New discoveries on the origin and the survival of civilization

Dennis Mangan links a hopeful story about the future of mankind, and an astonishing story about the ancient history of mankind and perhaps the origin of civilization itself.

First, the BBC tells how birth rates in the country of Georgia were increased by 20 percent: the patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church said he would personally baptize any baby born to parents of more than two children, and the baby had to be born after the patriarch’s pledge. Dennis Mangan (who happens to be a non-believer) comments:

[I]t’s the Georgian Orthodox Church, so the religion and the patriarch both have nationalistic roles. The Patriarch’s appeal to have more babies spoke both to the people’s religious faith and their patriotism. Check out the flag, which tells you all you need to know about the Georgian nexus of religion and nation.

If a nation’s people are convinced that having children is more than a private, self-interested choice, if they feel that they are contributing their children to the nation, they’ll have more of them.

Second, Tom Knox writing in the Mail reports the discovery of an advanced archeological site in Turkey with standing megaliths and elaborately carved stone columns reminiscent of Stonehenge and Newgrange in Britain and the structures of ancient Egypt. Take a look:

A frieze from Gobekli Tepe

However (are you sitting down?), the Turkish site, called Gobekli Tepe, is 12,000 years old. That is 7,000 years older than Stonehenge and Newgrange and 7,500 years older than the pyramids of Giza.

Which means that civilization began long, long before we previously believed, even before the invention of agriculture.

If what the scientists are saying is true, if the structure in the above picture is really 12,000 years (which I personally find hard to believe), then this is one of the most astonishing things I’ve seen in my life.

Archeologists are calling the site the temple of the Garden of Eden. There are numerous parallels between the site and the biblical account that make the idea plausible.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 30, 2009 02:12 PM | Send