Ancient Anatolia: Cradle of Civilization?
As humans, we’ve progressed from living in primitive dwellings to villages, then full-scale civilizations. This shift has been gradual but certainly significant.
How exactly did the concept of civilization come about? Unlike simple villages, civilizations are much more structurally and socially advanced. Let’s dive deeper into what makes up a civilization and where the first civilization originated.
What is a civilization?
A civilization is the most advanced stage of human development and societal organization. While experts debate the primary characteristics of a civilization, the main attributes include:
- Cities or “urban settlements”
- Social classes
- Agriculture and animal husbandry
- Government
- Trade and production
- Public buildings
- Metallurgy
- Written language
- Technology/scientific development
- Monumental architecture
It’s important to keep in mind not all of these attributes are necessary for a society to be characterized as a civilization. For example, the Incas did not have a written language, yet they were a highly advanced civilization. Therefore, it may be better to think of these attributes as guidelines for measuring the advancement of a civilization.
Where did civilizations come from?
The term “cradle of civilization” is synonymous for “birthplace of civilization.” In other words, it’s a place where civilization began.
Some experts believe there was no one single “cradle,” but rather several civilizations developed independently. Several origins of civilization include Caral, Peru; Egypt; and China.
However, there is one particular region that’s widely accepted as the original — and perhaps the sole — cradle of civilization: Anatolia, which is located in modern day Turkey.
Anatolia: Cradle of Civilization?
Although it is difficult to pinpoint a singular cradle of civilization, there is some evidence to suggest that Anatolia may have been the birthplace of civilization as we know it today.
First and foremost, scientific findings suggest Anatolia played a huge role in agricultural development and may have acted as a “hub” for spreading farming techniques westward into Europe.
Secondly, scientists have traced the origins of ancient grains — specifically, einkorn wheat — to Anatolia. This is particularly significant because of the “technical complexity and the culinary manipulation” that are necessary to turn these grains into staples. Therefore, the ability to produce cereals signifies a highly advanced society.
Anatolia’s proximity to Europe likely helped facilitate the spread of agriculture to westerners, but how did the people of Anatolia become so advanced in the first place?
The Advancements of Anatolia
Anatolia was a hub for advanced civilizations including the Hittites, the Assyrians, and the Greeks, but before the rise of these civilizations, there was Gobekli Tepe.
Gobekli Tepe is an ancient site that has been called “The World’s First Temple.” It features technology and architecture that were highly advanced for the times, considering it was built some 11,000 years ago.
Research suggests outsiders may have influenced and inspired the construction of Gobekli Tepe through what is known as a “transfer of technology.” Ancient civilization researcher Graham Hancock has explored this idea in-depth, arguing a third party taught advanced skills to the native humans of the area.
Some believe the Annunaki bestowed their knowledge upon the Anatolia region. This group of deities is frequently referenced in ancient texts, in which they are praised for their sophisticated scientific and mathematical abilities.
Did the concepts of farming and agriculture also come from the Annunaki? If this is indeed the case, it means we can credit these mystical beings for skills and techniques we still rely on today. Moreover, it means that the Annunaki played an enormous role in the foundation of civilization itself.
There is certainly plenty of information to absorb with regard to how civilizations came to be. Based on what we know about Anatolia and the Annunaki, we can assume both may have played a big role in the foundation and evolution of civilization. As with any complex topic, we encourage you to continue to explore this subject on your own.
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Ancient Footprints Evidence of 'Ant People' of Hopi Indian Lore
Ancient footprints buried for thousands of years are revealing their true date of creation thousands of years earlier than we thought and shaking up the conventional timeline. Could this validate Hopi stories of ancient Ant Men?
White Sands National Park in New Mexico today, is mostly chalky white desert and sand dunes, but thousands of years ago this was a temperate zone centered around the massive Lake Otero filled with flourishing plants, wildlife, and now we can confirm, humans. Ancient footprints originally discovered in 2009 have been radiocarbon dated to be from 21,000-23,000 years ago. Previous estimates of human habitation in this area were 13,000-16,000 years ago.
Ancient stone tools, footprints, and rock layers are difficult, if not impossible, to date. But scientists have found seeds from ancient spiral seed grass, mingled with some footprints. Those seeds were able to be carbon dated, proving humans were in the area and thriving thousands of years earlier than previously thought.
Jack Cary, researcher and author of “Paranormal Planet” commented on the significance of this discovery. “This is a huge point to shove back human migration. That means that you’re going to have to rewrite everything that’s associated in our science related to human migration. That is a huge problem for our anthropologists and for accepted science as a whole,” Cary said. “As investigators into ancient mysteries, this is one of the biggest things that we could ever discover because now we have absolute, inarguable proof that humans were there at this exact period of time.”
Why are investigators of ancient mysteries so excited about this find?
“This is the same area, the same place, and the same time that the Hopi Indians claimed that the so-called Ant People took them underground during a massive global cataclysm because the world basically caught fire according to their ancient, historical oral traditions. And this same event, strangely enough, can be found in the Book of Enoch when he describes a cometary impact. All of this would date back to around the same time period,” Cary said.
“And we have to remember that in Hopi language ‘Anu’ means ‘Ant’ and ‘Naki’ means ‘Friend,’ so the word Annunaki to the Hopi means ‘Ant Friends.’ And it was these ‘Ant Friends’ who twice took them underground, the second being when the last Ice Age actually melted creating a global flood that has been recorded in ancient histories worldwide. Now we have radiocarbon dated proof that there was in fact, human habitation in the right place, at the right time to make those oral histories viable.”
