Original subtitles

EDEN, THE ORIGINAL BIBLICAL PARADISE...

WHERE ADAM AND EVE LIVED IN A LAND OF PLENTY,

UNTIL TEMPTATION TRIGGERED THEIR FALL FROM GRACE

AND CONDEMNED THEM TO A LIFE OF TOIL.

THAT STORY IS AT THE FOUNDATION OF WESTERN THOUGHT,

WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT.

IT'S A TALE LONG CONSIDERED BY SCIENCE

TO BE A MORAL LESSON BASED IN MYTHOLOGY, NOT IN FACT.

BUT A PREHISTORIC STRUCTURE UNCOVERED IN TURKEY

HAS ROCKED THE FOUNDATIONS OF STONE AGE ANTHROPOLOGY.

LOOK AT THE WHOLE HISTORY OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

WE DON'T SEE ANYTHING LIKE THIS.

IT CHANGES FUNDAMENTALLY

HOW WE PERCEIVE THE BEGINNINGS OF OUR WAY OF LIVING.

COULD THE BIBLE'S OLDEST STORY

ACTUALLY BE ROOTED IN REALITY?

I'M NOT SURE IF DURING MY CAREER AS A SCIENTIST

I WILL EVER COME ACROSS SUCH A PLACE AGAIN.

THE RELICS OF THE PAST HOLD SECRETS...

WRITTEN IN GOLD, STONE AND BLOOD.

WE CAN UNLOCK THEM.

THESE ARE THE SECRETS OF HISTORY'S GREATEST TREASURES.

SOUTHEAST TURKEY, 1994.

KLAUS SCHMIDT OF THE GERMAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE

IS ALERTED TO THE DISCOVERY OF A POTENTIAL NEW SITE.

A LOCAL FARMER'S PLOW HAD UNCOVERED A SET OF CARVED ROCKS

PROTRUDING FROM THE GROUND,

ON THE CREST OF A MOUND CALLED GOBEKLI TEPE,

NEAR TODAY'S WAR-TORN BORDER WITH SYRIA.

WHAT SCHMIDT UNCOVERS IS AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL WONDER

LIKE NOTHING ELSE ON EARTH.

Nicholas Conard: GOBEKLI TEPE, WHEN IT WAS DISCOVERED,

WAS AN ENORMOUS SURPRISE.

I THINK MOST PEOPLE THOUGHT THAT THIS DOESN'T REALLY MAKE SENSE.

OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS IT WOULD REVOLUTIONIZE

ARCHAEOLOGISTS' VIEW OF THE STONE AGE.

BY THE TIME HE DIES IN 2014,

SCHMIDT'S TEAM HAS EXPOSED

A COMPLEX OF MASSIVE LIMESTONE PILLARS;

A SERIES OF CIRCULAR ENCLOSURES,

EACH BETWEEN 30 AND 100 FEET ACROSS,

CLUSTERED TOGETHER NEAR THE TOP OF THE HILL.

TODAY THE SITE'S IN LOCKDOWN,

JUST A FEW CLICKS FROM THE FIGHT WITH SO-CALLED ISLAMIC STATE.

BUT THE PROTECTIVE SHELL

CONCEALS AN ARCHITECTURAL PHENOMENON.

AT THE CENTER OF EACH CIRCLE STANDS TWO HUGE MONOLITHS--

T-SHAPED PILLARS CARVED OUT OF A SINGLE BLOCK

STANDING UP TO 20 FEET IN HEIGHT.

THE ENTIRE COMPLEX IS INTRICATELY DECORATED

WITH THREE-DIMENSIONAL CARVINGS OF ANIMALS AND BIRDS.

A GALLERY SCULPTED IN STONE.

WITH ALL ITS ARCHITECTURE,

WITH ALL ITS ARTISTIC BRILLIANCE,

THE SITE JUST BLEW ME AWAY, LIKE IT DOES EVERYONE.

NOW, 20 YEARS ON FROM ITS DISCOVERY,

SCHMIDT'S TEAM HAS DISCOVERED

THEY WERE ONLY SCRATCHING THE SURFACE.

THEIR GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR SURVEYS REVEALED

THAT THESE MAJESTIC ENCLOSURES

WERE JUST A SMALL PART OF A FAR LARGER STRUCTURE.

Jens Notroff: THERE WERE MUCH, MUCH MORE

OF THESE MONUMENTAL ENCLOSURES.

I THINK WE COUNTED LIKE 20 MORE,

AND THEY WERE INDEED LITTERED ALL OVER THE MOUND.

THEY'D UNCOVERED LESS THAN A TENTH

OF A 22-ACRE EDIFICE

COMPOSED ENTIRELY OF CIRCLES BUILT IN STONE.

Jeffrey Rose: GOBEKLI TEPE IS JUST AWESOME.

I MEAN, I'VE SEEN OTHER NEOLITHIC SITES,

I'VE WORKED WITH OTHER NEOLITHIC PEOPLES;

THEY DON'T DO THINGS LIKE THIS.

NOW, SCHMIDT'S TEAM IS TEARING

THE TEXTBOOK OF HUMAN HISTORY TO SHREDS.

THE STRUCTURE'S MOST COMPLETE RING OF STONES

HAS BEEN RECREATED AT THE MUSEUM OF SANLIURFA

ON THE SYRIAN BORDER.

THIS RECONSTRUCTION OF ENCLOSURE D

ALLOWS US TO EXPERIENCE THE SHEER MONUMENTALITY OF THE SITE.

STANDING AMONG THESE GIANT STONES

ACTUALLY MAKES US APPRECIATE THE HUGE EFFORT

THESE PEOPLE MUST HAVE GONE THROUGH CREATING IT.

BUT THE MOST BREATHTAKING DISCOVERY

WAS NOT THE SIZE OF THE COMPLEX;

IT WAS ITS AGE.

IT WAS ONCE THOUGHT BRITAIN WAS HOME

TO THE WORLD'S OLDEST STONE CIRCLES.

BUT GOBEKLI TEPE BLOWS STONEHENGE OUT OF THE WATER.

THE MOST ANCIENT ORGANIC MATERIAL

FOUND IN THE FABRIC OF THE STONEWORK

WAS RADIOCARBON-DATED TO BEFORE 9,000 BC,

MORE THAN 11,000 YEARS AGO...

6,000 YEARS BEFORE CONSTRUCTION AT STONEHENGE EVEN BEGAN.

