Amazing Discovery at Karahan Tepe: POTTERY… from the PRE-POTTERY Neolithic?!?!

[@AncientArchitects]

If you’re interested in touring Türkiye / Turkey with me in 2025 - to see places like Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe - go to my website, scroll down, fill in the form and I’ll email you details when they’re available! Spaces will be limited and will fill fast: www.ancientarchitects.com

[@dreddykrugernew]

What I think is not thought of is this. Because of the huge amount of gazelle bones that they feasted on it looks like gazelle was there in huge numbers. So I think they used grains and helped spread them to use them more as bait for the herds. Why go hunting your meals when you can plant some grains outside your front door and shoot a gazelle for breakfast...

[@yellads]

Are you saying plant cultivation started before animal husbandry?

[@drtooth7505]

I’m in. Another excellent video

[@RAJohns]

These structures are simply the first “hinges” in that the knowledge required to build them were taken by the Caucasians to Western Europe. See Portugal’s 7,000 year old hinge.

[@PaxAlotin]

*Looks like these Neolithic people* -------- invented just about everything ---------- *including Clay based Tupaware*

[@arnhemseptember2009]

Totally fascinating. If they ever dig up my kitchen , they will classify it as a pre-dishwasher modernolitic site... 🙂

[@elizabethadkins7518]

😂😂😂😂❤

[@Crecganford]

A very interesting video, thank you for making this!

[@drtooth7505]

He is good. Will need to go on the tour

[@Crecganford]

@@drtooth7505 I heard all he does is talk footy and drink beer on those tours... wouldn't catch us doing that!

[@drtooth7505]

⁠The beer boys are always a problem. Serious sensible people are always the best on tour.

[@Crecganford]

@@drtooth7505 It was a good job none of those beer boys hung around with us whilst we were at the bar then whilst we were being sensible!

[@jeremiasrobinson]

How helpful. I happen to be working on a paper on this topic (the beginning of pottery in the Near East) right now for a class at Colorado State University. This gives me some more things to consider.Thanks!

[@AncientArchitects]

Thanks - the information on the Karahan Pottery is currently unpublished but it was confirmed in a personal communication with Dr Karul

[@bob_btw6751]

Fire rings with stones probably got chinked.with mud, which led to walls. The chinking got baked in the fire.rings.and.someone noticed and maybe made objects like animal toys for children. Those were probably the first fired "pottery" objects. One rhing led to another an plates wwr made and cups to hold, or grind, seeds or for sorting. Just people learning things step by step and combining things together to make something new and different.

[@chrisfarrell9894]

Examine 'Evidence That Demands A Verdict' by Josh McDowell, Volumes I & II

[@doncarlodivargas5497]

I am a totally illiterate when it come to archaeology, could you explain why we make this division with pottery? Me, as an illiterate do not quite get the importance, but perhaps it have something with storage? And when people had pottery they couldn't move around anymore? Is that it?

[@Narrowcros]

1-We are still called Middle East 2-All part of greater Mesopotmia

[@jaywilson4321]

Wwooooowwww Shaking up the History of Man every dang week!!

[@AncientArchitects]

And try and find the good stuff 😄

[@jaywilson4321]

@@AncientArchitects very much so, I always look for your newest, great stuff! Thank you

[@ric3hfishman565]

And now we know that there are 5 different biological non terrestrial species on the planet according to the latest hearings in congress 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@eh1702]

You have excelled yourself with these videos on the very early sites.

[@aricamberden]

Thanks for clearing up what pre pottery neolithic really means, this video was very informative and enjoyable. I hope you make more like this.

[@GeanieG]

Long-time subscriber here. 😄I always find your videos so interesting and informative. And often, they lead me down some rabbit hole, which I very much enjoy! Respect from Canada. 🍁

[@2MuchPurple]

Those pesky pre pottery neolithic folks! They refuse to be put into a box. Just like us, more or less.

[@AncientArchitects]

😂

[@BlockDefender]

Tbh I will complicity get in a cardboard box if I think I will fit

[@CyFr]

​@@BlockDefendercats don't typically worry if they fits or not.

