A new study suggests that carvings carved into a large stone pillar in Turkey nearly 13,000 years ago may be the world’s oldest solar and lunar calendar. And the calendar may have commemorated a catastrophic comet impact.
Archaeologists discovered the markings at Göbekli Tepe, an archaeological site in southern Turkey known for its numerous temples with intricately etched drawings, according to the study published July 24 in the journal. Time and Spirit.
The newly studied pillar contains 365 V-shaped symbols. Researchers believe that each “V” represents a single day, with the entire calendar comprising “12 lunar months plus 11 additional days,” according to a opinion from the University of Edinburgh.
In addition to the “V” symbols, researchers analyzed a carving of a “bird-like animal” with a similar V shape carved around its neck. This drawing may represent “the constellation of the summer solstice at the time” it was carved, the statement said.
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The drawings, which were probably made around 10850 BC, were a way to Comet impact that occurred during this timeThey show that these early inhabitants “took their observations of the Sun, moon and constellations in the form of a solar calendar,” the statement said.
The researchers believe that the force of the comet impact, which may have triggered an ice age, was enough to bring about a cultural change within Göbekli Tepe and may even have led to the emergence of a “new cult or religion,” the statement said.
“It appears that the inhabitants of Göbekli Tepe were attentive observers of the sky, which was to be expected since their world had been devastated by a comet impact,” said the study author. Martin Sweatmanan engineer at the University of Edinburgh, said in the statement. “This event may have kick-started civilisation by giving birth to a new religion and encouraging developments in agriculture to cope with the cold climate. It is possible that their attempts to record what they saw were the first steps towards the development of writing thousands of years later.”
The figures are similar to those found at another archaeological site in the Urfa region of Turkey.
