our place newsletter_aug 2014

8/18/2019 Our Place Newsletter_Aug 2014

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Our Place: Our Place in the World 1Our Place:Our Place in the World

Newsletter August 2014


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John empleton Foundation - Newsletter September 20142

Dear friends and colleaguesrevor Watkins, Jörg Becker and Lee Clare

By a tragic coincidence, this issue of the Newsletter wasin nal preparation when we heard the tragic news of thesudden death of Klaus Schmidt. In addition to the deepshock and sense of loss that we are personally suffering,there are huge consequences for the Göbekli epe project,and, down the line, for ourOur Place in the Worldresearchprogramme.

Te situation of the Göbekli epe project demandsthe immediate engagement of an additional scienticsupport of the project team. Tere is the autumn eldseason that is scheduled to complete the archaeologicalclearance so that the construction of the canopies canproceed, as planned, in 2015. Additionally, the process

of architectural and engineering planning and tenderingfor the permanent canopies is at a critical stage, requiringcontinual specialist input. Prof. Eichmann has asked Dr.Lee Clare to step forward and take on these responsibilitiesfor an interim period with immediate effect (and foran as yet unknown length of time). Fortunately, it wasalready planned that Dr. Jörg Becker would take part inthe forthcoming eldwork season (beginning in mid-September) in order to complete the collection of samplesfor radiocarbon dating for the dating series that is part ofthe Our Place in the World programme. Tus, both our

researchers will be able to support one another during theeld season.

Inevitably, Lee’s transfer to the Göbekli epe Projectmeans the disruption of our John empleton Foundation-funded programme. revor Watkins has been able to workintensively and closely with Lee and Jörg to ensure thattheir responsibilities to our project are sustained to thebest possible effect. At the time of writing (while we threeare still together in Berlin), it remains for revor to informthe John empleton Foundation of the impact of theinterruption to our project, and discuss with them howwe are to manage the remainder of the project. Whateverthe outcome of those discussions, we three know that weshall continue to feel the loss of Klaus Schmidt each dayof our working lives for months and years to come.

Co-directors: Klaus Schmidt (†) and revor Watkins

Researchers: Jörg Becker and Lee Clare

Front cover: Klaus Schmidt at Göbekli epe (Photo: Tomas Goldschmidt 2006, Badisches Landesmuseum, KarlsruheBack cover: Urfa statue (Photo: Dieter Johannes 2008)

Nevalı Çori 1990 – View to the ‚Cult Building‘ during excavation (afer Hauptmann – Özdoğan 2007, Fig. on p. 31)


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Our Place: Our Place in the World 3

Prof. Dr. phil. Klaus Schmidt, prehistorian, director ofexcavations at Göbekli epe, and co-director of the John

empleton project Our Place: Our Place in the World, passed away on 20th July, aged just 60.

Klaus Schmidt was born on 11th December 1953in Feuchtwangen, Franconia. From 1974 to 1983 hestudied prehistoric archaeology, classics, and geology-palaeontology, rst in Erlangen and subsequently inHeidelberg. It was during his time in Heidelberg thathe came to participate at excavations headed by hisuniversity professor Harald Hauptmann at the site ofNorşuntepe, in the urkish Upper Euphrates region. In1983 he obtained his PhD, his doctoral thesis focusingon the lithics from this site (Die lithischen Kleinfunde vomNorşuntepe ). In the same year, he was awarded the travelscholarship of the German Archaeological Institute.Between 1986 and 1995, Klaus Schmidt was researchassociate at the Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology(Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte ) at the University ofHeidelberg, and research fellow of the German ResearchFoundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ).

Between 1983 and 1991 he became involved withresearch in an area that would later be inundated by thewaters of the Atatürk reservoir, more specically the EarlyNeolithic settlement of Nevalı Çori, again under the

direction of Harald Hauptmann. It was the experiencegained from working at this site which would inuence therest of his working life. For the rst time, at Nevalı Çori,excavations revealed a cult building that was furnishedwith fantastic imagery which provided unprecedentedinsights into the mind of prehistoric peoples living in the9th millennium BC. Tis period is synonymous with adeveloped stage of the Early Neolithic, in which, in thecourse of several hundred years arable farming and animalhusbandry emerged, a process which would eventuallyculminate in our modern lifeways.

In 1999, following completion of his habilitation thesis,entitledFunctional analysis of the Early Neolithi Settlementof Nevalı Çori (Funktionsanalyse der frühneolithischenSiedlung von Nevalı Çori ), Klaus Schmidt was awardedthe status of associated professor at the University ofErlangen-Nürnberg.

From 2001 he was advisor (Referent) for Prehistoric Archaeology of the Ancient Near East at the Orient-Department of the German Archaeological Institute inBerlin. In 2007 he was appointed honorary professor atthe University of Erlangen-Nürnberg.

Te stylized -pillars and sculptures discovered atNevalı Çori motivated Klaus Schmidt to search forother similar sites in the Southeast urkish province of

A Life for Prehistoric Archaeology in the Ancient Near East Jörg Becker and Lee Clare

Klaus Schmidt at Göbekli Tepe (September 2007)


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Şanlıurfa. In addition to the discovery of Early Neolithicsites in the plain, east of Şanlıurfa (Gürçütepe), he alsovisited the site of Göbekli epe, which had been detectedmany years previously in the southern foothills of the

aurus Mountains. His important impulses for theinterpretation of this site number among his greatestscientic achievements. Te discovery of fragments ofEarly Neolithic sculptures, and the location of the site,led him to conclude that this was no ‘ordinary’ settlementsite, but what appeared to be a ‘ritual centre ’ belongingto complex hunter-gatherers. It was only in the courseof several subsequent transformation processes leadingon from this stage that crop cultivation and animalhusbandry would eventually evolve. In the last two decadesof eldwork, under the direction of Klaus Schmidt,excavations revealed buildings with richly adorned pillarsand sculptures dating to the 10th and 9th millennia BC.

