The world's oldest temple was built by hunter-gatherers before the invention of agriculture

Göbekli Tepe, located in modern-day Turkey, features massive T-shaped limestone pillars weighing up to 20 tons that were erected around 9500 BC. These monoliths are carved with intricate reliefs of foxes, scorpions, and lions, requiring the coordinated labor of at least 200 people. This discovery upends the traditional historical narrative that agriculture was the catalyst for complex society; here, the temple came before the city.