WE TODAY ACTUALLY ARE CLOSER

TO THE BUILDERS OF STONEHENGE

THAN THE PEOPLE BUILDING STONEHENGE WERE TO GOBEKLI TEPE.

GOBEKLI TEPE REPRESENTS

THE OLDEST MONUMENTAL STRUCTURE EVER BUILT...

CARVED, MOVED AND ERECTED

WITHOUT ANYTHING MORE SOPHISTICATED

THAN MANPOWER AND STONE TOOLS.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A PERIOD HERE

WHICH HAS NOT SEEN METAL TOOLS,

AND EVEN THE WHEEL WAS NOT INVENTED YET.

SO THESE MONUMENTS WERE PUT TOGETHER BY HAND.

THE ART AND ARCHITECTURE AT GOBEKLI TEPE

IS REWRITING PREHISTORIC ARCHAEOLOGY.

BUT IT WAS THE IDENTITY OF THE ARCHITECTS

THAT WOULD CAUSE THE GREATEST SHOCK.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOUND THE CLUES NOT IN THE STONEWORK,

BUT IN THE TRASH.

JORIS PETERS HAS SPENT MORE THAN TWO DECADES

EXAMINING 11,000-YEAR-OLD ANIMAL REMAINS

FROM THE LANDSCAPE AROUND GOBEKLI TEPE.

BUT IT'S THE ANIMAL BONES DISCOVERED WITHIN THE ENCLOSURES

WHICH WERE THE MOST REVEALING.

MOST HAD BEEN SHATTERED,

A CLEAR SIGN THEY'D BEEN BUTCHERED

TO EXTRACT BONE MARROW.

BUT THE KEY CLUE WAS IN THE TYPE OF BONES DISCOVERED--

ONLY THE RICHEST CUTS.

Joris Peters: NORMALLY WHEN YOU HAVE DOMESTIC ANIMALS

LIVING IN A PLACE, WHEN YOU SLAUGHTER THEM,

YOU WILL FIND ALL THE ELEMENTS OF THE BODY.

THE HEAD, THE SPINE, THE LOWER LEGS, IT'S ALL THERE.

BUT FOR GOBEKLI TEPE, THE PICTURE IS TOTALLY DIFFERENT.

MOST OF THE BONES WE FOUND

ARE THE ONES THAT CARRY A LOT OF MEAT.

THE ANIMALS HADN'T BEEN BUTCHERED ON-SITE.

THEY'D BEEN CARVED UP WHEREVER THEY'D BEEN KILLED,

AND THE MEATIEST JOINTS BROUGHT UP THE HILL.

FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTS,

IT WAS EVIDENCE THAT THESE ANIMALS WERE WILD.

AND FOR THE BUILDERS OF GOBEKLI TEPE, THEY WERE PREY.

THE FOCUS ON MEAT-BEARING PARTS

POINTS TO HUNTER-GATHERERS.

IT GOES AGAINST EVERYTHING

ARCHAEOLOGISTS THOUGHT THEY KNEW

ABOUT THE LIVES OF STONE AGE HUNTERS.

ANCIENT HUNTER-GATHERERS LIVED OFF THE LAND,

ROAMING ACROSS VAST DISTANCES,

FOLLOWING PREY AND COLLECTING EDIBLE PLANTS.

THE IDEA THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE STAYED IN ONE PLACE LONG ENOUGH

TO BUILD GIANT MONUMENTS IN STONE DEFIED BELIEF.

THE FUNNY THING ABOUT GOBEKLI TEPE

IS IT BREAKS ALL THE RULES, RIGHT?

TRADITIONALLY YOU THINK OF MOBILE HUNTERS AND GATHERERS

GOING ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS,

HUNTING A FEW GAZELLE HERE, HARVESTING SOME GRAINS THERE.

GOBEKLI TEPE IS SOMETHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT.

THESE PEOPLE ARE HAVING A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE LANDSCAPE,

USING STONE TOOLS TO PRODUCE THE T-PILLARS,

ERECTING THEM IN COMMUNAL ACTIVITIES,

AND THESE WERE ALL THINGS THAT AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPENING

AMONG HUNTERS AND GATHERERS.

THE DISCOVERY OF GOBEKLI TEPE

THREW ANTHROPOLOGISTS' THEORIES

ABOUT LIFE IN THE STONE AGE INTO CHAOS.

AND RUMOR QUICKLY SPREAD OF A MONUMENT TO NATURE

IN AN ANCIENT LAND OF PLENTY.

COULD GOBEKLI TEPE HOLD THE SECRET TO THE LOCATION

OF THE BIBLE'S GARDEN OF EDEN?

ON A HILLTOP IN EASTERN TURKEY CALLED GOBEKLI TEPE,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE UNEARTHED

AN 11,000-YEAR-OLD COMPLEX OF STANDING STONES.

IT'S THE OLDEST MONUMENTAL STRUCTURE ON EARTH,

AND ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE DISCOVERED

IT WAS ERECTED BY NOMADIC HUNTER-GATHERERS,

OBLITERATING THE THEORY

THAT ROAMING HUNTER TRIBES NEVER BUILT IN STONE.

ITS INTRICATE CARVINGS SUGGEST A PEOPLE AT ONE WITH NATURE

IN A LANDSCAPE BRIMMING WITH WILDLIFE,

FROM PIGS TO BIRDS, WILD CATS, AND SERPENTS.

THE WORLD'S MEDIA QUICKLY CONNECTED GOBEKLI TEPE

TO THE BIBLE'S MOST FAMOUS STORY, THE GARDEN OF EDEN.

THAT STORY IS AT THE FOUNDATION OF WESTERN THOUGHT.

WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT,

THAT STORY IS EMBEDDED IN OUR WORLDVIEW.

IN 2006, GERMANY'S MOST POPULAR WEEKLY MAGAZINE,

DER SPIEGEL, SPLASHED THE STORY ON ITS FRONT COVER.

THE IDEA HAD TAKEN HOLD.

FOR SOME, THE GARDEN OF EDEN STORY IS AN ATTEMPT TO ANSWER

A QUESTION COMMON

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Lawrence Schiffman: IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER TALKING

ABOUT BUDDHISTS OR HINDUS OR JEWS OR CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS,

THE HUMAN BEING IS DESIGNED

TO WANT TO FILL THE BRAIN THAT WE HAVE

WITH MORE AND MORE UNDERSTANDING.

AND THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT TRYING TO UNDERSTAND

WHY WE ARE REALLY HERE.

FOR MANY, THE SEARCH BEGINS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT,

WITH THE CLUES LAID OUT

IN THE TEXT OF GENESIS CHAPTERS 2 AND 3.

