'World's oldest temple' was a happenin' place

Ancient blades of volcanic rock hint that people came from far and wide 11,000 years ago

Ancient blades made of volcanic rock that were discovered at what may be the world's oldest temple suggest that the site in Turkey was the hub of a pilgrimage that attracted a cosmopolitan group of people some 11,000 years ago.

The researchers matched up about 130 of the blades, which would have been used as tools, with their source volcanoes, finding people would have come from far and wide to congregate at the ancient temple site, Gobekli Tepe, in southern Turkey. The blades are made of obsidian, a volcanic glass rich with silica, which forms when lava cools quickly.

The research was presented in February at the 7th International Conference on the Chipped and Ground Stone Industries of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic in Barcelona, Spain...

MSNBC.com: Science
Link 2: Göbekli Tepe pudo haber sido un lugar de reunión cosmopolita Related news: 6/10/11. Archaeologist argues world's oldest temples were not temples at all