12,000-Year-Old Monument, Turns Out It May Be Humanity’s Oldest Calendar
RelatedPosts
- Carvings on a 12,000-year-old monument in Turkey appear to mark solar days and years, making it possibly the oldest solar calendar in ancient civilization.
- Marking a massive comet strike as the start, inhabitants used symbols to record every astronomical event, including those as small as single days.
- The summer solstice was called out on the monument as a special day.
An ancient monument discovered in Turkey may just be an ancient monument. But, if its markings are what experts think they are, it might be the world’s oldest solar calendar.
In a study published in Time and Mind based on the work of researchers from the University of Edinburgh, experts write that markings at Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey, a temple-like archaeological complex filled with intricately carved symbols, indicate the makings of a solar calendar that tracks days, seasons, and years.
By analyzing the symbols carved onto pillars, the team believes that every “V” could represent a single day, given that one pillar featured 365 days. And among those, the summer solstice in particular was highlighted with a V worn around the neck of a bird-like beast meant to represent the summer solstice constellation during that time. The calendar explanation could help explain why the V symbol appears on so many other nearby statues of deities linked to time and creation, with the V almost always showing up around their neck.