IT DESCRIBES AN EARTHLY PARADISE

AT THE POINT WHERE FOUR RIVERS SPLIT.

NOW, OF THE FOUR RIVERS MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE

AS COMING OUT OF THE GARDEN,

TWO OF THEM ARE THE TIGRIS AND THE EUPHRATES.

THAT MEANS THE GARDEN OF EDEN HAS GOT TO BE SOMEWHERE UP THERE

IN THE NORTHERN REGIONS OF WHAT WAS MESOPOTAMIA

AND TODAY IS TURKEY.

GOBEKLI TEPE SITS RIGHT IN THE SWEET SPOT

FOR THIS BIBLICAL HUNT.

BUT GOBEKLI TEPE IS NOT THE FIRST PLACE

TO BE HELD UP AS A POSSIBLE ORIGINAL PARADISE.

OVER THE CENTURIES, SCHOLARS HAVE CLAIMED

THAT OTHER ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIAN SITES COULD BE EDEN.

YOU HAVE PEOPLE CLAIMING THAT THE GARDEN OF EDEN

IS IN SOUTHERN MESOPOTAMIA NEAR THE PERSIAN GULF;

YOU'VE GOT PEOPLE CLAIMING THAT

IT'S NORTHERN MESOPOTAMIA IN TURKEY.

WHAT THIS SHOWS IS VERY SIMPLY A] WE DON'T KNOW,

AND B] THESE PEOPLE MISS THE POINT.

FOR MOST SCHOLARS,

THE HUNT FOR THE BIBLICAL PARADISE IS FUTILE.

FOR THE FAITHFUL,

THE BOOK OF GENESIS TELLS A THEOLOGICAL STORY,

NOT ONE THAT CAN BE PROVEN WITH ARCHAEOLOGY.

MOST BELIEVE GOBEKLI TEPE ISN'T EDEN,

AND NEITHER IS ANY OTHER

MIDDLE EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE.

AND NO ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE GARDEN

HAS EVER BEEN FOUND.

IF ONE CONSIDERS THE CLAIM

WHETHER GOBEKLI TEPE'S SOMETHING LIKE THE GARDEN OF EDEN,

I WOULD SAY, WELL, FIRST OF ALL, THE WHOLE IDEA IS RIDICULOUS.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A STORY

WHICH WAS WRITTEN DOWN THOUSANDS OF YEARS LATER.

IT WOULD BE RIDICULOUS TO ACTUALLY LOCATE

A MYTHOLOGICAL PLACE LIKE THE GARDEN OF EDEN.

THE GARDEN IS A CONCEPTUAL PLACE,

FROM WHICH ALL OF US CAN DERIVE

A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF MEANING AND UNDERSTANDING.

THE ANCIENT PARADISE OF GOBEKLI TEPE

BEARS SOME PARALLELS WITH THE LOCATION OF EDEN

LAID OUT IN THE BIBLICAL STORY.

FOR MANY SCHOLARS, THAT'S BECAUSE THE TIGRIS AND EUPHRATES

SIT WITHIN A GENUINE ANCIENT LAND OF PLENTY.

THE PRIME PREHISTORIC REAL ESTATE

OF THE FERTILE CRESCENT,

A SWATHE OF THE MIDDLE EAST,

WHICH PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN HUMANITY'S HISTORY.

IF WE WERE TO TAKE ALL OF THE EUROPEANS

AND LOOK AT THEIR GENETIC HISTORY,

90% CAME OUT OF THE FERTILE CRESCENT

10,000 TO 8,000 YEARS AGO.

ALL OF US IN THE WEST,

FOR THE MOST PART WE'RE ALL NEAR-EASTERN.

WE'RE STILL TELLING NEAR-EASTERN STORIES.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE ESTABLISHED

THAT THE REASON FOR THE FERTILE CRESCENT'S INFLUENCE

ON THE HUMAN SPECIES

IS THAT ABOUT 10,000 YEARS AGO,

IT SAW THE BIGGEST TRANSFORMATION

IN HUMAN HISTORY--

THE MOVE FROM HUNTING AND GATHERING TO AGRICULTURE.

GOBEKLI TEPE IS SITUATED IN THE HEART

OF THIS STONE AGE PARADISE.

AND NOW, AFTER 20 YEARS OF RESEARCH,

IT'S REWRITING THE STORY OF THE REVOLUTION,

WHICH KICK-STARTED CIVILIZATION ITSELF.

THE QUESTION IS, JUST WHAT WAS THIS GLORIOUS STRUCTURE FOR?

JENS NOTROFF HAS BEEN WORKING ON GOBEKLI TEPE SINCE 2006,

TRYING TO DECIPHER THE ENCLOSURES' ORIGINAL PURPOSE.

HE'S BEGINNING TO SEE EVIDENCE

THAT THE NOMADIC HUNTERS THAT BUILT THE STRUCTURE

WEREN'T AS ISOLATED FROM EACH OTHER

AS ANTHROPOLOGISTS ONCE THOUGHT.

THE SIGNS ARE NOT IN THE SCALE OF THE MONUMENT,

THEY'RE IN ITS ART.

BEFORE THEY WERE UNCOVERED IN THE EARLY 2000s,

THE GOBEKLI TEPE CARVINGS HAD BEEN BURIED

FOR MORE THAN 10,000 YEARS,

PRESERVING EACH EXQUISITE DETAIL ETCHED IN THE LIMESTONE.

THE ANIMAL RELIEFS ON THESE PILLARS

ACTUALLY ARE OF AN AMAZING ARTISTRY.

IN THE CASE OF SOME PILLARS, YOU REALLY GET THE IMPRESSION

THAT THIS IS NOT JUST AN ORNAMENT,

IT'S A WAY OF COMMUNICATION.

IT'S A WAY OF STORING INFORMATION.

ANIMAL CARVINGS DECORATE ALMOST EVERY SURFACE.

BUT AS ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNCOVERED THE ENCLOSURES,

THEY DISCOVERED THAT IN EACH ONE,

A DIFFERENT ANIMAL DOMINATED.

THERE'S ONE ENCLOSURE WHERE A LOT OF FOXES APPEAR.

AND IN ANOTHER ONE THERE ARE A LOT OF BOARS.

IN ANOTHER ENCLOSURE THERE'S A VERY STRONG FOCUS ON BIRDS.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE THESE CARVINGS

MAY REPRESENT TRIBAL SIGNATURES.

