades out- similar to those seen at Ohalo II. -forest ambiance begins- Indeed as we reach the later epipaleolithic there is evidence that the wider climate in
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the Near East had become far less arid, and many regions of the Levant would have consisted of overlapping areas of dense forest, open woodlands, and largely unforested steppe. These woodlands in particular would have been home to extensive stands of wild cereals and grasses, including the ancestors of modern wheats and rye. And if we skip forward a little, it is amongst these regions, that one of the world’s most studied early societies can be found. -gentle music begins-
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Out of all the world’s earliest cultures, it is the Natufian peoples of the southern levant that have received perhaps the most attention. Discovered in 1928 by archaeologist Dorothy Garrod, the Natufian culture flourished in the levant from around 14,900 BC, where its remains can still be found at a wide range of sites, including el-Wad, Tell Abu Hureyra and at the lowest levels of Tell es-Sultan. It is at these sites, which comprised a mixture
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of long-standing cave mouth dwellings and more open settlements, that the first wide scale evidence of permanent communities has been found. In more open settlements, circular wooden buildings were constructed from solid stone foundations, whilst cave mouth settlements show evidence of early terracing of the surrounding slopes to extend their available space. Over time the Natufian’s also seem to have become adept at placing their settlements in areas
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with close access to multiple biomes. Evidence of this can be seen in wide range of resources consumed at Natufian settlements. In addition to a diet of larger animals, such as gazelle, red deer, wild boar, and a variety of smaller mammals, birds and even tortoise, peoples in this region increasingly invested a large amount of time and effort in the harvesting and processing of wild cereals and pulses. The most iconic finds associated with this
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activity are sets of stone mortars and sickles, both of which bear microwear consistent with being used to harvest and process the wild grasses of this region. Compared with the simple grindstones and sickles that have been unearthed at Ohalo II, the tools found at Natufian sites represent a significant refinement. Stone mortars found at Natufian sites are often carefully shaped out of black basalt, allowing them to contain a greater amount of material within.
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Natufian sickles similarly show refinement over the simple blades found at Ohalo II, being set in long ivory or bone handles that would have allowed them to more effectively cut through the stems of the wild grasses that were abundant throughout this region. So what types of foods would these mortars have been used to make? Many archaeologists have theorised that the seeds and cereals harvested in the earlier epipaleolithic would
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have been used to create simple bread like foodstuffs and early forms of beer. I say theorised, because as of yet no evidence of these items has been discovered at these sites. This lack of evidence is unsurprising, given their perishable nature. But remarkably, it is at Natufian sites that we see some evidence that both of these foodstuffs were being consumed throughout the Levant. At Raqefet cave, near Mount Carmel in Israel, residue from early brewing activity has been
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found on the surfaces of mortars dug into the limestone floor. Here people appear to have carefully malted grains gathered from the vicinity of the cave, then ground and fermented them within mortars. Evidence for this can be found in the form of starchy residues left behind, that archaeologists have been able to link to local varieties of wild wheat and barley. This fermentation process would have resulted in a form of beer
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with very low alcohol content, but even so, it represents the earliest known experiment in the making of alcoholic beverages. This brewing activity may also have been associated with a degree of ritual overtones, as shown by the complex burial practises associated with nearby Natufian era graves. The theory has even been posited, most notably by archaeologist Robert Braidwood, that the human thirst for alcoholic beverages, and its associated ritual
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usages, may well have provided an additional impetus for the onset of agriculture. So ancient beer residue is one thing, but what about the more solid foodstuffs that these grains would have been used to manufacture? It might seem logical that direct evidence of these items wouldn’t have survived, given the vast amount of time since their production. But thanks to carbonisation, even the most perishable material can survive for many thousands of years.