Especially the earliest, monumental enclosures make thisa site of unique importance for the study and evaluation ofneolithisation processes and associated symbolic worlds.In addition to numerous scientic contributions, it is hisbookGöbekli epe: A Stone Age Sanctuary in South-Eastern Anatolia , (translated into several different languages),and written for the much wider audience, which hascontributed to the growing popularity of this site, makingit and Klaus Schmidt known well beyond the scienticcommunity and stimulating scientic discussionsenormously. However, it schould also be noted that theterms “temples ” and “ gods ” have always been subject to

some criticism and should not be taken at face value.In addition to his work at Göbekli epe, Klaus

Schmidt also directed research for the German Archaeological Institute in the‘Aqaba region of Jordan,where he undertook excavations together with Jordaniancolleagues at Chalcolithic-Early Bronze Age tell sites. Hisexcavation methods and archaeological astuteness cul-minated in important research results which have signi-cantly improved our picture of prehistoric settlementin the Gulf of‘Aqaba. Mention should also be made ofhis scientic contributions to the study of materials fromPredynastic Egyptian sites in the Nile Delta.

With the passing of Klaus Schmidt, we have lost oneof our most eminent archaeologists. Trough his foresightand his openness for alternative ideas and approaches, heenriched and enhanced scientic debate. He has providedus with the foundations for many years of research to

come. His time spent in urkey led a close bond with thecountry and its people. Nevertheless, throughout his life,he remained faithful to his Franconian home, frequentlyreturning there to nd peace and relaxation from hisotherwise very active everyday life. Researchers the worldover are mourning the loss not only of an internationalrenowned and revered colleague, but also an inspiringteacher, and a loyal friend.

Te German Archaeological Institute will alwaysremember him with greatest gratitude and appreciation.

Klaus Schmidt at ‘Aqaba (February 2008)


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Recent Research 2013/14:Insights into a new Enclosure at

Göbekli epeOliver Dietrich, Jens Notroff and Klaus Schmidt (†)

Recent eldwork at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic hilltopsanctuary of Göbekli epe has been largely dedicated toessential provisions in advance of construction work onpermanent shelters which are to be erected at the site in2015 (cf . Dietrichet al. 2014). Sadly, as it turned out, workin the 2014 spring season was to be the nal season led byKlaus Schmidt, who passed away suddenly in July 2014. Work in this last season focused on the excavation of areas

in the so-calledNorthwest Depression, a low lying westernpart of the site, located to the north of theSouthwest Mound (Fig. 1). Te aim of these investigations, originallyinitiated in 2011, has been to ascertain whether theseareas would also yield features,i.e. monumental circularenclosures of the PPNA (in some cases superimposedby smaller rectangular PPNB buildings), comparable tothose previously encountered in the so-calledSoutheastDepression, the main excavation area of the site. Asalready indicated by geophysical surveys, evidence for

monumental structures was certainly expected, and hasmeanwhile been conrmed through our eldwork (cf .Beckeret al . 2012; Dietrichet al . 2013).

In the 2013 excavation seasons, and in spring 2014,considerable progress was made in the excavation of vedeep soundings. Tese are required for the foundations ofthe new permanent shelter in theNW-Depression whichwill be drilled into the natural bedrock beneath the site. Inaddition to large quantities of preserved organic material,important for radiocarbon dating, the excavation of thesesoundings has also led to the discovery of PPN features(channels for water?) carved into the natural bedrock. Itis highly likely that these features are contemporaneouswith the monumental enclosures at the site.

Te most important feature discovered inNW-Depression, is a new enclosure currently under excavationin areas K10-24, K10-25, K10-34 and K10-35 (cf .

Dietrichet al. 2014: 14 with Fig. 6 & 7). Tis structureis now known as Enclosure H, following the establishedscheme of naming enclosures in the order of theirdiscovery (Fig. 2). In 2011, one of the central pillars andfour pillars of the surrounding ring of this new stonecircle were excavated. Even at this early stage, it wasapparent that the central pillar had been toppled andbroken in antiquity, thus mirroring the situation alreadyencountered in Enclosure C. During the spring season of2013, the ring-wall of Enclosure H was excavated in area

Fig. 1: Göbekli Tepe: overhead view o the excavation areas (Photo: Erhan Küçük, DAI Orient Department)

NW-Depression

SW-Mound SE-Depression


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K10-24. Te northern section of the trench clearly showsthe outline of a large pit-feature that seems to have beendug to locate and damage the central pillars. Additionally,a large, newly discovered pillar fragment found in thisarea can probably be assigned to the second of the twocentral pillars. Post-use destruction of Enclosure H isfurther indicated by the remainingin-situ shaft fragmentof a smashed pillar of the stone circle located betweenP55 and P 57. Further, the wall of the enclosure – witha niche and bench structure similar to those observedin other enclosures in the main excavation area – showsconsiderable signs of (post-use) disturbance.

Continued excavation work in the recent eld seasons,has led to the discovery of additional monoliths, bringing

the total number of pillars discovered in Enclosure H tosix. In addition to the central Pillar 51 (Fig. 3), whichcarries on its western broad side the depiction of a largefeline, there are ve pillars discovered in the enclosurewall: Pillar 55 seems to be undecorated; here is the richlyadorened Pillar 56; Pillar 57 with a newly discoveredrelief (comprising two antithetic snakes anking a roundobject) on its front narrow side (cf. Dietrichet al. 2014:Fig. 7); and Pillars 54 and 66, recently excavated in thenorthern part of the enclosure wall (for the interpretationof such animal reliefs as part of the sybolic world of theEarly Neolithic see for example Peters / Schmidt 2004 orSchmidt 2012).

Fig. 2: Overhead view o Enclosure H, current state o excavation (Photo: Nico Becker, DAI Orient Department)


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Pillar 54 features raised lateral bands on its frontnarrow side, a depiction interpreted as representing astola-like garment, already well-known from a numberof pillars in the main excavation area. o the west of thispillar, beneath a large limestone slab with a deep cavity,Pillar 66 was discovered. Remarkably, this pillar deviatesin orientation from the anticipated radial arrangement,i.e . facing towards the central pillar (P51). Instead it issituated almost parallel to the enclosing wall. Te headof Piller 66 displays a notch not unlike those alreadyobserved on some of the pillars in Enclosure C.

