Between the Time of the Flood and Göbekli Tepe
During the Göbekli Tepe Era
After Göbekli Tepe
The First Merlins?
Elsewhere in the World….
Between the Time of the Flood and Göbekli Tepe
In the world prior to Göbekli Tepe, people spread out in small family communities for hunting, fishing, and gathering.
Europe
Remember those Reindeer People who migrated to France and Spain? They eventually migrated to Britain. The earliest tools were found on the Suffolk Coast. They shared Britain with mammoths, rhinos, and giant beavers.
It seems that humans disappeared during the last ice period. Britain was then recolonized.
Although southern Europe had a much better climate and sites of obsidian, there was no significant culture there.
The Americas
We have already talked about the Pre-Clovis Culture of the Eastern United States which was begun by the cultures that swept from northwestern Asia westward through Europe.
That same group of Reindeer People later swept eastward through Russia to enter Alaska by walking over the Bering Strait when it was frozen during the last ice period. They migrated throughout the western and southern United States.
As part of this migration, the Folsom Culture reigned in the Great Plains of the United States, as indicated by a unique leaf-shaped point. These people hunted an extinct form of bison as well as smaller animals. Later, these bison were killed more safely and efficiently by running entire herds over a cliff.
Later, the Clovis culture developed as defined by their invention of the Clovis point. Chipped from brittle stone such as jasper, chert, and obsidian, it was lance shaped and slicing sharp. It was four inches long, one-third of an inch thick, and fluted for attachment to a shaft. The chipping alternated on both faces. It has been found throughout the western United States and as far south as Venezuela.
The Clovis people were hunter-gatherers. They primarily hunted small mammals, but Clovis points have been found among mammoth ribs. It is thought that the Clovis people dared attack these dangerous animals because they were already dying and were easily found near water holes.
The Clovis point was the first invention made in America!
Asia and Africa
There were no significant cultures during this time period.
Summary
You can see that other than the invention of a tool here or a new weapon point there, no culture developed in the world between the time of the flood and Göbekli Tepe.
During the Göbekli Tepe Era
The Egyptian Faiyum Culture became the first culture to develop after the time of the flood. It inhabited the area of the Faiyum Oasis near Lake Qaroun, which is all that remains of an ancient inland sea. It is southwest of Giza. Communities grew from single tribes to several small tribes traveling together.
In the south central Mexican Valley of Tehuacán, people began to experiment with a grain called teosinte. This work eventually resulted in maize, or corn!
In Mesopotamia, wild cereals were now cultivated throughout this time period, but that did not mean a less mobile culture.
There were no significant advancements in Britain, China, India, or Greece.
After Göbekli Tepe
At the end of the Swiderian reign in Göbekli Tepe, kilns were once again built in Mesopotamia to fire pottery. Prehaps Swiderian magi were responsible for this.
The Faiyum people now depended on agriculture as well as hunting and gathering. Most of the settlements were permanent, not mobile. The people built reed huts with underground cellars for grain storage. Cattle, sheep, and goats were domesticated. Basket and pottery making developed.
Different tribes lived together permanently. During this time, tribal chieftains were endowed with the power to rule.
The First Merlins?
I often wonder if the Swiderians continued to absorb and teach knowledge. Were they the first magi, contributing to many cultures as itinerant wizards? Were they the first Merlins?
Is that why distant and disparate cultures often developed similar structures, cultural marks, and legends?
Photo credit: Arpit Rastogi on Unsplash