IT'S INTERPRETATION, IT'S SPECULATION,

BUT WE HAVE THE IDEA WHERE EACH ENCLOSURE

MAY BELONG TO A CERTAIN GROUP,

WAS ERECTED AND USED BY A CERTAIN GROUP.

IF EACH ENCLOSURE REPRESENTS A DIFFERENT TRIBE,

BUT EACH TRIBE WAS USING SIMILAR SYMBOLS CARVED INTO THE ROCK,

IT FLIES IN THE FACE OF DECADES OF THEORY.

IT MEANS THESE ROAMING HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS

WEREN'T OPERATING IN ISOLATION,

SHUNNING CONTACT WITH NEIGHBORING TRIBES,

THEY WERE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT

SINGLE BANDS OF HUNTER-GATHERERS HERE,

BUT THEY ALSO SEEM TO SHARE A COMMON, COMMON CULTURE,

A COMMON BACKGROUND.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE THAT THE HUNTER-GATHERERS

OF THE REGION HAD ENOUGH IN COMMON

TO MAKE THEM COME TOGETHER

AND CARVE THEIR SHARED CULTURE INTO STONE.

THEY WERE PART OF A WIDER SOCIETY.

AS AN AMERICAN, WHEN I LIVED IN THE UK,

THE SADDEST DAY OF THE YEAR WAS THANKSGIVING,

BECAUSE IT WAS THE DAY THAT I FELT OUT OF SYNC

WITH THE REST OF SOCIETY.

WHAT WE GET AT GOBEKLI ARE ALL OF THESE DISPARATE TRIBES

SCATTERED OVER HUNDREDS OF MILES

ALL MEETING TOGETHER IN THIS ONE SPOT

AND AGREEING THAT THESE SYMBOLS MEAN THE SAME THING TO THEM.

GOBEKLI ACTS AS THIS, THIS PREHISTORIC MECCA,

UNIFYING PEOPLE.

NOMADIC HUNTER-GATHERERS

OF PREHISTORIC TURKEY WERE PART OF A WIDER SOCIETY.

BUT WHAT WAS ATTRACTING THEM ALL TO GOBEKLI TEPE?

THE BROKEN-UP ANIMAL BONES CONFIRMS

IT WAS A SITE OF FOOD CONSUMPTION.

BUT THESE WEREN'T EVERYDAY TRASH HEAPS.

THE ENCLOSURES WERE PACKED FULL OF SMASHED-UP BONES.

SOME OF THE MEAT HADN'T BEEN PROPERLY BUTCHERED,

JUST TOSSED ASIDE HALF-FINISHED.

THE FACT THAT IT HAS NOT BEEN CUT UP AND CHOPPED

MEANS THEY WERE CONSUMING THE MEAT QUITE FAST,

WHICH COULD BE INDICATIVE OF FEASTING.

THIS WASN'T A CASE OF HUNTERS

CAREFULLY STRIPPING DOWN CARCASSES

FOR EVERY AVAILABLE CALORIE;

GOBEKLI TEPE SEEMS TO HAVE PLAYED HOST

TO EPIC MEAT-FUELED FEASTS.

THE TRIBES OF HUNTER-GATHERERS

WERE COMING TO GOBEKLI TEPE TO CELEBRATE.

BUT WHY DID THEY BUILD A STONE MONUMENT LARGER AND MORE COMPLEX

THAN ANYTHING THE HUMAN SPECIES HAD EVER PRODUCED?

ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE BEGINNING TO THINK

THE MONUMENT'S ORNATE CARVINGS

MARK A TURNING POINT IN THE STORY OF MANKIND--

A RELIGIOUS REVOLUTION.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE DISCOVERED THAT GOBEKLI TEPE,

THE SITE OF THE OLDEST MONUMENTAL STONE STRUCTURE

EVER DISCOVERED,

MAY HAVE BEEN THE MEETING POINT

FOR BANDS OF HUNTER-GATHERERS ASSEMBLING FOR FEASTS.

IT CRUSHES THE THEORY

THAT STONE AGE NOMADS DIDN'T BUILD MONUMENTS.

WHAT DROVE THEM TO CONSTRUCT

THIS GIANT, EXQUISITELY CARVED STRUCTURE

HAS REMAINED A MYSTERY.

BUT NOW, A BODY OF EVIDENCE IS COMING TOGETHER

THAT SUGGESTS GOBEKLI TEPE MAY HAVE BEEN THE FOCUS

OF A KEY MOMENT IN HUMAN HISTORY...

THE FIRST STIRRINGS OF ORGANIZED RELIGION.

THE CRUCIAL CLUE WAS UNCOVERED

WITH THE CARVINGS ON THE HUGE CENTRAL T-PILLARS.

THE MOST COMPLETE MONOLITHS ARE RECREATED IN FINE DETAIL

AT SANLIURFA MUSEUM, A STONE'S THROW FROM THE SITE.

THE CENTRAL PILLARS OF ENCLOSURE D MAKE IT CLEAR

THAT THEY ARE MEANT TO BE GIANT, HUMANLIKE SCULPTURES.

YOU CAN SEE ARMS DEPICTED ON THE SIDES,

HANDS BROUGHT TOGETHER ABOVE THE ABDOMEN,

AND EVEN SOME PIECES OF CLOTHING

LIKE A BELT AND A LOINCLOTH HANGING DOWN.

BUT THE HUMANLIKE PILLARS ARE SURROUNDED

BY LIFELIKE IMAGERY OF ANIMALS CARVED IN THREE DIMENSIONS,

AND ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE ALSO DISCOVERED

REALISTIC HUMAN SCULPTURES.

WHY MAKE SUCH A POOR JOB OF REPRESENTING HUMANS

ON THE MOST VISIBLE PART OF THE ENCLOSURE?

ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE THE T-PILLARS

MAY REPRESENT A HIGHER FORM OF HUMAN.

THESE HUMANLIKE PILLARS ARE HIGHLY ABSTRACTED

AND CLEARLY LARGER THAN LIFE.

WHILE I WOULD HESITATE ACTUALLY CALLING THEM GODS,

I COULD IMAGINE THAT THEY MAY REPRESENT IMPORTANT ANCESTORS.

IF THE T-SHAPES SYMBOLIZE ANCESTORS,

IT SUGGESTS PEOPLE WERE ASSEMBLING AT GOBEKLI TEPE

TO WORSHIP THE DEAD.

THERE'S JUST ONE PROBLEM.