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This is the case at Shubayqa I, a Natufian era campsite in north eastern Jordan. Here, in addition to a wide range of archaeobotanical remains, some 24 charred bread-like fragments have been unearthed within the remains of a hearth at the centre of the camp. These fragments appear to have been manufactured from the grains of cereals such as wild wheat and barley, along with a form of club-rush tuber that makes up the majority of plant
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remains found at the site. As simple as these early bread-like materials are, their existence already demonstrates that the Natufian peoples were capable of complex food processing activity, including cereal dehusking, milling, drying and baking. In addition to these examples of simple food production, it is in the Natufian era that we see the emergence of previously unknown ritual behaviours. These behaviours are most
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apparent in the increased emphasis placed on human burials during this period. Frequently graves are found containing decorative elements, such as elaborate clothing and facial coverings, some of which were decorated with pierced seashells. In addition to this, large quantities of bracelets, armlets and necklaces made of animal teeth and bones have been found within Natufian era burials. The most spectacular example of these burials has been unearthed
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at the cave site of Hilazon Tachtit in southern Israel. Here the body of a disabled woman Here the body of a disabled woman has been found interred within a large burial pit. This woman, who died around the age of 45, was buried alongside a wide range of grave goods, including the shells of over 50 tortoises, the skulls of two pine martins, a complete human foot, and a range of body parts from animals such as wild boar, cattle, leopards and even the wing of a golden eagle. It has been theorised
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by the sites excavators that this body is that of an early shaman or medicine woman, whose special significance would have required an elaborate burial by her community. Whether or not this is true, it is clear that by the Natufian, people were already placing special emphasis on the burials of certain prominent individuals within their societies. Whilst the Natufian communities in the Levant have received by far the most attention in
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preceding decades, it is now known that increasingly sedentary hunter gatherer communities also existed outside of the Levant during the later epipaleolithic. In Northern Syria, a small Natufian era site known as Abu Hureyra flourished from around 11,000 BC. Here the locals appear to have subsisted by hunting gazelle, wild cattle and sheep, whilst also exploiting a varied diet of wild cereals and grains. Elsewhere in Turkey and Syria less information
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is known about the settlement patterns during this period, but we do know of a small number of sites along the Euphrates and Tigris that date from right around the end of the Epipaleolithic. In addition to these sites, there is also scattered evidence of settlement to the East, in the arid valleys of the Zagros mountains. These sites, known collectively as the Zarzian culture, are roughly contemporaneous with the Natufian’s, dating
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between 18000 to 8000 BC. Whilst evidence indicates that these sites were sparsely occupied during the epipaleolithic, it is clear from the presence of increased numbers of microliths that hunters in this region were steadily increasing the range of resources they were exploiting. -music slowly ends- We come now to the final part of the Epipaleolithic, a period that coincides with a major shift in the global climate.
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-bird song- As we discussed before, by 11,000 BC global temperatures had increased significantly, bringing with them a warmer, wetter climate throughout much of the Near East. But just 200 years later, there was a sudden return to cooler conditions throughout much of Europe and Asia. Known to archaeologists as the Younger Dryas, this downturn is correlated with a disruption in settlement patterns in the Levant, with permanent Natufian sites being abandoned
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in favour of more mobile forms of living. In South western Iran, the Zarzian culture soon came to an end, whilst at Abu Hureya, the change in climate lead to a decline in local plant species. At first it seems its inhabitants responded by increasing the number of plant species they exploited, including the earliest confirmed cultivation of a form of wild rye that could withstand the cooler conditions. Ultimately however, these efforts were in
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vain, and the settlement was abandoned shortly before the end of the epipaleolithic. The exact causes of the younger dryas are still argued amongst archaeologists. Theories for its onset include changes in the Atlantic circulation patterns, a global increase in volcanic activity, or even an asteroid impact over Northern America. Currently the most widely accepted theory for its onset is that the slow retreat of North American glaciers
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after the end of the last glacial maximum lead to vast quantities of melt water entering the Northern Atlantic. This water, it is theorised, would have disrupted the natural ocean conveyor systems that pull warmer water from the tropics up into the Northern hemisphere. This disruption resulted in a return to glacial conditions across much of Northern Europe and America, whilst in the Near East many areas would have suddenly become cooler and dryer than before.
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The exact effects would have varied from site to site, but it seems likely that in many inland areas, the cereals and wild pulses exploited by human settlements would have become less abundant, as would many of the animal species that formed the backbone of their diet. As we discussed at the beginning of this episode, it was argued for a long time that this sudden climate downturn was tied to the beginning of plant cultivation by communities in South-West Asia.
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This fall in resources, it is argued, would have forced increased intervention by the peoples of these regions in the management of crops and herd animals alike. Certainly it seems that these environmental changes would have added to more local pressures, but as we have now covered, this process of cultivation seem to have begun even before the onset of the younger dryas. Moreover, there is no evidence of a quick switch over
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to mixed farming economies during this time, and fully domesticated forms of both animals and crops do not emerge for millennia to come. Instead the hunter-gatherers of this region simply seem to have adopted a more mobile lifestyle, returning to a more sedentary existence only after more favourable conditions returned. -upbeat music begins- By the midpoint of the 10th millennium BCE, the cool period that had characterised the
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Younger Dryas was coming to an end. Within the span of some 50 years, the global temperature would rise by some 7 degrees celsius, and by the end of the millennium summer temperatures in much of the Near East would reach levels similar to those of modern times. With this rise in temperature also came an expansion of wooded and grassland areas throughout much of the Near East. Here we enter a period known as the Neolithic, or New Stone Age.