In the course of geo-radar survey, a somewhat diffusepicture was recorded for the southern part of EnclosureH, perhaps indicating an overlap with another, apparentlymuch larger enclosure. Excavation in this area has revealeda small part of a wall that appears to run parallel to thecircular enclosure wall of Enclosure H, thus conrmingthe existence of a very complicated architectural picture.Between these walls a staircase-like structure has beendiscovered. Further work in this and adjacent areas willbe needed to clarify this situation and to completelyunderstand the relationship between these structures.

Fig. 3: Pillar 51, central pillar o Enclosure H depicting a large elid (Photo: Nico Becker, DAI Orient Department)

New Radiocarbon Ages fromGöbekli epe

Jörg Becker and Lee Clare

As part of theOur Place: Our Place in the World project,funded by the John empleton Foundation, 42 organicsamples have recently been analysed at AMS-radiocarbonlaboratories in Georgia (USA) and Poznań (Poland). Tesesamples were collected during the 2011–2013 excavationseasons from soundings in the main excavation area inthe Southeast and Northwest Depressions . Most of thesesamples were extracted from Layer III contexts, associatedwith the famous monumental Early Neolithic enclosures A–D and G (SE-Depression) and the new enclosures H

and I (NW-Depression). Te new ages t well with theexpected PPNA age (second half 10th millennium calBC),the only exceptions being a small series of ages made onanimal teeth, most certainly due to insufficient amounts ofpreserved collagen for dating purposes (a general problemat Göbekli epe). A sample from the younger Level II,with an age of around 8600 calBC, also correspondswell with earlier ages made on material from associatedEarly Pre-Pottery Neolithic B contexts (cf . Dietrich 2011and Dietrichet al . 2013). A rst report of the results iscurrently in preparation for a high-ranking archaeological journal.

In the frame of the John empleton projectOur Place:

Our Place in the World , two more series of radiocarbonsamples will be collected and submitted for AMS-datingin the coming months. It is hoped that these new data willshed more light on aspects of site-internal chronologies atGöbekli epe, in particular whether excavated monumentalenclosures were contemporaneous or not. Notably,when it comes to establishing absolute chronologies atGöbekli epe, there are numerous obstacles which needto be negotiated. Tese are directly related to the complexcomposition of the site; for example, many radiocarbonages are made on organic materials extracted from therubble ll of the structures; ergo, these data provide agesonly for the ll material and not for the erection of theenclosures. Further, it cannot be ruled out that the llcontains signicantly older material.

For the next series of radiocarbon ages, samplesfor which will be collected in the coming excavationseason (September-October 2014), it is planned to takea closer look at the mud plaster in the dry stone wallsand between the stone benches, as well as at the terrazzooors. It is hoped that organic residues will be preservedin these contexts, thus providing us with ages closer tothe erection of the structures, perhaps even allowing usto identify different building phases of the enclosures, ashas been previously suggested by architectural studies (cf .Kurapkat 2004 and 2012: 158f. with Fig. 2).


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In the early 10th millennium BC, at the close of thelast Ice Age, there began a development referred to bythe visionary prehistorian Jacques Cauvin (1994) asthe symbolic revolution of the Neolithic. Tis highlyinnovative period spanning some several centuries – theconsequences of which are still felt today – was closelyconnected with socio-economic changes formerlyattributed by the prehistorian Vere Gordon Childe to theso-calledNeolithic Revolution. Although the termsymbolicrevolution (as it is used here) is more bold-associative thanit is strictly epistemological, it nevertheless provides a high

degree of explanatory potential, ultimately raising issuesconcerning the so-called Neolithic Package (Stordeuret al. 1996; Köksal-Schmidt / Schmidt 2007; Morenz /Schmidt 2009). Tis complex historical model, whichin many respects is a simplication of available facts,includes not only technological and socio-economicalelements but also cognitive components. Seen from theperspective of long-term historical development there aretwo preeminent aspects:

– plant and animal domestication;

– the replacement of hunter-gatherer subsistencestrategies by productive modes of economy.

Additionally, at least in the case of the Near East,settlements grew in number and size and buildingdensity increased, culminating in higher levels of socialcomplexity, another crucial factor for cultural evolution.

An equally important component was the formulationand xation of symbolic worlds, expressed in materialforms such as architecture, images and pictograms (cf .Donald 1991; Mithen 1996; Boyer 2001; Dunbar /Gamble / Gowlett 2010; Watkins 2004, 2008a/b, 2010).

Tis not only provided people with a means of worldlyorientation, such elements were also essential for theconstruction of identities and the development of a feelingof belonging and cultural affiliation among individualsliving in ever growing Neolithic communities. Althoughthe different domains were probably not as clear cut assuggested by earlier research, a clear thrust in culturaldevelopment can certainly be identied in the Near Eastduring the 10th and 9th millennia calBC. Tis thrust ledto considerable changes in prevalentrules of knowledge .Directly related to this development there also occurredwhat might be termed amedia revolution.

At the same time, it was not necessary for the differentcomponents of theNeolithic package to all appear at thesame time for them to be included; it was very often agradual process, staggered over a considerable periodof time. However, in the case of Upper Mesopotamia,

many of the components did emerge in a strikingly shortspace of time during the 10th and 9th millennia calBC.In this context, a complex interplay can be assumed anddiscerned between art, religion, economy (especially theintroduction of plant cultivation), and mechanisms ofhuman cohabitation:

Cultural-poetic dynamos of the Near Eastern earlyNeolithic included the dispersal of domesticated plants(especially einkorn) and animals (sheep and goat in the9th and 8th millennia calBC), new lifeways (transition tosedentary occupations and the construction of permanentsettlements) and mentalities, and probably newlyemerging religious concepts which found expression inritual-oriented “art” (in the broader sense). A further

important point, albeit only tangible at a relativelyhypothetical level, concerns the question of relatedlanguages and language forms.