GOBEKLI TEPE MAY LOOK LIKE A MONUMENT TO THE DEAD,

BUT THE DEAD THEMSELVES ARE NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.

IF THE SITE WERE DEVOTED TO THE ANCESTORS,

ARCHAEOLOGISTS WOULD EXPECT TO FIND WHOLE HUMAN SKELETONS,

CEREMONIALLY BURIED.

BUT ALL THAT'S EVER BEEN UNEARTHED

IS A SMALL, JUMBLED COLLECTION OF BROKEN BONES.

SO WHERE ARE ALL THE BODIES?

UNEXPECTEDLY, THE KEY TO THEIR FATE

MIGHT LIE IN THE BONES OF BIRDS EXCAVATED AT THE SITE.

AS MUCH AS 60% OF THEM ARE FROM SCAVENGERS,

LIKE CROWS OR VULTURES.

THEY COULD BE THE REMAINS OF OPPORTUNISTIC CARNIVORES

SKULKING ON THE EDGE OF THE HUNTERS' MEAT FEASTS;

OR THEY COULD HAVE BEEN AFTER A DIFFERENT KIND OF FLESH.

THEY COULD HAVE BEEN TEARING MEAT

FROM THE BODIES OF THE DEAD--

WHAT ANTHROPOLOGISTS CALL EXCARNATION.

SCAVENGING ON REMAINS OF BUTCHERING

IS ONE POSSIBLE EXPLANATION FOR THE HIGH CONTRIBUTION

OF SCAVENGING BIRDS TO THE BIRD COLLECTION.

BUT THERE ARE OTHER POSSIBILITIES.

ONE POSSIBILITY COULD BE

THAT WHEN HUMAN BODIES ARE EXCARNATED,

THESE VULTURES PLAYED A ROLE.

BUT WHY WOULD THE PEOPLE OF GOBEKLI TEPE

ALLOW THE BONES OF THEIR DEAD RELATIVES

TO BE PICKED AT BY BIRDS?

ARCHAEOLOGISTS FOUND A POSSIBLE ANSWER

HIDDEN AMONGST THE PILLARS OF ENCLOSURE D...

WHERE PILLAR 43 SEEMS TO TELL A GRISLY STORY.

IN THE UPPER PART YOU CAN SEE A BIRD,

OBVIOUSLY A VULTURE,

PRESENTING SOME KIND OF SPHERE, MAYBE IT IS A HEAD.

THE HEAD OF THE HEADLESS GUY, WE SEE IN THE LOWER PART HERE.

THE IMAGE IS SUGGESTIVE

OF AN ANCIENT FUNERARY PRACTICE KNOWN AS SKY BURIAL.

IT'S A FUNERAL TRADITION THAT'S STILL USED IN PARTS OF ASIA,

WHERE THE BODIES OF THE DEAD ARE LAID OUT AND EXPOSED

TO BE EATEN BY VULTURES AND BIRDS OF PREY.

PERHAPS THE PRACTICE DATES BACK AS FAR AS THE STONE AGE.

IT'S EASY TO IMAGINE

THAT THE BIRD CARRYING AWAY FLESH

SOMEHOW REFLECTS CARRYING AWAY PARTS,

NOT ONLY OF THE BODY OF THE DECEASED, BUT ALSO OF ITS SOUL.

IF RITUALS AT GOBEKLI TEPE

INVOLVED SOMETHING LIKE SKY BURIAL,

IT MIGHT EXPLAIN THE LACK OF BURIED SKELETONS

AND THE MASS OF SCAVENGER BONES IN THE EXCAVATED MATERIAL.

FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTS, THE CLUES POINT IN ONLY ONE DIRECTION.

THE ANCIENT HUNTER-GATHERERS HAD BUILT A MONUMENT

TO THEIR ANCESTORS,

AND THEIR HUGE CELEBRATIONS WERE PART OF AN ORGANIZED RITUAL,

PERHAPS TO HONOR THE DEAD AND REMEMBER THE ANCESTORS.

IT'S AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL SLEDGEHAMMER.

FOR NEARLY A CENTURY,

THE THEORY WAS THAT ORGANIZED RITUAL BEHAVIOR

GREW OUT OF STABLE, SETTLED COMMUNITIES.

THE EVIDENCE EMERGING FROM GOBEKLI TEPE

SUGGESTS THE SEEDS OF ORGANIZED RELIGION WERE TAKING ROOT

AMONG ROAMING BANDS OF HUNTER-GATHERERS.

IT'S THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT WE EXPECTED,

YOU KNOW, THEY'RE BUILDING GIANT TEMPLES,

AND, AND THEY'RE STILL MOVING AROUND,

THEY'RE STILL HIGHLY NOMADIC.

IF WE ARE FINDING

THAT THE ORGANIZATION OF RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY

MAY ACTUALLY PREEXIST POLITICAL ORGANIZATION,

VILLAGE ORGANIZATION,

IT MAY VERY WELL BE THAT HUMAN BEINGS FIRST COME TOGETHER

FOR THE VERY PURPOSE OF SOME FORM OF WORSHIP.

AT GOBEKLI TEPE,

PEOPLE WERE BEGINNING TO COME TOGETHER

TO WORSHIP IN THEIR OWN PARADISE OF PLENTY.

BUT IN THE BIBLICAL STORY,

ADAM AND EVE'S NEXT MOVE WOULD PROVE DISASTROUS.

EVE IS TEMPTED BY THE SERPENT

TO EAT OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE.

GOD ENTERS THE SCENE, AND AS IF HE DOESN'T KNOW,

ASKS THEM, "WHERE ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU HIDING FROM ME?"

AND THEY SAY, "WELL, WE ATE OF THE TREE."

AT WHICH POINT IT ENDS

BY GOD DECIDING THEY'RE EXPELLED FROM THE GARDEN.

BANISHED FROM PARADISE,

ADAM AND EVE WERE FORCED TO TOIL IN THE FIELDS

TO STAVE OFF STARVATION.

IT'S A STORY SOME SAY REFLECTS HUMANKIND'S REAL HISTORY.

NOW, EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THE TRIBES MEETING AT GOBEKLI TEPE

MAY HAVE BEEN ON A JOURNEY TOWARDS THE VERY SAME FATE.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS BELIEVE THEY WERE APPROACHING

THE BIGGEST TURNING POINT IN THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION.

THE WORLD'S OLDEST MONUMENTAL STONE STRUCTURE,

THE ORNATELY CARVED COMPLEX OF ENCLOSURES AT GOBEKLI TEPE,

SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN THE FOCUS FOR HUGE CONGREGATIONS

OF STONE AGE HUNTER-GATHERER TRIBES

ASSEMBLING FOR RITUAL PURPOSES.