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This time period, dates from around 9600 BC, and can be clearly divided in two parts, distinguished from one another by the appearance of a new item within the archaeological record. The first of these, known as the pre-pottery Neolithic, is distinguished from the later pottery Neolithic by the absence of its characteristic fired clay vessels within its archaeological layers. Complicating matters, the pre-pottery Neolithic is further split into an earlier period, which
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lasted until around 8800 BC, and a later period, which dates until the mid-point of the 7th millennium BC. These two periods, often referred to as A & B by archaeologists, are distinguished from each other by a wide range of cultural and technological innovations, along with the slow appearance of domesticated forms of plant and animals in the later pre-pottery Neolithic. Let us start then by examining the early settlements of the Near East from the midpoint of the
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10th millennium BC, right around the beginning of the pre-pottery Neolithic. To best of our knowledge, people in these societies would have lived in a communal fashion, much as they had throughout earlier hunter-gatherer times. In addition to continuing to hunt together in groups, activities such as crop cultivation, processing and cooking also seem to have been conducted by multiple households. Evidence of this can be seen at the early pre-pottery
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Neolithic settlement of Jerf el Ahmar, where large hearths have been unearthed in spaces between houses, suggesting that these households would have cooked and eaten together. The backbone of these settlements food supply would still come from hunting local wildlife, but there is also evidence that cultivated cereals would have made up an increasing proportion of the inhabitant’s diet as the pre-pottery Neolithic progressed. For evidence of this,
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we can point to the settlements of Jerf el Ahmar and Wadi Feynan. At both sites central structures have been unearthed that bear signs of having been used for large scale grain storage. At Jerf el Ahmar in particular, a subterranean building has been uncovered measuring some 9 metres in diameter, one that was repeatedly rebuilt over the course of the settlements lifetime. The space within this building was separated by limestone walls into a number of doorless
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cells, which seem to have been used to store large amounts of lentils and barley. Surrounding this structure were a series of rectangular buildings containing heavy quern stones, indicating that they were used for processing large quantities of grain into flour. These communal buildings are currently unknown at prior-Natufian sites, and their importance was such that similar structures were retained even as the settlement itself was remodelled.
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As such it has been suggested that these structures may have combined their practical role with more ceremonial aspects, acting as the site of communal rituals, which included the deposition of both human and animal body parts. The construction of communal buildings is a trend that increases throughout the pre-pottery Neolithic. Around the same time as these structures were being built in Northern Syria, another
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unique structure appears at a settlement in the southern levant. It was constructed at the site of Tell-es-Sultan, within the modern city of Jericho. Based around a nearby spring, this site had been seasonally occupied as early as the Natufian period, but it is during the early pre-pottery Neolithic that a more permanent settlement appears. This settlement, which is characterised by womb shaped stone and mud brick buildings, is surrounded by
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a massive wall that encloses an area of some 3 hectares. This wall, which in places is up to 5 metres tall and 2 metres thick, was built of undressed stone and mud mortar, and is complemented by a ditch dug out of the rock below. Around the same time as its construction, a monumental stone tower some seven metres in height was built inside the wall, containing a complex internal staircase leading to the platform above.
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The exact function of this wall and tower remain uncertain. The sites original excavator, Kathleen Kenyon, asserted that these structures would have acted as a defensive fortifications for the dwelling it surrounded. Alongside their great size, she also pointed to the presence of a destruction layer within the tower, along with the burial of twelve bodies at the foot of its staircase that bore signs of violence. But other archaeologists are less certain.
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In particular the positioning of the tower itself has come under question. Most defensive towers are built on the outside of their surrounding walls, giving their defenders a better vantage point from which to hurl down missiles on their attackers. The tower at Jericho however, is positioned inside the wall, where it is surrounded by a number of smaller structures that seem to have been used for storing plant foodstuffs. Moreover,
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there is no sign of a similar structure at other settlements from this era, and it is unclear where any attackers would have come from. It has been argued as such that the wall and ditch may have played another practical role, such as preventing seasonal flooding from the nearby spring. Alternatively, its construction may have been intended to signify the settlements status to surrounding communities, and to inspire an appropriate sense of awe.
