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18 March 2010 | A Neolithic site in south-eastern Turkey is currently being excavated by archaeologists, who say it is likely the oldest temple in the world.
The site first came into the archaeologists’ knowledge in 1986, when a farmer working the fields in Sanliurfa stumbled upon a statuette in the ground, according to the Radikal newspaper, cited by the United Press International (UPI).
Archaeological excavations since then uncovered the foundation of a 12,000-year-old Neolithic Age temple, as well as carvings of pigs, foxes, snakes, fawns and headless humans.
The culture and beli
Transition to civilization
Main articles: Neolithic revolution and Cradle of Civilization
Further information: History of the world
The rise of agriculture, and domestication of animals, led to stable human settlements.
The path followed by humans in the course of history
Until c. 10,000 years ago, most humans lived as hunter-gatherers. They generally lived in small nomadic groups known as band societies. The advent of agriculture prompted the Neolithic Revolution, when access to food surplus led to the formation of permanent human settlements, the domestication of animals and the use of metal tools. Agriculture encouraged trade and cooperation, and led to complex society. Because of the significance of this date for human society, it is the epoch of the Holocene calendar or Human Era.
About 6,000 years ago, the first proto-states developed in Mesopotamia, Egypt's Nile Valley and the Indus Valleys.