IT MAY REPRESENT THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS AN ORGANIZED RELIGION,

SHATTERING THE THEORY THAT RELIGIOUS BEHAVIOR

CAME OUT OF LATER, SETTLED SOCIETIES.

FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE THE TEACHINGS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

RETELL A VERSION OF HUMAN HISTORY,

THE DISCOVERIES AT GOBEKLI TEPE ARE AN EXCITING DEVELOPMENT.

FOR ADAM AND EVE, THE NEXT STEP WAS EXPULSION FROM PARADISE

TO A LIFE IN THE FIELDS.

HUMANS ORIGINALLY HAD A KIND OF IDEALISTIC LIFE

WHERE EVERYTHING WAS GIVEN TO THEM,

BUT THEN AS A RESULT OF A TRANSGRESSION,

THEY END UP HAVING TO REALLY SUPPORT THEMSELVES

BY VERY, VERY GREAT TOIL AND GREAT EFFORT.

NOW, RESEARCHERS BELIEVE THE RITUALS CELEBRATED

BY THE PEOPLE OF GOBEKLI TEPE

MAY HAVE BEEN THE TRIGGER FOR A REVOLUTION

IN THEIR WAY OF LIVING.

DR. REINDER NEEF IS A SPECIALIST IN ANCIENT PLANTS.

HIS ANALYSIS OF THE REMAINS PRESERVED AT GOBEKLI TEPE

SUGGESTS IT WAS THE PERFECT CRADLE

FOR A SEISMIC SHIFT IN HUMAN HISTORY--

THE TRANSITION TO CROP FARMING.

SOME OF THE MOST COMMON PLANTS EXTRACTED FROM THE SAMPLES

WERE THE GRASS SPECIES, OR CEREALS.

Reinder Neef: WE HAVE SOME WILD CEREALS

LIKE WILD EINKORN AND WILD BARLEY,

AND THE INTERESTING THING OF COURSE

IS THAT THEY BELONG TO THE FIRST CEREALS

CULTIVATED EVER BY A HUMAN BEING.

CULTIVATION SIMPLY MEANS

SEEDS ARE COLLECTED AND PLANTED.

IT'S A KEY STEP TOWARDS FARMING.

BUT EINKORN IS KNOWN TO BE

ONE OF THE FIRST SPECIES EVER DOMESTICATED,

CULTIVATED OFTEN ENOUGH

TO BECOME TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON PEOPLE.

PLANT GENETICISTS HAVE MATCHED THE DOMESTICATED EINKORN

GROWN BY MODERN FARMERS

TO WILD SPECIES GROWING JUST 20 MILES FROM GOBEKLI TEPE.

IT MEANS SCIENTISTS CAN BE CONFIDENT

THE ORIGINAL DOMESTICATION OF EINKORN

HAPPENED SOMEWHERE NEARBY.

COMPARED WITH MODERN SAMPLES UNDER THE MICROSCOPE,

ANCIENT EINKORN FROM GOBEKLI TEPE

STILL SHOWS THE SHAPE OF WILD VARIETIES.

BUT DR. NEEF BELIEVES THE PROCESS OF DOMESTICATION

HAD ALREADY BEGUN.

THEY WERE PROBABLY EXPERIMENTING

WITH CULTIVATION OF CEREALS,

AND THAT IS SOMETHING WHICH YOU CAN EXPECT

FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE BUILDING SUCH INCREDIBLE MONUMENTS.

THEY WERE EXPERIMENTING, AND NOT ONLY WITH STONE,

BUT ALSO WITH, WITH PLANT MATERIAL.

SCIENTISTS THINK GOBEKLI TEPE WAS BLESSED

WITH THE PERFECT GRASSLAND ENVIRONMENT

TO BEGIN HUMANITY'S EXPERIMENT WITH PLANT CULTIVATION.

BUT WHAT CAUSED MOBILE HUNTER-GATHERERS

TO START FOCUSING ON IMMOBILE CROPS?

NOW, ARCHAEOLOGISTS MAY HAVE FOUND THE SPARK

THAT IGNITED THE FLAME OF FARMING.

IT CAME WITH THE DISCOVERY OF A COLLECTION

OF HUGE, 40-GALLON STONE TROUGHS AT GOBEKLI TEPE.

A GRAY RESIDUE ON THE INNER SURFACE

OF SOME OF THE TROUGHS OFFERED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ANALYSIS.

ON A HUNCH, THE TEAM SENT A SAMPLE TO SOUTHERN GERMANY.

DR. MARTIN ZARNKOW IS A BIOTECHNOLOGIST

WITH A LAB AT THE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF MUNICH.

HIS TEAM PREPARED THE RESIDUE FROM GOBEKLI TEPE FOR TESTING

AND DISCOVERED A SURPRISING RESULT.

Martin Zarnkow: WE DID FIND IN THESE RESIDUES

CALCIUM OXALATE CRYSTALS.

CALCIUM OXALATE IS A CHEMICAL THAT CRYSTALIZES

AND REMAINS STABLE OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

IT RESULTS FROM THE SIMPLE PROCESS

OF MIXING WATER AND CEREAL GRAINS.

THE ANALYSIS SUGGESTS

THAT THE 11,000-YEAR-OLD STONE TROUGHS AT GOBEKLI TEPE

CONTAINED BEER.

I BELIEVE THERE IS A GOOD POSSIBILITY

THAT BEER WAS INSIDE THESE VESSELS,

BUT YOU CANNOT BE ABSOLUTELY SURE.

TODAY, COMMERCIAL BREWING

IS A CAREFULLY CONTROLLED SCIENTIFIC PROCESS.

BUT THE BASIC PRINCIPLE HAS REMAINED UNCHANGED

FOR MILLENNIA.

THE ONLY THING WHAT I NEED

IS WATER, CEREAL AND A VESSEL.

THE YEASTS, WHICH ARE ON OUR SKIN, WILL DO THE REST,

AND YOU CAN DRINK IT TOMORROW.

THE PRESENCE OF CALCIUM OXALATE IN THE RESIDUE

IS NOT HARD PROOF THAT THE CEREAL-WATER MIX

WAS FERMENTING INTO BEER,

BUT IT WOULD MAKE SENSE.

IN THE STONE AGE, BEER WAS THE HEALTHY OPTION--

A SAFER BET THAN STAGNANT, MICROBE-INFESTED WATER.