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Archaeologists such as the late Klaus Schmidt have also pointed to structures unearthed surrounding the base of the tower that may indicate a ritual function, including the remains of two empty stone pedestals that may have held early totem poles. -music abruptly ends- Regardless of these uncertainties, it is clear that the construction of these structures, along with those found at Jerf el Ahmar and Wadi Feynan, would have required a large workforce,
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along with a degree of societal organisation not seen at earlier sites. But the development we have seen at these settlements is only a small taste of the organisational skills that the people of this time would have been capable of. For it is during this time that we see the emergence of what may be the world’s first dedicated ritual center. And to find it, we must look not to the Levant, or Syria, but further north to Turkey. -dramatic music begins-
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Situated on a broad limestone ridge on the south eastern edges of Anatolia, the monumental assembly of Gobekli Tepe has rewritten our understanding of human behaviour in the earliest days of the neolithic. Discovered in the early 90’s by Professor Klaus Schmidt, this vast site consists of an artificial earthen mound over 300 metres in diameter. At its heart, which covers some 8 hectares, lies a number of ceremonial buildings and subterranean
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enclosures, that were carefully filled in with rubble after their use was discontinued. Currently a total of five enclosures of varying size have been unearthed dating from the earliest days of the pre-pottery Neolithic. These enclosures consist of roughly circular walls built in hollows hewn into the bedrock, around which t-shaped pillars have been placed at regular intervals. The centres of these enclosures are similarly dominated by two T-shaped pillars,
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often constructed on a far grander scale than those that line the enclosures. Each of these pillars would have been carefully chiselled out of the bedrock at nearby limestone quarries, then transported to the enclosures and erected within carved stone bases. The largest of these pillars stands some five and a half metres tall, and would have weighed around 8 metric tonnes, indicating that hundreds of people may have been required to transport
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it from its quarry. Carved on the surface of many of these pillars are decorative images of local wild animals, including aurochs, boars, birds, scorpions, spiders and snakes, along with canine figures that may represent wolves, foxes or early dogs. In addition to these images, figures have been found carved in high relief, including enigmatic four-legged figures that may depict either reptiles, panthers, or other unknown predators.
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In addition to their pillars, these enclosures are characterised by their carefully polished limestone floors. The exception to this is enclosure B, which instead contained an artificial terrazzo floor constructed from fired lime mortar. Dug into this terrazzo floor in front of one of the pillars was a bowl-shaped depression, the exact purpose of which remains unknown. Alongside these enclosures, a wide variety of sculptures have
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been found on site, including phallic human statues, animal sculptures, and enigmatic rings. In many ways the structures at Gobekli Tepe open up more questions than they answer. What ritual role would these enclosures and pillars have played in the lives of the people who built them? Would they have been used to conduct initiations, rites of passage, or to facilitate funerals and spiritual experiences? Why is it that the distributions of animal carvings
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differ between individual enclosures? Was this due to them having unique functions, or were they constructed by different groups according to their preferred symbology? Moreover, why are some of the pillars pierced, and why are their tops marked by patterns of indentations resembling those found on early mortar stones? In addition to these functional questions, basic structural details of the enclosures remain unclear. Currently it is still unknown
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if the enclosures were originally roofed, or how exactly they were accessed. One suggestion is that a number of portal stones found on the site may have embedded in enclosure walls to serve as entranceways, as seen in a surviving example unearthed to the south of enclosure C. One of these portal stones has similarly been found in the centre of enclosure B, and could be interpreted as having once been part of an enclosing roof.
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It is unlikely that we will have answers for any of these questions any time soon. For now then, lets stick to what we can say with some certainty about the site. It seems that the construction of this site was carried out by peoples from a number of mobile communities throughout Northern Syria, Iraq, and south eastern Turkey. These communities appear to still have largely been hunter-gatherers, which may explain the abundance of wild animal imagery found carved on the pillars.