[@kellystoner277]

CARE-UHH-HANN TEPPHAYYYY.... GO-BECK-LAY TEPPHAYYYY... MAYBE ONE OF THE SILLIEST BRIT ACCENT EVER? MAYBE UP THERE WITH THE MINISTRY OF SILLY WALKS? SILLY SILLY BRITS!

[@darrencampbell8817]

​@@kellystoner277 That's funny coming from a Neolithic land whale such as yourself. Shouldn't you be off grazing and grooming your tusks instead of bothering people on the internet?

[@alisn.7998]

Extremely interesting and informative.

[@wacojones8062]

Good summation

[@TWOCOWS1]

Thank you for continuing to record and show the new Mirazan sites (the original, local local name for the recent official government name). Mirazan means a "miracle maker". The local, childless Kurdish women give offerings at the hill, hoping for a child. The fertility myth of the hills still lingers. Mirazan is the meaningful, local name for this entire super old civilization/culture. A lot better than the silly name of Gobekli ("potbelly"), or Karahan ("black tribal chief", given to it by the ruling government there, instead of the meaningful local name of Sederi ,”three gates” . I hope you continue showing us more and more of the Mirazan sites as they get dug up

[@youtubernaz1scensoredbythe201]

Thank you for that info. The more I hear about this lost culture, the more interested I get...

[@TWOCOWS1]

@@youtubernaz1scensoredbythe201 Actually, thank you for noticing this and reading it. Pls give some credit to the natives of the land.

[@llr1784]

@@TWOCOWS1 I would love to hear more! You should write a book, I'll bet a lot of people would be really interested in hearing the local perspective.

[@TWOCOWS1]

@@llr1784 You are very nice. Thank you. There should be pressure on the writers and archeologist to use the meaningul and historic local name and report on the local people still revering these hills and their miraculous powers

[@llr1784]

@@TWOCOWS1 I couldn't agree more. Researchers need to show more humility and really listen to what the local people have to say. When you wrote about the local names, it really reminded me how much of the past is still preserved by the people who have been living with the memories all along.

[@ArcaneUniverse-24]

5:39 The content is so well-researched and detailed, from the visuals to the knowledge shared! Truly a treasure trove for learning. ❤

[@mspock7]

Thank you for the brief explanations of terminology, looking forward to many more.

[@The.Doofus]

They had a display of Gobleki Tepe at the Colosseum when I was lucky enough to have 3 nights in Rome this week, it was amazing to see an old structure like that showing history of even older structures.

[@BurtonShotton]

Here's a crazy thought: It will be the year 14,000 AD before the Flavian Amphitheater (Colosseum) is as old as Gobekli Tepe is now.

[@birtybonkers8918]

I think we will eventually find pottery much more widespread and earlier than we currently think it to be, albeit maybe quite crude. People were as smart then as they are now. The need for simple vessels was surely there. To shape and harden mud with fire is not beyond the creativity of ordinary people, I think, and necessity was the mother of invention then, as now. I think pottery has been “invented” many, many times in different places and times.

[@martincunliffe8555]

Thank you Matt! Always makes my day.

[@tonyd7996]

Absplutely great information been folllowing your chanel for many years and this puts into perspective im sure a lot of people are oblivious to . Thanks AA 🙏

[@Shoey77100]

this is the best short video about this subject I have seen, just the facts without being hobbled by outdated science, the period of time between about 14,000 bc and 9000 bc (in this region) is incredibly fascinating (and also thank you for sticking to science and not ever mentioning nonsense like ancient aliens)

[@wallacebiy]

I’m reading David Graeber and David Wengrows “ the Dawn of everything “ and there’s an interesting perspective on the variety of social structures that may have existed in this area and the different aspects and specialisations that occurred . Worth a read

[@kevinhickman6837]

An enlightening video! These ancient communities bring history to life for me. Thanks for your work in bringing this to us.

[@sarahcurtis693]

Great video! Thank you so much for the information. Very useful.

[@chiron14pl]

This is one I'll have to come back a second time to view as it's so full of important points to mark the evolution of human society at this early stage, thx

[@chrisg2307]

Love your work!!!

