Scientists have made an incredible 12,000-year-old in what they believe could be the world’s oldest solar calendar. It was uncovered at G？bekli Tepe, an archaeological site in southern Turkey.

       The time-keeping system is carved into stone pillars and could be a memorial to a catastrophic comet that hit 13,000 years ago which triggered a “mini ice age” lasting over 1,000 years.

       Often called the world’s first temple, G？bekli Tepe dates back to 10,000 BCE and predates the invention of writing.

       Its builders are thought to have been hunter-gatherers who somehow constructed massive stone circles with pillars weighing up to 20 tons, similar to those in Stone Henge, which is 5,000 years old.

       The site, which is covered in intricate carvings, has long puzzled archaeologists, but new research suggests that it is a calendar to track lunar and solar cycles.

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       “It appears the inhabitants of G？bekli Tepe were keen observers of the sky, which is to be expected given their world had been devastated by a comet strike,” said Dr Martin Sweatman from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering, who led the research.

       The key lies in V-shaped symbols carved into the pillars. Sweatman interprets each “V” to represent a single day, with his team counting a full solar year of 365 days on one pillar alone.

       The calendar consists of 12 lunar months, plus an additional 11 days to align with the solar year – a system known as a lunisolar calendar.

       Adding days to keep a calendar in sync with the seasons was previously thought to have originated much later in history.

       The calendar could predate other known lunisolar calendars by thousands of years, changing our understanding of ancient timekeeping and astronomical knowledge.

       The summer solstice seems to have held special significance for the people of G？bekli Tepe, with the day marked using a unique symbol: a “V” worn around the neck of a bird-like creature, thought to represent a constellation visible during the solstice at that time.

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       G？bekli Tepe’s location and age place it at a crucial juncture in human history – at the transition between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods.

       This was a time of immense change, as humans began to settle in permanent communities and develop agriculture.

       The presence of such an advanced timekeeping system at this pivotal moment suggests that astronomical knowledge may have played a crucial role in this transition.

       The “mini ice age” caused by the comet saw many large animal species wiped out, forcing human populations to adapt.

       Some scientists theorize that these changes may have spurred the development of agriculture and more complex societies – key steps in the birth of civilization as we know it.

       “This event might have triggered civilization by initiating a new religion and by motivating developments in agriculture to cope with the cold climate,” Dr. Sweatman explains.

       “Possibly, their attempts to record what they saw are the first steps towards the development of writing millennia later.”