Nexus - 1604 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

community of builders was the real reason behind why northern Iraq, contained a series of severed birds’ wings our ancestors "invented" agriculture: they began to covered with red ochre. The remains have been dated to cultivate the wild grasses on the hills to sustain this —_c. 8870 BC. The wings are believed to have been used in sedentary population. In short, he believes that "religion | some ceremony, but precisely in what manner remains motivated people to take up farming". unknown. However, it is known that, in the distant past, As well as appearing to have ritual significance, Gdbekli_ the people of this region placed the bodies of the dead Tepe, with its large and exquisitely decorated stone —_ on high constructions and let vultures eat the flesh of the blocks, reveals that its creators had an extraordinary dead. Depictions of such a Neolithic excarnation tower ability and familiarity with stone masonry and carving. have been found on a mural in Catal Hdéyiik. That our ancestors in 10,000 BC were so skilled is an Interestingly, human bones have recently been found in archaeological discovery that is wiping out long- _ the soil that once filled the niches behind the megaliths cherished beliefs about the origin of civilisation. at Gdbekli Tepe. Schmidt argues: "...the ancient hunters As for the carvings, why were some and not other brought the corpses of relatives here, and installed them animals chosen? Why do the depictions seem to have no _ inthe open niches by the stones. The corpses were then clear or apparent organisation but appear to be a rather —_ excarnated."_ Not just vultures but wild animals seem to random collection? Truth is, we don't have taken part in this ritual. This may know. In later civilisations, all of these explain why so many animals are animals were given divine attributes. depicted on the T-pillars: perhaps the Some cultures chose to depict snakes Th id f people who constructed these sites felt because these animals shed their skin, e€ side or one that "something" of the dead lived on in which they saw as a symbol of rebirth. pillar features a these animals. Others opted for the same animal for . different reasons. So far, there is no series of serpents Cradles of civilisation way of knowing what beliefs the 1 - What is known is that Gdbekli Tepe creators and users of Gdbekli Tepe with mushroom and its sister sites have pushed back eld. shaped heads... the age of monolithic building much Some observers have pointed out . Q further in time. Previously, we looked at some of the cranes are depicted Is this evidence of to the likes of Stonehenge and the with human-like knees and have a ritual involving Egyptian pyramids, but now we find suggested that a form of . . that our ancestors were haulin Ss ae anism was practised inside hallucinogenic massive stones to build their is temple. Sister sites have mushrooms constructions around 12,000 years ago. Even if a structure like the Sphinx were suddenly found to be 10,000 years old, the immediate reaction might now perhaps be: "So what? It is not that unique." Furthermore, if the dates for some of these sites in Turkey pre-date the assumed time-frame for such e body at death or during events as the disappearance of shamanic flight. Atlantis or the Great Flood, it Andrew Collins has specifically underlined the means that these ancient ancestors cannot be neatly shamanic potential of these sites in modern-day Turkey. placed as "survivors from a deluge”. The image of the previously mentioned naked woman Our ancient history has grown much more interesting depicts her hair in the shape of a hemispherical and complex. The cultures that followed the mushroom cap. The side of one pillar at Gdbekli Tepe — establishment of Gébekli Tepe had domesticated pigs, eatures a series of serpents with mushroom-shaped sheep, cattle and goats and cultivated wheat species such eads, four winding their way downwards and a fifth one as einkorn. Indeed, recent analysis has shown that the climbing up to meet them, while the other side shows first cultivation of domesticated wheat occurred at several interwoven serpents wearing mushroom-like caps, | Karacadag, a mountain 32 kilometres from Gdbekli Tepe. eight emerging at the top and nine at the bottom. Is this | Other domesticated cereals such as rye and oats also evidence of a ritual involving hallucinogenic mushrooms __ originated here. According to Schmidt, this adventure or similar mind-altering substances? began c. 8000 BC. The bones of vultures have been found at Nevali Cori, It is easy and tempting to label this region as "the Gébekli Tepe and Jerf el-Ahmar (in Syria). A communal cradle of civilisation", but the fact of the matter is that it cave site, Shanidar, in the Upper Zagros Mountains of | has already been proven that corn (maize) was revealed sculptures of a mixture of animal and human, specifically at of the body of a bird with a uman head. As it happened, ousands of years later the ancient Egyptians used this symbol as a hieroglyph to depict e ba, the human soul freed from or similar mind-altering substances? pillar features a series of serpents shaped heads... Is this evidence of a ritual involving hallucinogenic mushrooms or similar mind-altering substances? JUNE — JULY 2009 NEXUS ¢ 39 The side of one with mushroom- www.nexusmagazine.com