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9500 BC

Göbekli Tepe Is Built

Hunter-gatherers raise monumental carved stone pillars on a hill in Anatolia.

Göbekli Tepe Is Built historical illustration
Time period
9500 BC
Region
Turkey (Southeastern Anatolia)
Theme
Culture
Civilization
Neolithic Anatolia

Around 9500 BCE, hunter-gatherers erected enormous T-shaped limestone pillars at Göbekli Tepe. It is among the oldest known monumental structures, predating farming and pottery. Its discovery reshaped ideas about the origins of organized religion and society.