Discovery of 12,000-Year-Old Monument Suggests It Could Be the Earliest Human Calendar

The markings found on a monument in Turkey, believed to be 12,000 years old, suggest that it may have served as a solar calendar in ancient civilization. These markings, consisting of symbols, were used to record various astronomical events, ranging from major events such as a comet strike to even single days. Interestingly, the monument also indicates the summer solstice as a significant day.

A recently uncovered historical structure in Turkey is believed to potentially be an ancient monument. However, if the symbols inscribed on it are accurate, it could potentially hold the title of the oldest solar calendar in the world according to experts.

According to a publication in Time and Mind by researchers at the University of Edinburgh, a temple-like archaeological site called Gobekli Tepe in southern Turkey contains intricate symbols that suggest the creation of a solar calendar for tracking days, seasons, and years.

After examining the symbols etched onto pillars, the research team hypothesizes that the letter "V" may represent a single day, as evidenced by one pillar depicting 365 days. Among these symbols, the V was prominently displayed on a bird-like creature's necklace, representing the summer solstice constellation during that period. This theory could potentially explain the prevalence of the V symbol on nearby statues of deities associated with time and creation, as it is often depicted around their neck.

The focus of the calendar on the cycle of day, night, and changes in the seasons could have been reignited by a significant impact from a comet in 10,850 B.C. According to experts, this event may have played a role in a small ice age that resulted in the extinction of various species.

According to Martin Sweatman, the leader of the research team from the University of Edinburgh's School of Engineering, the people of Gobekli Tepe were highly observant of the sky. This was not surprising considering their world had been greatly affected by a comet strike. It is possible that this event led to the formation of a new religion and spurred advancements in agriculture to adapt to the harsh climate. The inhabitants' efforts to document their observations may have laid the foundation for the eventual development of writing thousands of years later.

According to a group of researchers, the engravings not only document the cycles of the Moon and the sun, but also predate other similar calendar discoveries by "many millennia." Beyond this, the ancient studies may have also demonstrated that comet impacts occur more frequently when the Earth's orbit intersects with the orbit of circling comet fragments, a phenomenon that has since been confirmed by contemporary scientists through the study of meteor movements and the Earth's orbit.

The team uses a pillar found at the site that seems to depict the Taurid meteor stream lasting 27 days, possibly indicating that it was the cause of the ancient comet impact, to provide evidence for this theory.

According to the researchers, the carvings in the temple suggest that the ancient civilization had a precise way of recording dates. They made note of how the constellations moved across the sky, which varied depending on the time of year. This was approximately 10,000 years earlier than when Hipparchus, an ancient Greek scholar, documented the Earth's axis wobble in 150 BC. Therefore, this recently discovered calendar was remarkably advanced for its time.