[@joconnor57]

Fascinating presentation! Thanks for putting all of the pre-pottery neolithic human development from the fertile crescent, in perspective. It is a complex and interesting mosaic that attempts to reconstruct how we developed as a species.

[@FredericLilly]

Explanations of terms clear, concise and much appreciated

[@rosemarycrane5137]

This video was very helpful, thank you!

[@barrywalser2384]

Good explanations. Thanks Matt!

[@PaulArtman]

Excellent explanation of this phenomenon. Thank you.

[@DivXDemonRik]

Great work, Thanks Indy.

[@Elstuderino]

The phrase every archeologist wants to hear 😂

[@tomlindsay4629]

Great information, thanks for posting!

[@davidwright3702]

'Curious being' channel postulates that the 'pinecones' on the anunakki statues are pollen pods being used to pollinate date palms.

[@kdurukal]

Teşekkürler.

[@dragonfox2.058]

Seems to be a clear line from working with plaster to working it into containers. What a time to be alive, hey!? Nothing but innovation

[@AncientArchitects]

It was some a key time for human innovation 👍

[@kdurukal]

A very instructive video.Thanks.

[@Randy7th]

I just find it hard to believe that humans developed architecture before they figured out how to store items like water and grain...

[@TheARguy15]

Awesome! Another fine job AA

[@AncientArchitects]

Thank you 🙏

[@BnaBreaker]

Very fascinating! Perhaps this is just my ignorance showing, and obviously there has to be an origin for everything, but it doesn't surprise me that they had some form of pottery. The notion that these people were there carving these elaborate sculptures of boars and whatnot, but that it never occurred to any of them to sculpt a vessel to put their stuff into, just seems so bizarre to me. lol

[@Deppel57]

I wonder if clay was not available nearby?

[@charles.e.g.]

We consistently underestimate our species. We were much smarter and much more creative, much earlier than we give ourselves credit for.

[@random2829]

And VERY much older!

[@ArmyJay]

Great video, thanks for keeping us up to date on the Neolithic developments in the Levant. I reckon i’ve learned more from you than any other Utube channel. It made me imagine what the reaction was to the first time and to the first person who picked up some wet “mud” - what we now call ‘clay’ - and shaped it into a bowl or some such vessel, and put it in a fire. They must’ve thought he/she was mad… followed by ‘genius’ or more likely ‘Magic’.

[@eh1702]

People still do cook fish and small game in wet clay. Seals in all the juices - ancient tinfoil. Or a disposable mini-oven. Plus if you’re careful how you crack it open, a plate too. Campers and hikers even in western countries still do this. They’re already using mud-brick to make houses, and they must observe what happens sometimes when a house burns down, that the mudbrick gets harder. It’s not a big jump from that to the stone ovens that you see in the video, mortaring and sealing them with clay. People would start noticing that you get something easier to build up, and also more permanent than disposable fish-kettles if you put in some of the old already-fired broken crumbs or sand (i.e. grog) to bulk up the wet stuff. Labour-saving, reusable pottery! Also, as he said, they were making “architectural” storage vessels out of plaster. So pottery is definitely something they could have achieved in increments.

[@hypsyzygy506]

I'm sure children have always played with water and clay.

[@eh1702]

@@hypsyzygy506 The difference is what happens when clay gets cooked for a few hours.

[@scrubber]

Thank you....great content....keep up the good work!

[@thomasnewcomb2079]

Love your work!!

[@jeffbridges5876]

Great video, excellently explained.

[@aidanmacdougall9250]

Great video and explainer. I do wish they would update these 50 year old terms though, especially as you also have the mesolithic in Europe but not in the fertile crescent. Something that would work almost universally would be helpful as in the Americas I believe development also happened very differently, like bypassing the Iron age! Thanks again for all your great work. 👍🗿🌝🦴

[@AncientArchitects]

Maybe something like Proto-Neolithic

[@Dan-DJCc]

Making the floor covering out of plaster-like material would be an early application of lithic technology that could point to how pottery and plaster was developed. Look at the flooring. And if they could fire lime to 1000 C, they could certainly kiln pottery if they had thought to do so.

[@hypsyzygy506]

Canals, aqueducts and qanats lined with clay are waterproofed, minimising leaks.