New ways of thinking appear to have becomeestablished in the early Neolithic. Language, imagery,symbolism and writing were all important mental toolsin the formation of these newDenkräume (Aby Warburg1988); they provided a means of symbolic organizationof life experiences in the mediation of nature and spirit,passion and logos, and the rhythm of „einschwingenderPhantasie und ausschwingender Vernunft“ (transient fantasyand enduring rationality). Images and imagery were theperfect means by which worries and fears, but also hopes

and wishes, could be either averted or expressed throughtheir styling into specic shapes, thereby opening upentirely new perspectives – for producers and recipientsalike – in the context of a less constrained interaction withthese media. Notably, earliest indications of this world-dening process with its manifold symbolic linkagescan be traced back to the Palaeolithic (cave paintings)and it is a development which is still continuing today.Nevertheless, new and fundamental impulses for theconquest of Denkraum through symbolic linkagesemerged in the Near Eastern Early Neolithic and weredeveloped further in the subsequent decades, centuriesand millennia.

In contrast to simpleimages , the more specicBildzeichen (Hans Georg Gadamer 1960, 1990) donot draw the observer’s attention to their immediateaesthetic presence, they are much more than this; they

Media-evolution and the Generation of New Ways of Tinking Te Early Neolithic Sign System (10 th / 9 th Millennium calBC) and its Consequences *

Ludwig Morenz


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are hermeneutic agents referring to something “other”;they clearly surpass a function as mere depictions. TeBildzeichen usually exhibit a rigid and strongly culturallydetermined readability, especially in the way that specicinformation is codied. Although the signs used inthis more or less new (irrespective of some Palaeolithicprecursors), distinctively pictographic Neolithicphenomenon are clearly pictorial they not only codifythe subjects that they portray but they represent in avery special way that something “other” which cannot bedepicted. Tis is particularly apparent in the systematicsmall signs such as the bull’s head or the combination ofmoon disc and crescent.

Te concise nature of the signs, the strongstandardisation of sign forms, and the systemisation ofthe sign repertoire are all quite remarkable. Terefore, inthe case of Upper Mesopotamia it is perfectly legitimate

for us speak of an Early Neolithic sign system in whichthe small signs (~pictograms) were used in exactly thesame way in an extensive geographic area (GrünesDreieck ; cf. Aurenche / Kozlowski termed this region ofUpper Mesopotamia‘Golden riangle’ , where wild formsof several early domesticated plant species concentrate).Finally, the sites at which this sign system was in use wereseparated from one another by distances amounting toseveral days walk,e.g. Göbekli epe – Jerf el-Ahmar:approx. 150 km; Göbekli epe – ell Qaramel: approx.200 km. Subsequently, the question arises as to thenature of the cultural and communication communitiesand their interaction at this time (cf . Schmidt 2005). Teuniformity of the early Neolithic sign system is reectedin the sign for snake (Fig. A ).

Here it is the conspicuous form of the (horned) viperhead and not the typical wavy line that is most striking inthese snake representations; however, a certain toleranceof deviation in the nal arrangement of these depictionsalso existed.

Tis sign system permits an extraordinarily highlevel of readability, making for clear and unambiguousmessages, albeit that meanings were related in a purelyideographic manner; the phonetic dimension of languageonly became xed in later millennia. An incised plaquettefrom ell Qaramel dating to the 10th or 9th millennium

calBC (Fig. B) carries the depictions of three snakes andseveral hand signs. Te visible structure of theBildzeichen on this plaquette, achieved through the addition ofengraved lines, and the clear tendency towards a basicsymmetry are quite remarkable for this early period.

Te repetition and the impressive sequencing of theBildzeichen intensify the message. Te schematisation ofthe signs and the well-managed structure of the image eldare quite remarkable from a media-historical perspective,the latter – through its standardisation – even showinga family resemblance of this particular sign system withwriting. In this respect, the usage of the horned viperand the hand should undoubtedly be interpreted asBildzeichen (in the sense of Gadamer). A third possible reason for the strong presence of thesnake as aBildzeichen in early inscriptions,i.e . in additionto our innate fascination with this animal and the threatit harbours to human life, lies in the nature of writingitself; a wavy (serpentine) line is one of the most obviousand natural graphisms. Having produced a wavy line byincising or drawing, the illustrator, and likely also thebeholder, would want / would have wanted it to have ameaning. Notably, the media-philosophical-speculativeorigin of thisBildzeichen must be rooted in a timepre-dating Neolithic snake representations, especiallyconsidering that in theBildzeichen A the snakebody is already characterised in a specic iconographicmanner. Furthermore, if we speculate as to what may haveactually provoked humans to produce rstBildzeichen,we might even – in a media-philosophical sense – (re-)

Fig. A: Examples o snake representations rom small signcarriers: 1: Göbekli Tepe (afer Schmidt 2012: Fig. 114: lef),2: Jer el-Ahmar (afer Stordeur / Abbès 2002: Fig. 16:3) and3: Tell Qaramel (afer Mazurowski / Kanjou 2012: Pl. 79:5)

Fig. B: Fragmentarily preserved incised plaquette rom TellQaramel (afer Mazurowski / Kanjou 2012: Pls. 74:7 and129:right)


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mythologise this animal: the snake as the natural andeternalwriting animal. Its repertoire of motion and thetracks it leaves behind in the sand provide an impressiveparadigm to writing, even suggesting readability. Indeed,snakes are not only known for their tracks but alsofor their unexpected appearance, culminating in thehuman preoccupation with the fundamental dichotomybetween the visible and the presently invisible, andthe unmistakably present and the latent or completelyabsent. Terefore, snakes compel people to heed even thesmallest signs should something be more than it initiallyappears at rst sight.

