Wiseacre
Retired USAF Chief
In the June 2011 edition of National Geographic, there is a piece about a place called Gobekli Tepe, the site of an archeological dig that is uncovering what may be the world's first temple. Built around 9600 BC, with huge stones weighing up to 16 tons, it would have required 100s of workers to create cuz it is thought humans had not domesticated animals by then.
What's interesting in the story is how the discovery may change the concept that religion followed the rise of civilization rather than predating it. Hunter gatherers did have a form of religion, but it was thought to be more individualized even though the groups may have had shamans that acted as intermediaries between humans and gods. But anybody could commune with the gods using various methods. It was thought that organized religion where priests were the only conduit sprang up after people began to live in communities and organized religion was needed to bind them together.
But Gobekli Tepe predates that, and it is now postulated that religion was a driving force that may have caused people to form communities, rather than the other way around. The site is being excavated very slowly, so it may be decades before it is entirely uncovered and who knows what will be found. Interesting stuff.
What's interesting in the story is how the discovery may change the concept that religion followed the rise of civilization rather than predating it. Hunter gatherers did have a form of religion, but it was thought to be more individualized even though the groups may have had shamans that acted as intermediaries between humans and gods. But anybody could commune with the gods using various methods. It was thought that organized religion where priests were the only conduit sprang up after people began to live in communities and organized religion was needed to bind them together.
But Gobekli Tepe predates that, and it is now postulated that religion was a driving force that may have caused people to form communities, rather than the other way around. The site is being excavated very slowly, so it may be decades before it is entirely uncovered and who knows what will be found. Interesting stuff.