[@debbralehrman5957]

Thanks this is helpful.👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 🍂🍁🍂

[@orchidorio]

Very helpful to me! I like the ancient times. Something I have been thinking about for a while. There was no electricity. The nights were always dark. Completely, except the stars.

[@brianriley5108]

The similarities between the Tepe sites and those found in South Africa are significant. It'd be great if we could get the two groups together.

[@AncientArchitects]

I don’t know a lot about South Africa - something to research in the future for sure!

[@paintfixer]

Look at S. Africa on google earth. There are 1000s of old terraced hills but I could never find any sign of a city or settlement nearby.

[@anatomicallymodernhuman5175]

Yep, that was clarifying. Thank you.

[@edgarsnake2857]

Great overview of ancient human development. It's a bit confusing...just like people. Thanks, Matt.

[@jwebb3337]

Great video! Thanks!

[@telebubba5527]

Thank you for giving more information on the term 'pre pottery'. It stands to reason that development was not a general proces, but that some sites differed in development and its hard to draw a straight line in the stages. I wonder what they used before earthenware pottery came around. It must have been mostly wood, wouldn't it? I gather that the need for vessels began earlier than earthenware pottery. What we have left now are only the stone and earthenware remnants and nearly everything made of organic materials has gone. It would be nice to learn if anybody has some idea's on that as well.

[@Eyes_Open]

Great stuff. Thanks for this. Even today, I would be dunking my head in swamp water for a drink if I was stuck in a survival situation. No ability to make any pottery in my modern skillset.

[@oldernu1250]

Fire and mud. Bet you could do it.

[@Fuzzmo147]

Could they have initially used mud? Sun baked for ages or even near their fire? Simple cups, plates, flat bowls etc then later realised it was better IN the fire for longevity purposes… There would be no traces of this non kilned ‘pottery’ would there…? Easily smashed to Smithereens

[@johngalt6525]

Absolutely 👍"disposables" . ​@@Fuzzmo147

[@snopure]

They may have used animal organs or skins to store water.

[@toestub-uk4en]

The various eras of the Holocene have been characterized by very identifiable, specific layers in the geologic record. In keeping with this standard yardstick I propose calling the current hominid era the Plasticene.

[@SchoolforHackers]

*Ouch*

[@alecfromminnenowhere2089]

Thanks for your use of maps in the video.

[@slasamsara]

This was great

[@johnswindale9115]

Thank you, the mud is starting to clear. Your No1 should have ended "so far" things have changed so much over the lasr 10 years. Look forward to your feeds.

[@WestOfEarth]

It's stunning how sophisticated the material sciences were at this time. How did they discover the recipe for white ware???

[@MarkGovern]

Someone would have invented/discovered it.

[@TheImmortalArt]

That's so cool!

[@HT-zx8dn]

Civilization has started around Göbekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe region

[@UkuleleBobbyKemp]

That's excellent thanks Matt, and really interesting/informative... Q: So is it fair to say, that the *definition* of Pre-Pottery Neolithic societies, relates more to the 'prevailing attitudes' of the inhabitants at that time? (eg. if it can be seen that they are aiming towards a more sedentary existance and lifestyle). ...as opposed to being defined merely by the physical evidence found, (ie. wether there's pottery or signs of early agriculture...). And if so, I guess the terms 'Pre-Pottery' and 'Neolithic' are almost used as Guidelines, to describe what typically *might* be found?... (🙏🏻 - don't sweat this Matt - just interested to know if I've understood you correctly... 🤪). Anyways, thanks again matey - this is really dfascinating stuff! Bobby 🐁

[@user-wk1mw9nj3i76]

You had some great photos of artifacts plus maps of the Natufian culture, plus other sites, but allowed so little time to see each screen that I had to go back and rerun the segments, hitting pause on each window in order to look at the details. Otherwise, a very interesting video.

[@hexadecimal7300]

No way anyone who could build these places could not do pottery, does not make sense.

[@Wstarlights]

True humanity is always beyond amazing - all the things we will never know, among the amazing things we might one day!

[@lynnmitzy1643]

❤ thank you Matt

[@AncientArchitects]

Thank you!

