History in the Remaking - Temple complex in Turkey that predates
pyramids rewriting story of human evolution 2010 02 26 By
Patrick Symmes | Newsweek.com They call it potbelly hill, after
the soft, round contour of this final lookout in southeastern
Turkey. To the north are forested mountains. East of the hill
lies the biblical plain of Harran, and to the south is the
Syrian border, visible 20 miles away, pointing toward the
ancient lands of Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent, the
region that gave rise to human civilization. And under our feet,
according to archeologist Klaus Schmidt, are the stones that
mark the spot—the exact spot—where humans began that ascent.
Standing on the hill at dawn, overseeing a team of 40 Kurdish
diggers, the German-born archeologist waves a hand over his
discovery here, a revolution in the story of human origins.
Schmidt has uncovered a vast and beautiful temple complex, a
structure so ancient that it may be the very first thing human
beings ever built. The site isn’t just old,