WITH MAKING A BEER, YOU LOWER THE ACIDITY, THE pH,

YOU BUILD UP A LITTLE BIT OF ALCOHOL,

AND THIS ALCOHOL IS A VERY GOOD PROTECTIVE SUBSTANCE

AGAINST MICROORGANISMS.

TROUGHS FULL OF STONE AGE BEER

MAY HAVE BEEN A KEY COMPONENT OF GOBEKLI'S RITUAL FEASTS.

AND THE BIGGER THE CELEBRATION,

THE GREATER THE NEED FOR CEREAL TO SUPPLY THE BREWERS.

ORGANIZING A FEAST,

INCLUDING THESE HUGE AMOUNTS OF MEAT,

AND MAYBE THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES,

MIGHT PUT SOME STRESS TO AN ECONOMY BASED ON HUNTING.

ANY PARTY MUST BE WELL SUPPLIED.

NOBODY'S HAPPY WHEN THE REFRESHMENTS RUN DRY.

IN ORDER TO ADEQUATELY SUPPLY THEIR STONE AGE FESTIVAL,

THE PEOPLE OF GOBEKLI TEPE NEEDED A RELIABLE SOURCE

OF NOURISHMENT, AND THEY TURNED TO CROPS.

THESE PEOPLE WERE ALREADY GATHERING PLANTS

AND WERE NOURISHING ON PLANTS,

AND WHETHER IT WAS SOME KIND OF GRUEL, OR IF IT REALLY WAS BEER,

THIS MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE STIMULUS TO FARMING.

IF THIS THEORY IS CORRECT,

THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT TURNING POINT

IN THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION

MAY HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY CRAFT BREWERS OF THE STONE AGE.

AT GOBEKLI TEPE, ANCESTOR WORSHIP AND RITUAL

WERE BRINGING NOMADIC HUNTER-GATHERERS TOGETHER.

OUT OF THE NEED TO PROVIDE FOR THAT IMMENSE SOCIAL UPHEAVAL,

FARMING WAS BORN.

ANTHROPOLOGISTS CALL IT THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION.

THIS PERIOD OF TIME IS THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL REVOLUTION

IN ALL OF HUMAN HISTORY,

AND THE FACT THAT EVEN TODAY

WE STILL EAT PORRIDGE FOR BREAKFAST,

YOU KNOW, WE HAVE CEREAL GRAINS,

THAT ALL HAPPENED BECAUSE OF THE NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION.

WHAT GOBEKLI DOES GIVE US IS A WINDOW INTO THIS REVOLUTION.

THE FIRST PIECE OF THE PUZZLE WAS, WAS RELIGION.

THE DISCOVERIES MADE AT GOBEKLI TEPE

ARE REWRITING THE TEXTBOOK

ON THE ORIGINS OF FARMING AND CIVILIZATION.

IT'S A STORY ECHOED IN THE BIBLE'S OLD TESTAMENT,

WHERE ADAM AND EVE SUFFERED A FALL FROM GRACE

AND WERE SENT FROM EDEN TO WORK THE LAND.

AFTER ADAM EATS THE FRUIT OF KNOWLEDGE,

HE'S SENTENCED TO HAVE TO TOIL THE FIELDS

BY THE SWEAT OF HIS OWN BROW.

WHAT IS THIS FRUIT OF KNOWLEDGE?

IN SOME JEWISH TRADITIONS, IT IS A GRAIN OF WHEAT.

SO IT, IT'S, SOME HAVE SUGGESTED THIS SYMBOLIZES

THE TRANSITION TO FARMING,

THE TRANSITION TO HAVING TO PRODUCE OUR OWN FOOD.

BUT WHY SHOULD THE STORY OF HUMANKIND'S TRANSITION

FROM HUNTING TO FARMING

BE RECORDED IN GENESIS AS A PUNISHMENT?

DOWN THE ROAD FROM GOBEKLI TEPE,

THE HARSH REALITIES OF THE NEW CIVILIZATION

ARE BEING UNCOVERED.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS ARE FINDING THIS NEW WAY OF LIFE

WAS FRAUGHT WITH SUFFERING.

THE HUNTER-GATHERER TRIBES

CONGREGATING AT GOBEKLI TEPE 11,000 YEARS AGO

HAD STARTED DOWN THE PATH OF ORGANIZED RELIGION,

SOWING THE SEEDS OF A WIDER CULTURE,

PAVING THE WAY FOR THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION,

AND KICK-STARTING CIVILIZATION ITSELF.

SOME 5,000 YEARS LATER,

THE REVOLUTION THEY HELPED BRING ABOUT

HAD PRODUCED A STONE AGE CITY.

AT THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF CATALHOYUK,

THE LIFESTYLE

OF A POST-HUNTER-GATHERER CIVILIZATION

IS LAID BARE.

IT WAS A LIFE OF TOIL AND HARDSHIP.

THE CROWDED HOMES REFLECT THE HIGH-RISES OF MODERN CITIES,

EXCEPT HERE THERE AREN'T EVEN ANY PATHS BETWEEN THE BUILDINGS.

THIS IS WALL-TO-WALL OCCUPATION.

Ian Hodder: ABOUT 6,500 BC, THERE WERE ABOUT 8,000 PEOPLE,

WE THINK, ALL CRAMMED INTO THIS SPACE.

AT ITS PEAK,

CATALHOYUK WAS A METROPOLIS RUN ON FARMING.

THESE PEOPLE STILL HUNTED AND GATHERED

A WIDE RANGE OF WILD ANIMALS AND PLANTS,

BUT THE ECONOMY WAS BASED ON DOMESTICATED SHEEP

AND ON WHEATS AND BARLEYS AND SO ON.

BUT THIS NEW, SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE

TOOK ITS TOLL ON HEALTH.

TIED TO THEIR DOMESTIC CROPS AND ANIMALS,

AND CONSTANTLY WORKING THE LAND,

QUALITY OF LIFE PLUMMETED.

WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO TRACK THE HEALTH OF PEOPLE,

AND WHAT YOU FIND IS

THAT AS THE POPULATION REACHES ITS HIGHEST DENSITY,

YOU FIND LOTS OF WEAR AND TEAR ON THE BODY.

THESE PEOPLE ARE HAVING TO DO MORE AND HARDER WORK,

AND YOU ALSO SEE LOTS OF NEGATIVE HEALTH IMPACTS,

PARTICULARLY, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE DECAY OF TEETH

AND OSTEOARTHRITIS AND, AND SO ON.

