The most impressive part of Gobekli Tepe is that the site was built by hunter-gatherers -- people with no granaries, no specialists, no taxes or central authorities. This was a very impressive display of community will, and reveals that hunter-gatherer societies were potentially capable of much greater accomplishments (while remaining hunter-gatherers) than we'd previously known of or imagined.
I'm reminded of MFAC -- the Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization hypothesis -- which argues that Peruvian/Incan civilization began with fishing instead of agriculture: another of those things that supposedly can't happen. Granaries are very important, but perhaps less so than we think...
I'm reminded of MFAC -- the Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization hypothesis -- which argues that Peruvian/Incan civilization began with fishing instead of agriculture: another of those things that supposedly can't happen. Granaries are very important, but perhaps less so than we think...