Te hand itself is a polysemic sign and its inter-pretation varies in different cultures,e.g. the hand ofGod, the praying hand, the hand taking an oath orthe severed hand of an enemy as a sign of triumph orvictory. In combination with the snake depictions, as for

example on the incised plaquette from ell Qaramel, itmight be interpreted as aS OP-hand . Tis plaquette isan archaeological milestone in our comprehension oftext-history long before the appearance of writing in itsstrictest sense.

Te readable imagery of the signA (cf. Fig. B, a detailfrom Mazurowski / Yartah 2002: Fig. 11:left on p. 306)= NO! or S OP (or similar) lies in the framework ofthe Early Neolithic sign system; at the same time, thissame imagery can be followed through various steps,e.g. through classical antiquity and the Medieval periodinto our own modern cultures. If we take the oppositedirection along the historical time axis, hand signs suchas these can be traced back to (Upper) Palaeolithiccave paintings (Leroi-Gourhan 1964/5;cf. Wehr /

Weinmann 2005). In contrast to the arbitrary signals(Signal-Zeichen), e.g. the accidental foot or hand printsmade by humans or animals (meanings of which couldnevertheless be usefully decoded by Palaeolithic hunters,i.e. reading before writing) the consciously producedhand print corresponds to an intentionally produced andmeaningfulSignal-Zeichen. “Reading” led to the discoveryof the meanings of accidental signs, after which – at sometime in the Palaeolithic – meaningful symbols beganto be intentionally produced; hand and foot prints inparticular would have played a pivotal role in this process. As such, in the history of symbols “reading” came beforedepiction; indeed, it is likely that consciously producedhand symbols were originally oriented on accidental handand foot prints. Additionally, the “rejecting” or “repellent”hand gesture may even be inherited, i.e. an integralelement of our human instinct-repertoire, though this is

ercely debated by behavioural scientists, and the specicgesture is certainly culturally inuenced.In the more or less pictographic usage of signs the

HAND is characterised by a remarkably similar usageand with a high level of consistency of form spanningthe millennia and different cultural spheres (cf. Morenz2014: 85ff. with Fig. 34 on p. 95).

If the snake (as the personication of the readableimage) and the hand (as the personication of gesturalcommunication in the world of signs) depicted on theEarly Neolithic plaquette from ell Qaramel are amongthe earliest readableBildzeichen in the strictest sense,then media-philosophical reection and archaeologicalinterpretation can be blissfully conjoined.

Fig. C : Enclosure D at Göbekli Tepe, central pillar 18, small signs on the narrow side o this pillar-being (Photos: Bertold Steinhilber)


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In a further step, the Early Neolithic sign systempermits a more specic identication of the monumentalanthropomorphic pillar-beings from Göbekli epe. Tesemonumental pillar-beings can be analysed as a complexsign system comprising at least three different levels:

a) the anthropomorphic pillar-beings themselves aslargesigns ;

b) the comparatively naturalistic animal reliefs asmediumsigns ; and

c) small signs which include, for example, the bull’s heador the combination of moon disc + crescent.

At this sanctuary site, this sign system is used to codify

cultural text. It follows that Enclosure D (Fig. C) can beread in the following way:

a) stone pillars arranged in a circle with two centralpillars = ext

b) anthropomorphic central pillar 18 with reliefs of arms= large sign

c) comparatively naturalistic depiction of a fox in thecrook of the arm =medium sign

d) more readableBildzeichen (combination moon disc +

moon crescent) on the narrow side of pillar-being 18=small sign (pictogram).

For this sign system even greater meanings can bedrawn from the circles; accordingly, these can be read ashypertext:

– individual enclosures within the entiresanctuary

– sanctuary within the landscape and its relationto other places.

Other elements also feature in this Early Neolithic cosmosof meaning (Sinnkosmos ); for example, on pillar-being 18there is what appears to be a graffito, considerably smallerthan the depiction of the fox, which shows a huntingscene with three dogs.

Te small sign moon disc + crescent functions as a kindof name tag (in the sense of L. Wittgenstein), assigningan identity to the pillar-being; in more concrete terms wemay speak of a moon-deity. Terefore, the sign systemallows us to penetrate into the realms of sacral beliefs,and in doing so provides us with conrmation for theexistence of personal deities in the Early Neolithic.Tis Early Neolithic sign system was not created foradministration purposes, its usage lies rmly in the sacralsphere. In the frame of an archaeo-semiotic deep probing,three important stages in the development of notationtechniques can be found to correlate exceptionally wellwith particular archaeological periods

Based on observations made at the Early Neolithicsite of Göbekli epe it can be stated that as early as the10th/9th millennia calBC there prevailed the clear necessityfor specic labeling and the unambiguous closure ofmeaning in the form of “names” (e.g . through the usage oftheBildzeichen MOON DISC + CRESCEN or BULL’S

HEAD). Not only this, but at this time a text had alreadybeen composed in the frame of the Pillar-being ensemble.

English translation: Lee Clare

Sight type Region Area Period

Neolithic pictography Upper Mesopotamia sacral sphere 10 th/9 th millennium calBC

Figurative tokens Mesopotamia economic sphere 4 th millennium calBC

Proto-Cuneiform Uruk economic and sacral sphere 4 th millennium calBC

* Modied version of the English summary from the new publication by Ludwig Morenz as rst volume of the nStudia Euphratica series: Ludwig Morenz, Medienevolution und die Gewinnung neuer Denkräume. Das frühneolithis Zeichensystem (10./9. Jt. v. Chr.) und seine Folgen. Studia Euphratica Band 1, EB-Verlag, Dr. Brandt, Berlin, edited byHarald Hauptmann, Ludwig Morenz und Klaus Schmidt, published August 2014 – ISBN 978-3-86893-105-1.


