Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Old Guys

Today's news brings research reports that A) warfare helped propelled the creation of large, complex societies; and B) that the human population explosion began before the advent of farming. That got me thinking about Göbekli Tepe, that pre-agricultural temple complex in Turkey. It alone necessitates the organization of large groups of hunter-gatherers for its construction. The archeologist in charge of the project put it this way: "First, temples; then, cites."

The warfare theory proponents didn't address religious issues, but, obviously, religion played a big part in uniting early peoples. It suggests, perhaps, an early marriage between warfare and religion; one which continues to this day.