THE AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

WE NOW THINK OF AS PROGRESS

MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN A POISONED CHALICE.

WHEN YOU SEE EARLY FARMING SITES,

AND YOU SEE THESE EARLY TOWNS,

YOU THINK, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

WHY WERE YOU GETTING INTO THIS?

THE ARTHRITIS, THE NUTRIENT DEFICIENCY,

YOU KNOW, THESE WERE PEOPLE LIVING A MISERABLE EXISTENCE.

IT WAS NOT EASY,

IT WAS NOT AN EASY LIFE BY ANY STRETCH OF THE IMAGINATION.

IF LIFE WAS SO HARD AS A FARMER,

WHY DID THEY NOT GO BACK TO HUNTING AND GATHERING?

SOME ANTHROPOLOGISTS THINK THEY SIMPLY HAD NO CHOICE

BUT TO CARRY ON FARMING.

AN ON-SITE RECONSTRUCTION OF A TYPICAL CATALHOYUK HOME

REVEALS THE SIZE OF THEIR STAKE IN THIS NEW LIFESTYLE.

SO WHAT YOU CAN SEE IN A HOUSE LIKE THIS

IS THAT THEY'RE BEGINNING TO BUILD UP A LOT OF STUFF,

LIKE BENCHES AND OVENS AND HEARTHS,

AND ONCE YOU HAVE MADE THAT INVESTMENT,

YOU'RE VERY MUCH TIED DOWN.

YOU CAN'T MOVE AROUND THE LANDSCAPE SO MUCH ANYMORE.

YOU'RE REALLY TRAPPED IN A CERTAIN WAY OF LIFE

THAT YOU CAN'T REALLY TURN BACK FROM.

EVEN IF THEY HAD WANTED A RETURN

TO THE SIMPLER EXISTENCE OF THE HUNTER-GATHERER,

THE PATH TO CIVILIZATION WAS SET.

LIKE EDEN'S ORIGINAL INHABITANTS, ADAM AND EVE,

THE PEOPLE OF CATALHOYUK WERE CONDEMNED TO TOIL IN THE FIELDS.

AND IT WAS A WORLD WHICH CARRIED NEW LEVELS OF RISK.

THERE'S A LOT MORE FLEXIBILITY AS A NOMAD.

IF THINGS GO WRONG, IF THERE'S AN ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE

OR SOME KIND OF DISASTER,

YOU JUST PICK UP AND YOU GO TO THE NEXT SPOT.

IF YOU START BUILDING PERMANENT SETTLEMENTS,

IF YOU START PUTTING ALL YOUR EGGS IN THIS BASKET,

YOU KNOW, WE'RE FARMING THIS LAND, WE STAY HERE,

IN THE EVENT OF A MASSIVE STORM OR A DROUGHT,

YOU'RE SUDDENLY IN BIG TROUBLE.

ANTHROPOLOGISTS BELIEVE

THAT WHEN THE GOING GOT TOUGH IN EARLY FARMING SOCIETIES,

IT MAY HAVE BEEN RELIGION THAT HELD THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER.

IF SOMETHING GOES BADLY WRONG,

TALKING TO THE GODS AND MANAGING THE GODS BECOMES MORE IMPORTANT,

BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE ISN'T ANY OTHER SOLUTION.

THE PEOPLE LIVING IN THE PLENTIFUL SURROUNDINGS

OF GOBEKLI TEPE

HAD WORSHIPPED THEIR ANCESTORS IN TEMPLES OF STONE.

5,000 YEARS LATER, IN SEARCH OF SECURITY IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD,

THE PEOPLE OF CATALHOYUK PLACED THEIR TRUST IN THE DEAD.

THIS BUILDING HERE IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST

IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF CATALHOYUK,

AND YOU CAN SEE LOTS OF HOLES IN THE FLOOR HERE,

AND EACH ONE OF THESE IS A BURIAL.

BUT AT CATALHOYUK, BURIAL IN THE FLOOR OF A HOUSE

WASN'T NECESSARILY THE END.

A REVERED ANCESTOR WOULDN'T BE AT REST FOR LONG.

THE BODY OF ONE WOMAN WAS FOUND BY ARCHAEOLOGISTS

BURIED WITH AN OLDER SKULL

CLUTCHED TIGHTLY TO HER FOREHEAD.

THEY WOULD VERY OFTEN DIG DOWN

AND TAKE PARTS OF BODIES

FROM THE PEOPLE THAT WERE BURIED BENEATH THE HOUSES,

VERY OFTEN THE SKULL,

AND THEY WOULD BE PASSED DOWN THE GENERATIONS.

SO IN A WAY, THE WHOLE SOCIETY WAS HELD TOGETHER

AS IF IT WAS ONE BODY.

AT CATALHOYUK, THE MEMORY OF THEIR ANCESTORS

KEPT THEIR FRAGILE COMMUNITY AFLOAT.

THOUSANDS OF YEARS BEFORE

THE GARDEN OF EDEN STORY WAS WRITTEN DOWN,

HUNTER-GATHERERS CONGREGATED AT GOBEKLI TEPE

TO WORSHIP THEIR ANCESTORS

AND LIT THE FUSE OF RELIGION,

BUILDING AN EXTRAORDINARY MONUMENT IN A LAND OF PLENTY.

TO FUEL THEIR RITUAL FEASTS AND CELEBRATIONS,

THEY TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE WILD GRASSES ON THEIR DOORSTEP.

UNWITTINGLY, THEY SET OFF DOWN THE PATH TOWARD CIVILIZATION.

WHEN THE COMMUNITY AT GOBEKLI TEPE

HAD FINALLY MOVED ON FROM THEIR HUNTER-GATHERER EXISTENCE,

THEIR MONUMENT CEASED TO HAVE MEANING.

THE ENCLOSURES WERE BURIED,

LAYING TO REST AN OLD-FASHIONED EXISTENCE.

IN THE END, IT WAS GIVEN UP,

BECAUSE THE HUNTER-GATHERER WAY

WAS REPLACED BY A FARMING WAY OF LIFE.

AS FAR AS A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF OUR SPECIES,

THIS WAS THE BIGGEST MOMENT IN OUR HISTORY.

FOR THE WHOLE OF HUMANITY,

THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK.

WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR OUR BEGINNING.

WHERE DID WE COME FROM?

AND THIS IS THE OBSESSION OF HUMANS.

THE GARDEN OF EDEN STORY IS OUR BEGINNING.