[@jimmywr32]

great video

[@janerkenbrack3373]

Cultivating crops wouldn't have been necessary until wild crops were no longer sufficient to feed the population. So harvesting wild grains could have gone on for millennia. And when cultivation started it was probably just assisting nature by, perhaps, diverting water to increase yield, or when people started to notice new crops growing where old grains had been disposed of. And cultivation surely followed developing storage techniques and methods. What would be the point of growing more of something if you couldn't keep it? In any case, having a regular supply of grain would lead to both longer periods staying in one place, and it would provide enough calories to expand the population. Adapting to grain consumption, then grain storage, then semi-permanent settlements, then population growth, then cultivation of crops, and the beginning of agriculture. This might also be a time when people began calculating quantities and needs. Thus begins math and record keeping.

[@SchoolforHackers]

Well said.

[@GriLtCheeZ]

Thank you!

[@staticgrass]

Those hunter gatherers and their temple building pottery making lifestyle. These people more like commuters than nomads. I can’t wait for mainstream archaeology to move the goal posts again. This is brilliant.

[@NicklasJohansson-n8x]

There is no goal in archaeology. Until you find something you can't claim there is. Let me guess... Lost civilisation fan?

[@itsnot_stupid_ifitworks]

It must be challenging not being able to understand anything that isn't 100% black and white

[@MarcRichmond-op9ed]

Love it!

[@Intercaust]

Excellent info. I feel smarter.

[@stargate1555]

The fact that the ancients had time to make drawings, etchings, and artworks show that their food supply was regular and could sustained them for long periods of time allowing them the free time to create these art works instead of having to dedicate 100% of their time for hunting or growing food grains. Very telling of the time period.

[@mospeada1152]

I would like to commend the governing body of Turkey for allowing the discovery and continued studies of these important historic sites.

[@billstream1974]

As we find more and more, everything we believe will be shattered.

[@johncurtis920]

No pun intended? Heh!

[@alden1132]

Into...sherds?! 🤪

[@macgonzo]

No, everything we believe will not be shattered. Change is at the very heart of science. Science is only ever our best understanding of objective reality, based on what we currently know. As what we know changes, so to does our objective understanding of everything. There's nothing "shattering" about this process. Sometimes science is fast, most of the time it's very slow, gradually building up what we know, and testing, testing, testing, and double checking those tests.

[@scumskimmer]

This is fascinating. Thanks for the list of online resources but could you share a bibliography of up to date books on this whole area of early human history, if you've got one? Thanks!

[@magimike1618]

Pottery existed from the early days of humanity. If there is humanity, there is pottery. There's no real surprise here.

[@marwinsnerd-o-rama1238]

??? So how about the 280000 years of mankind before we had pottery, we werent humans or what???

[@marcv2648]

I find the white ware to be very interesting. I'm fascinated by how foundational the invention of pottery is. An ancient invention that had a massive impact on quality of life across the planet. Also the thought of a sedentary society with a number of clever tools and innovations, yet a society in which the innovation of pottery does not exist. You have to imagine that for some time, the idea of pottery was known, but the cost of producing it may have been higher than benefit of using it. Then there must have been tipping points where making pottery really began to pay off.

[@derbierschoff]

Hey, nice video and explanation! Have you been to the World Neolithik Congress?

[@yodaco]

POTTERY… from the PRE-POTTERY Neolithic?!?! DUN DUN DUUUUN!!! (Dramatic Sound Effect)

[@AllotmentDiggers]

Wood pots and bowls would of been my first choice of tools

[@TheImmortalArt]

Awesome!

[@douginorlando6260]

Pottery, agriculture and permanent settlements are 3 concepts that defy black and white definitions. It appears that clay based pottery post dates white ware. But white ware is a more advanced technology than pressing wet clay into a bowl shape and hardening it in a fire. Pre pottery Neolithic seems more site specific and the particular definition of pottery than a time era. At best if pottery is used as a definition of an era, then it needs to include a tolerance on start and end dates to account for disparities between archeological sites at the same dated age. I also suspect very large pottery cisterns were sometimes made in sections cemented together. One mold could form 8 identical pottery pieces. Each piece forming a 45 degree section of a large circular container would then be cemented together, and made waterproof. The alternative is firing a huge pottery cistern which poses its own difficulties.

