PREHISTORY: Ancient Mediterranean and Levant - RESEARCH and OUTREACH
ARTICLES
A MEGALITHIC ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
ADDICTION VULNERABILITY & the NEOLITHIC TRANSITION
A MEGALITHIC ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Could humanity’s earliest monumental ritual spaces have shaped our mental health today? Drawing on archaeology, archaeoacoustics, population genetics, neuroscience, and anthropology, the monograph argues that the first sacred architectures — built over 11,000 years ago at sites such as Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe — did more than organiz
Could humanity’s earliest monumental ritual spaces have shaped our mental health today? Drawing on archaeology, archaeoacoustics, population genetics, neuroscience, and anthropology, the monograph argues that the first sacred architectures — built over 11,000 years ago at sites such as Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe — did more than organize ritual life. They altered human perception, reward systems, and social structures in ways that persist into the modern age.
MEGALITHS, MUSIC & the MIND
ADDICTION VULNERABILITY & the NEOLITHIC TRANSITION
A MEGALITHIC ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Researching a subject about prehistory that cannot be photographed or handled requires input from a wide range of disciplines combined with informed observation. Happily, Neuroscience is now filling in the gap of knowledge about the psycho-physiological impact of certain resonant sound which is present in the world's oldest monuments.
ADDICTION VULNERABILITY & the NEOLITHIC TRANSITION
ADDICTION VULNERABILITY & the NEOLITHIC TRANSITION
ADDICTION VULNERABILITY & the NEOLITHIC TRANSITION
An Ancient Approach to
Improving Modern Mental Health
Excerpt:
"With the Neolithic transition, a universal and largely predictable system of human life: one rooted in direct relationship with landscape, seasonality, and embodied ritual -- was diverted into unprecedented territory. The shift was creative, generative, and ultimately tran
An Ancient Approach to
Improving Modern Mental Health
Excerpt:
"With the Neolithic transition, a universal and largely predictable system of human life: one rooted in direct relationship with landscape, seasonality, and embodied ritual -- was diverted into unprecedented territory. The shift was creative, generative, and ultimately transformative, but also fundamentally uncharted. Understanding that transition matters. At the very least, it allows us to approach many modern struggles with a disarming clarity: an honest 'that explains a lot'.”
WHY IS ANCIENT GÖBEKLI TEPE SUCH A BIG DEAL?
At 11,500 years old, the site called Göbekli Tepe represents hundreds of prehistoric ritual sites that have been detected in southeastern Turkiye: an area formerly known as Anatolia. They are the oldest monuments in the world and they have been lying undisturbed and hidden underground for about ten thousand years! Although not as flashy as the gold of ancient Egypt, the treasure of Göbekli Tepe and its sister sites is priceless knowledge about how we came to be who we are.
It is now estimated that about one third of the earth’s current population, including most folks now living in Europe and in the New World, are descended at least partly from “Anatolian Farmer” ancestors who later migrated outward from this area of the “Fertile Crescent”.
Considered with scientific evidence from related sites and many fields of study, a haunting story unfolds. It is more vast than archaeology alone can relate. We are doing what we can to tell it.
ONE THOUSAND STEPS & 12,000 YEARS!
That's what it took to bring humankind to western "civilization" as it is known in the 21st century.
If you're going to tell part of that story, you should understand the context from a variety of angles.
It's full of surprises, fraught with conflicting information and urban mythology.
Consider the oldest buildings in the world: from Karahan Tepe & Göbekli Tepe to Hal Saflieni & Ggantija to megalithic Stonehenge. We have been there, talking to folks and assembling solid scientific evidence since 1990.
ARCHAEOACOUSTICS (of course) * ARCHAEOLOGY * ARCHITECTURE * ETHNOMUSICOLOGY * EVOLUTIONARY ANTHROPOLOGY * GENETICS * NEUROSCIENCE * PHILOSOPHY * SOCIOLOGY * & more
OTSF now has discovery-level interpretation about post–Göbekli Tepe population movement and development that: is grounded in broad cross-site synthesis and isn’t in mainstream discussion. We also have original site photos, video, rare recorded interviews, studio sets, replicas, models, and half a ton of scientific reports
Learning from the Stone Age
live presentation program
A highly innovative learning tool, designed and created with authentic normal human intelligence; presenting important prehistoric developments and the people of the time in a way that brings them to life in a sensible way a child can understand. Plenty of audio/visuals, discussion points and interactive exercises.
Humanities and Social Studies
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Now calling on all interested folks to register for a new think-group.
In response to new discoveries, OTSF is acting on the well-informed suggestion that: "hunter-gatherer behaviors could inform experimental intervention trials in homes, schools and nurseries." Now sourcing help. Drop us a line to volunteer!