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Workshop:Te Construction of Neolithic

Corporate Identitiesrevor Watkins

wo members of our group, Hans Georg Gebel andMarion Benz, asked revor Watkins to join them inorganising a workshop to take place within the frameworkof the 9th International Congress on the Archaeology ofthe Ancient Near East in Basel, in early June 2014. Tepremise of the workshop was that the Epipalaeolithic-Neolithic transformation represents a momentousthreshold in the long-term evolution of human sociality. And the challenge posed for the workshop was to identify

and interpret the evidence that will help us to betterunderstand that transformation. Te workshop was open,and attracted a large audience. Te format of the ICAANEallowed nine advertised speakers, but the organizers wereat liberty to plan the timing so as to allow the activeparticipation of all. Te organising troika arranged thespeakers into three groups, and each introduced a sub-section of the workshop (effectively allowing them tomake their own contributions).

At the suggestion of Hans Georg Gebel at theconclusion of the workshop, it was agreed that theworkshop should be translated into a publication, to beedited by the three organizers, and to be published inthe SENEPSE (Studies in Early Neolithic Production,Subsistence and Environment) series, byex oriente , Berlin. A fuller account of the workshop is being prepared forpublication in a forthcoming issue ofNeo-Lithics .

Fig. 1: Participants during the Early Neolithic workshop about corporate identities at the 9th ICAANE 2014 in Basel (TrevorWatkins, lef, giving his introduction lecture) (Photo: Hans Georg K. Gebel)

Database and Website Jörg Becker and Lee Clare

Te project database whicht collates Late Epi-Palaeolithic(Kebarian and Natuan in southern terms) and EarlyNeolithic (Pre-Pottery Neolithic A/B) archaeologicalnds and features from Upper Mesopotamia, Anatoliaand the Levant pertaining to aspects of symblism and/or ritual is currently being incorporated into the main Arachne Database of the German Archaeological Institute(DAI). Upon its completion it shall be made accessibleto all members of the J F working group. Among otherthings this database shall aid us to a) generate a tableof similarities, from which a socio-cultural networkof relations among communities of the region can beconstructed and analysed; b) understand better the

relationships between monuments, sculptures, signs andritual prefomance; c) determine the role of collectivememory and collective identity among Pre-PotteryNeolithic communities in Upper Mesopotamia, Anatoliaand the Levant during their long-lasting transitions fromcomplex hunter-gatherer societies to village farmingcommunities.

Currently, the nal project database comprises nearly2000 nds and more than 300 features from 160 sitesin the study area (Upper Mesopotamia, Anatolia and theLevant). Te database also includes radiocarbon dates forthe featured sites (where these data are available).

Tis working step of incorporating our project databaseinto the Arachne Database of the German ArchaeologicalInstitute (DAI) also includes the construction of a projectwebsite with integrated blog facility, as well as links torelevant sites for our project.


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New Publications and shortnotes

In this section we would like to bring your attentionto recent publications and developments which are ofinterest to our John empleton FoundationOur Place:Our Place in the World project, most of them published as joint contribution of different members associated withour project.• For the important site of Göbekli epe only the

most signicant contributions shall be mentioned,published by Klaus Schmidt and his team. In onecontribution the arguments about the function ofthe central pillars are discussed in the frame of the

Upper Mesopotamian Early Neolithic (N. Becker / O.Dietrich / . Götzelt / Ç. Köksal-Schmidt / J. Notroff/ K. Schmidt 2012: Materialien zur Deutung derzentralen Pfeilerpaare des Göbekli epe und weitererOrte des obermesopotamischen Frühneolithikums. Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie 5, 14-43).

A second article deals with the role of cult and feastingin the emergence of Early Neolithic Communities (O.Dietrich / M. Heun / J. Notroff / K. Schmidt / M.Zarnkow 2012: Te Role of Cult and Feasting in theEmergence of Neolithic Communities. New Evidencefrom Göbekli epe, South-eastern urkey. Antiquity

86, N° 333, 674-695).In a third contribution the sequence (or contem-poraneity) of Layer III enclosures (PPNA period) isdiscussed: O. Dietrich / Ç. Köksal-Schmidt / J. Notroff/ K. Schmidt 2013: Establishing a RadiocarbonSequence for Göbekli epe. State of Research andNew Data.Neo-Lithics 1/13, 36-41.

In a fourth report new excavation results, in-cludingdescriptions of newly discovered enclosures in thenorth-western depression, are presented: O. Dietrich/ Ç. Köksal-Schmidt / C. Kürkçüoğlu / J. Notroff / K.Schmidt 2014: Göbekli epe. Preliminary Report onthe 2012 and 2013 Excavation Seasons.Neo-Lithics1/14, 11–17.

• Miguel Molist Montaña, director of excavations atell Halula on the Syrian Euphrates, has recently

published (together with his team) two volumes ofa new preliminary report about this important Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic site: M. Molist Montaña(coord.) 2013: ell Halula: un poblado de los primerosagricultores en el valle del Éufrates, Siria (2 volumes),Memoria Cientíca, Madrid / Barcelona.

• For the well-known Jordanian Pre-Pottery Neolithicsite of ‘Ain Ghazal, Denise Schmandt-Besserat hasedited a volume featuring contributions focussing anumber of themes, including the impressive plasteredstatues and busts from this site, as well as its modelled

skulls, mural and oor paintings, small stone andterracotta gurines, standing stones, as well as tokens:D. Schmandt-Besserat (ed.) Symbols at ‘Ain Ghazal,‘Ain Ghazal Excavation Reports, Volume 3, bibliothecaneolithica Asiae meridionalis et occudentalis & Yarmouk University, Monograph of the Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology,ex oriente , Berlin.

• Neolithic religion in light of nds and features fromÇatal Höyük is the focus of a further publicationwhich is certainly of signicant interest to our ownwork: H. Whitehouse / C. Mazzucato / I. Hodder /Q.D. Atkinson 2013: Modes of Religiosity and theEvolution of Social Complexity at Çatalhöyük, in: I.Hodder (ed .) Religion at Work in a Neolithic Society:Vital Matters , Cambridge, 134-156.

• Kim Sterelny (Canberra) and Peter Hiscock (Sydney)have recently edited a special issue of BiologicalTeory journal (vol. 9/1, 2014) centring onsymbols,signals, and the archaeological record . Several scholarsdiscuss the structure of early human groups living incoordinated cooperation within symbolically markedworlds, operating within limits constructed bynormatively structured groups.