[@georgemohr7532]

Very interesting. What conclusions can be made, if any in regards to the development language?

[@davidwright3702]

'Curious being' postulates that the handbags on pillar ?43 are animal trap pits.

[@FinDi90]

Thank you to your friend for asking!

[@Hiddensecret9]

the discovery at Karahan Tepe challenges a long-held classification, suggesting that the Neolithic period in the Near East may be more complex and varied than the rigid labels suggest. This discovery encourages a re-evaluation of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and shows that our understanding of ancient societies is constantly evolving with new finds.

[@mrapistevist]

Good job.

[@kamakita8698]

Omg, I'm absolutely mind blown about the white ware! The invention of quick lime is so much greater than pottery! And you casually mention it like it's nothing. Unbelievable! They heated lime to more than 1000°C! Mankind only achieved heating to these levels again when making steel. Or am I mistaken here?

[@citguero1]

F..k How Interesting!!😉 wonder if we will also find some 16,000 yo Bronze artifacts eventually

[@growthisfreedomunitedearth7584]

We need to think of history as one thing phasing into another, not separation between ages. Everything evolves, it doesn't just change.

[@Lemma01]

Obviously. I've predicted this - on this channel- it's surely the last nail in the coffin of the academic tradition, that worships it's own ancestors. Guesswork, based on conjecture. The shabbiest form of science we're expected to accept. Thanks, Matt.

[@paulblase3955]

Could you do a video sometime comparing what was happening in the Middle East vs what was happening in China, Africa, and the Americas? I presume that China, India, the Levant, and Europe all talked to each other.

[@SchoolforHackers]

Hear hear! It’s hard together a unified world picture by era.

[@Lodge-Of-Lore]

Great!

[@wkdarchaeology5653]

High Rocks on the East Sussex/Kent border produced potsherds within the same stratified layers of Mesolithic flints. Archaeologists, James Money was convinced the pottery was contemporary with the flints. However mainstream archaeology (at that time - 1950’s/60’s) did not accept Money’s interpretation! No further consideration has been given to the High Rocks site since the original excavations, which my late father was part of.

[@eh1702]

Imagine how magical pottery must have seemed: to take earth, water and fire and … make a kind of stone!

[@emmetsweeney9236]

Just proves that the culture was not pre-pottery, as I suspected all along. The culture of Karahan Tepe and Gobekli Tepe show striking cultural parallels with Early Dynastic Egypt.

[@sergiorodriguezballestero714]

For a 15 minutes KZbin video, the explanation was great..!!! Finally I understand why it's called that way!!! Matt, your channel should be added to the educational grid in schools, really!!!!

[@lauchlanguddy1004]

amazing....

[@AncientArchitects]

Enjoy!

[@boba2783]

Don’t forget 100k crop seeds where found in Isreal from 23k years ago

[@oldernu1250]

Ohalo 2. Rising sea levels has covered old artifacts.

[@jackoverton8343]

Give me link title for 23k year old seeds. Can't find it

[@SchoolforHackers]

There are articles about 2000 year old date seeds found in Israel. Russians found 32,000 year old seeds from a squirrel cache.

[@jackoverton8343]

@@SchoolforHackers yeah, i think he was mistaken.

[@日光-d8k]

Great video! Archeology isn't my field, though, as someone who knows a lot about contemporary (and historic) hunter gatherers, I'd say that it feels like there's a strong, almost implicit, bias against the possibility of settled hunter gatherers being *the norm* throughout human prehistory rather than the exception. Even today a non negligible fraction of hunter gatherers is sedentary (either semi sedentary or fully) in spite of them living mostly on very marginal land. As such, I personally don't really find discovery of pottery (or monumental architecture) before agriculture that surprising. I think a lot of people would benefit from reading a book like "Lifeways of Hunter Gatherers", it talks about such sedentary hunter gatherers and does away with many misconceptions about them. Is contact to Dr Karul available publicly? I'd love to ask him about his thoughts on potential similarities between residence of those ancient sites and more modern hunter gatherers.