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And whilst these communities appear to have been at least semi-mobile, there is also evidence that they had already begun a degree of exploitation of local plant species. According to the site’s late excavator, Klaus Schmidt, this site would have acted as a ritual centre and sanctuary at which these communities would have periodically gathered. Indeed, T-shaped pillars and their related symbols are known at later sites within
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a wide radius of Gobekli Tepe. Similar animal motifs have also been found incised in tablets at the contemporary settlement of Jerf el Ahmar, suggesting that a common language of signs and symbolism may already have existed between these distant communities. As for the pillars themselves, the sites excavators are confident that they represent exaggerated human figures. This is best shown by the presence of what can only be considered arms and hands on pillars
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18 and 31, along with carvings that resemble loincloths and stole. These anthropomorphic features have been interpreted by archaeologists as representing either gods or ancestor figures, though exactly which is uncertain. As for the rituals held within the enclosures, Klaus Schmidt also suggested that Gobekli Tepe may have been the home of an early death cult. As evidence for this, he and other excavators point to the elevated position of the site,
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which would have rendered it ideal for the exposure of bodies for carrion birds to feed upon them. Birds such as vultures frequently appear amongst the images represented on the pillars, along with other predatory animals associated with death. If bodies were exposed in such a fashion at this site, then this may explain the need for surrounding enclosures, which would have shielded this activity from view. However, it should also be noted that
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no clear evidence of burials has been found at Gobekli Tepe dating from this period, indicating that the remains of any bodies exposed here would have been disposed of elsewhere. So moving on from this theory, we can also say that regardless of what rituals were associated with the construction and use of these enclosures, they appear to have been marked by an unprecedented level of feasting. Evidence for this activity has been found amongst the rubble used to
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backfill the enclosures at the end of their lifetime. Here large numbers of bones from gazelle and aurochs have been unearthed, many of which have been cracked to get at their internal marrow. The sheer volume of these bones seems too large to have been the result of a single feasting event. Instead it seems more likely that large amounts of bones were transported here from a nearby location, though where remains undetermined. It has also been
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theorised by site excavators that these feasts would have included the consumption of large amounts of alcoholic beverages. Indeed we previously suggested that alcohol may have played a similar ritual role in Natufian societies. In the case of Gobekli Tepe, evidence for this activity is limited. Residues have been found in later buildings erected at the site that suggest they may have been used for brewing, though this is not without uncertainty.
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Alternatively these beverages may have been brewed in the surrounding communities, then transported to the site later. As an example of this we can point to the rectangular houses surrounding the subterranean building at Jerf el Ahmar. In addition to containing mortars and ovens, some these buildings also contain large limestone vats, which could well have been used for the fermenting of gathered grains and cereals. Indeed, the provision of these beverages and
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feasts may have been a required incentive for recruiting and organising a large enough workforce to allow the enclosures construction. -dramatic music fades out- Finally we should say that the presence of these vast communal structures, along with those found at early pre-pottery Neolithic settlements, suggests that the organisational and ritual complexity of human societies in the Near East was growing ever more intricate throughout the early pre-pottery Neolithic. What is interesting
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about many of these centres, however, is that whilst it would have taken large numbers of workers to construct their communal structures, often the resulting ritual spaces are small. It’s far from certain, but it is possible that access to the interiors on ritual occasions was already being limited to a small number of significant people, though how they would have been selected remains unknown. -mournful music begins-
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So now, as we reach the end of the earlier Pre-Pottery Neolithic, we can say that the site of Gobekli Tepe represents a dramatic increase in the organisational abilities of mankind. Never before had a ritual site been erected on such a scale, or required such large amounts of manpower to construct. The enduring significance of this centre to the hunter-gatherer peoples who built it can be seen in how they returned to it for centuries to come,
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progressively elaborating on its enclosures and associated mythologies. Ultimately however, the complex animal carvings seen in its pillars and statues represent one of the last great flowerings of hunter-gather symbology. For it is in the next two millennia that we see the rise of new breeds of domestic cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, that would slowly replace the need for hunting throughout the Near East. In our next episode, we’ll chart the emergence
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of these breeds, and watch as communities came to rely on dedicated farming economies for survival. Around this time, the importance of Gobekli Tepe, and its associated animal symbology began to decline. Later enclosures at its site were built on a much smaller scale than their precursors, and slowly lost much of their animal symbology in favour of communal grain processing activity. Soon the world’s oldest known temple would be buried and forgotten.
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In its place new ritual practises would emerge, centred on buildings set at the heart of their respective communities. Human skulls, already a prized object, increasingly became the focus of a cult that spanned the entire Near East, wherein the features of the deceased would be remodelled in plaster and kept as ceremonial items. Finally, around the end of pre-pottery Neolithic, we see the emergence of what can only be termed mega sites, capable of housing people on an unprecedented scale.
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We’ll discuss this and more, next time.
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