• Several contributions relevant to our subject can alsobe found in the new festschrift in honour of GaryRollefson, excavator of ‘Ain Ghazal: B. Finlayson andC. Makarewics (eds .) 2014 Settlement, Survey and Stone.Essays on Near Eastern Prehistory in Honour of GaryRollefson, ex oriente , Berlin in collaboration with theCouncil for British Research in the Levant, London.Tese include: B. Finlayson: Houses of the Holy: TeEvolution of Ritual Buildings; O. Bar-Yosef: WasGöbekli epe Culture a Chiefdom Tat Failed?; M.Özdoğan: Te Neolithic Collapse, or the ransitionfrom Pre-Pottery Neolithic to the Pottery Neolithic;K. Schmidt / Ç. Köksal-Schmidt: Like a Carpet ofSnakes – owards an Iconography of the PPN inUpper Mesopotamia; A. Belfer-Cohen / N. Goring-Morris: North and South – Variable rajectories ofthe Neolithic in the Levant; D. Schmandt-Besserat;Figures with Raised Arms and Feet.

• Finally, we should also like to note an upcomingcontribution by Marion Benz and Joachim Bauerentitled: On Scorpions, Birds and Snakes – Evidencefor Shamanism in Northern Mesopotamia during theEarly Holocene, which has been submitted to the Journal of Ritual Studies .


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Conferences/Workshops

Last but not least, we would like to inform you about

an international symposium that is currently beingorganized by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft(DFG, German Research Foundation) in cooperationwith the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum (DBMGerman Mining Museum) and with the support ofthe Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (DAI, German Archaeological Insitute), to be held at the Nevali Hotel,Şanlıurfa, urkey, from 21th – 23th September 2014:

International Symposium Bridging Continents – Earliest Neolithic

Communities across Anatolia Recent Research, Future Challenges

We know that southeast urkey was part of the corearea for the earliest large, sendentary communities andthe emergence of a farming economy, the so-calledNeolithic revolution (10th – 7th millennium BCE). Nowwe are learning about the extraordinary cult site ofGöbekli epe, at the centre of communities across theregion, each of which reveals its own architectural andsymbolic achievements. For the rst time, we are realizingthat equally early settlements in central Anatolia wereevolving socially and economically in parallel. We are also

beginning to see, from excavations in western Anatoliaand in European urkey, evidence of the spread of theNeolithic way of life in the Aegean coastlands and islandsand into mainland Europe. Te mosaic landscapes of theRepublic of urkey were where this new way of life rstemerged and from which it began its spread westwardsuntil it had reached the whole of Europe. Recent palaeo-anthropological studies are yielding new and signicantscientic ndings, which illustrate just one of thepotential areas where interdisciplinary cooperation inprehistoric research is enriching our knowledge of theearly ties between Anatolia and Europe.

Beyond its importance for the heritage of humanity,

Göbekli epe, situated in Southeastern urkey, is animportant location for the German- urkish cooperationin prehistoric archaeology. Te site is being studiedby an interdisciplinary team of scholars funded by theDFG in the framework of a long-term project. Tus, itis consistant that this Early Neolithic cult site, whichis on its way to becoming a World Heritage Site, willhost an international symposium underlining the site’simportance for research and cooperation, and furtherdeveloping its outstanding potential. On-site obser-vation and discussion offer the oppotunity to showcaseand debate some of the pivotal questions.

Meanwhile, it has been agreed that this symposiumshall be dedicated to Klaus Schmidt, in honour of hisimportant scientic work.

(after Hans-Dieter Bienert, DFG)

References

Aurenche, O. / Kozlowski, S.K. 2001: Le Croissant fertile et le‘ riangle d’or, in: C. Breniquet / C. Kepinski (eds .) Etudes Mésopotamiennes: receuil de textes offerts à Jean-Louis Huo,Paris, 33-43.

Becker, N. / Dietrich, O. / Götzelt, . / Köksal-Schmidt, Ç. /Notroff, J. / Schmidt, K. 2012: Materialien zur Deutung derzentralen Pfeilerpaare des Göbekli epe und weiterer Ortedes obermesopotamischen Frühneolithikums. Zeitschrift für Orient-Archäologie5, 14-43.

Boyer, P. 2001:Religion Explained. Te Human Insticts thatFashion Gods, Spirits and Ancestors . London.

Cauvin, J. 1994:Naissance des divinités, naissance de l’agriculture.La révolution des symboles au Néolithique . Paris.

Dietrich, O. 2011: Dating the First emples of Mankind.Comments on14C-Dates from Göbekli epe. Zeitschrift fürOrient-Archäologie 4, 12-25.

Dietrich, O. / Heun, M. / Notroff, J. / Schmidt, K. / Zarnkow,M. 2012: Te Role of Cult and Feasting in the Emergenceof Neolithic Communities. New Evidence from Göbekli

epe, South-eastern urkey. Antiquity 86, N° 333, 674-695.

Dietrich, O. / Köksal-Schmidt, Ç. / Notroff, J. / Schmidt, K.2013: Establishing a Radiocarbon Sequence for Göbekli

epe. State of Research and New Data.Neo-Lithics 1/13,36-41.

Dietrich, O. / Köksal-Schmidt, Ç. / Kürkçüoğlu, Ç. / Notroff, J. / Schmidt, K. 2014: Göbekli epe. Preliminary Reporton the 2012 and 2013 Excavation Seasons.Neo-Lithics1/14, 11-17.

Donald, M. 1991:Origins of the Human Mind: Tree Stages ofin the Evolution of Culture and Cognition. Cambridge, MA.

Dunbar, R.I.M. / Gamble, C. / Gowlett, J.A.J. (eds.) 2010:Social Brain, Distributed Mind . Oxford.

Gadamer, H.G. 1960:Wahrheit und Methode. Grundzügeeiner philosophischen Hermeneutik , übingen (6th edition

übingen 1990).Gebel, H.G.K. 2004: Die Jungsteinzeit Jordaniens - Leben,

Arbeiten und Sterben am Beginn seßhaften Lebens, in:B. Salje / N. Riedl / G. Schauerte / R.-B. Wartke (eds.)2004:Gesichter des Orients. 10000 Jahre Kunst und Kulturaus Jordanien. Ausstellungskatalog Berlin / Bonn. Mainz,45-56.

Hauptmann, H. / Özdoğan, M. 2007: Die NeolithischeRevolution in Anatolien, in: C. Lichter, (ed .) 2007, 26–36.

Köksal-Schmidt, Ç. / Schmidt, K. 2007: Perlen, Steingefäße,Zeichentäfelchen: Handwerkliche Spezialisierung undsteinzeitliches Symbolsystem, in: C. Lichter (ed .) 2007, 97-109.

Kurapkat, D. 2004: Die frühneolithischen Bauanlagen auf

dem Göbekli epe in Obermesopotamien (Südosttürkei).Koldewey-Gesellschaft (ed .), Bericht über die 42. agung für Ausgrabungswissenschaft und Bauforschung 2002 in München (2004), 256-267.


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Kurapkat, D. 2012: A Roof under One’s Feet: Early NeolithicRoof Constructions at Göbekli epe, Southeastern urkey,in: R. Carvais / A. Guillerme / V. Nègre / J. Sakarovitch (eds.)Nuts & Bolts of Construction History. Culture, echnology andSociety , Vol. 3, Paris, 157-165.

Leroi-Gourhan, A. 1964/5:La geste et la parole . Paris.Lichter, C. (ed .) 2007:Vor 12.000 Jahren in Anatolien – Die

ältesten Monumente der Menschheit. Begleitbuch zur GroßenLandesausstellung Baden Würtemberg 2007 „Vor 12.000 Jahren in Anatolien – Die ältesten Monumente der Menschheitim Badischen Landesmuseum Schloss Karlsruhe, hrsgg. vomBadischen Landesmuseum. Stuttgart.

Mazurowski, R.F. / Kanjou, Y. (eds .) 2012: ell Qaramel 1999- 2007: Proto-Neolithic and Early Pre-Excavations 1999-2007 .Polish Center of Mediterranean Archaeology ExcavationSeries 2. Warsaw.

Mazurowski, R.F. / Yartah, . 2002: ell Qaramel, Excavations,2001. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 13 (2002),295-307.

Mithen, S. 1996:Te Prehistory of Mind. A Search for the Originsof Art, Religion and Science. London.

Morenz, L. 2014: Medienevolution und die Gewinnung neuerDenkräume. Das frühneolithische Zeichensystem (10./9. Jt. v.Chr.) und seine Folgen. Studia Euphratica Band 1, Berlin(edited by Harald Hauptmann, Ludwig Morenz and KlausSchmidt).

Morenz, L. / Schmidt, K. 2009: Große Reliefpfeiler und kleineZeichentäfelchen: Ein frühneolithisches Zeichensystem

in Obermesopotamien, in: P. Andrássy / J. Budka / F.Kammerzell (eds.) Non- extual Marking Systems, Writingand Pseudo Script from Prehistory to Modern imes , Lingus Aegyptia – Studia monographica 8, Göttingen, 13-31.

Peters, J. / Schmidt, K. 2004: Animals in the Symbolic Worldof Pre-Pottery Neolithic Göbekli epe, Southeastern

urkey: A Preliminary Assessment. Anthropozoologica 39(1), 179-218.

Schmidt, K. 2005: „Ritual-Centres“ and the Neolithisation ofUpper Mesopotamia.Neo-Lithics 2/05, 13-21.

Schmidt, K. 2012:Göbekli epe: A Stone Age Sanctuary inSoutheastern Anatolia . ex oriente e.V., Berlin.

Stordeur, D. / Abbés, F. 2002: Du PPNA au PPNB: mise enlumière d’une phase de transition à Jerf el Ahmar (Syrie).Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française 99/3, 563-595.

Stordeur, D. / Jammous, B. / Helmer, D. / Willcox, G. 1996: Jerf el-Ahmar: a New Mureybetian Site (PPNA) on theMiddle Euphrates.Neo-Lithics 2/96, 1-2.

Warburg, A. 1988:Schlangenritual. Ein Reisebericht. Berlin(edited by U. Raulf).

Watkins, . 2004: Building Houses, Framings Concepts,Constructing Worlds.Paléorient 30/1, 5-23.

Watkins, . 2008a: Natural Environmentversus CulturalEnvironment: Te Implications of Creating a BuiltEnvironment, in: J. Córdoba / M. Molist / C. Pérez / I.Rubio / S. Martínez (eds .) Proceedings of the 5 th Inter-national Congress of the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, Madrid 3-8 April 2006 , Madrid, 427-437.

Watkins, . 2008b: Ordering ime and Space: Creating aCultural World, in: J. Córdoba / M. Molist / C. Pérez /I. Rubio / S. Martínez (eds .) Proceedings of the 5 th Inter-national Congress of the Archaeology of the Ancient Near Eas Madrid 3-8 April 2006, Madrid, 647-659.

Watkins, . 2010: New Light on Neolithic Revolution inSouth-West Asia. Antiquity 84, N° 325, 621-634.

Wehr, M. / Weinmann, M. (eds .) 2005:Die Hand, Werkzeug desGeistes . München.

Pendant with human ace rom Basta (Jordan), Late 7 th millennium BC (afer Gebel 2004, Fig. 3.1)


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Contact Address:

PD Dr. Jörg Becker / Dr. Lee ClareGerman Archaeological InstituteOrient DepartmentPodbielskiallee 69-7114195 BerlinGermany

Phone: +49 (0)30 187711 225Fax: +49 (0)30 187711 189

[email protected]@dainst.de

Our Place: Our Place in the Worldis generously funded by the

John empleton Foundation300 Conshohocken State RoadSuite 500 West Conshohocken, PA 19428 USA

http://www.templeton.org/

our place newsletter_aug 2014

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