Gordon Childe's Neolithic Revolution Theory with Klaus Schmidt's Theory

The human species has long used superior cognitive abilities to survive and thrive over predators and prey in a variety of environments. Nearly as inherent to the human condition as that cognitive ability is the need to understand when, where, and how it developed. The foremost anthropological evidence remains limited, but it estimates that the complex social orders of modernity began over 15,000 years ago while the Earth was still wrapped in an ice age. Klaus Schmidt, an archaeologist most noted for his work at Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, has recently shed evidence on the complexity of those societies. From the early nomads to eventual settlers, his theories on the sociocultural development of the human species are in conflict with one of the 20th century’s foremost archaeologists and anthropological theorists, V. Gordon Childe. The primary disconnect is the role that spirituality or religion played in these early societies, and whether or not it played a role in developing complex social orders. The theories share many commonalities, but it is evident that religious ideology was just as defining thousands of years ago as it is today.

Childe was an Australian archaeologist that specialized in European prehistory, and his sociocultural theories that resulted formed much of the popular thought on the beginning of so-called “modern history.” The essence of his theory on the growth of a “Neolithic Revolution” lies in the development of large urban settlements through the consolidation of many small, kin-based agricultural villages. According to Childe, “It was only after the revolution – but immediately thereafter – that our species really began to multiply at all fast” (Mann, 2011). As these villages came together, surpluses of agricultural production facilitated civic spending on urban infrastructure and the early forms of government. As a result of this urbanization ruling class, social orders, predictive sciences, and the growth of the “state” precipitated.

Childe’s views on the development of sociocultural development remain popular, but the discovery of villages in modern-day Israel and Palestine shed light on a novel understanding of the human species. Known as the Natufian villages, archaeologists date the settlements back around 15,000 years ago. Compounding this new evidence of early societies is Schmidt’s work at Gobekli Tepe, an archaeological mound in southeastern Turkey that dates back 11,000 years. The hundreds of T-shaped stone pillars arranged in circles are purported to be the world’s first religious ceremonial temples.

Gobekli Tepe is an interesting piece in the puzzle of our early sociocultural beginnings. No evidence exists that this was a residential site, with many of these circular arrangements buried on top of each other and ceremonial animal bones littering the different levels. This is indicative of a sacred site that took considerable effort to get to. Furthermore, many of the stone structures weigh as much as 20 tons. Whether they were hewn on location or moved to the site, they were constructed before the domestication of animals. This means that a large number of laborers were incentivized to produce extraordinary amounts of work for reasons other than the gathering of food and water, or protection from external prey.

The site is located near what has been theorized to be the beginning of modern agriculture. This assumes that the activity at Gobekli Tepe occurred before the advent of agriculture, which further supports Schmidt’s theory that religious tradition predated an agricultural “Neolithic Revolution.” This does not necessarily negate Childe’s theories, though, as there are limits to what modern carbon dating and DNA profiling can tell us about the human family tree. Agriculture still could have played an important part in these early communities. One thing is clear, though: religious tradition occurred much earlier than Childe theorized.

While new archaeological data points to interesting trends in the socio-cultural growth of our species, it is evident that agriculture and religion played both played important roles. The simple fact that religion remains so ingrained in modern culture, in different forms, points to its importance in pushing early humans out of the ice age. Agriculture, it seems, may not have been a precursor to religious belief. While Schmidt’s work has shown the importance of religion to humans, it may have been another complex ideological basis of thought that kept Childe from accepting this view of sociocultural evolution. Childe was outwardly Marxist, a political understanding that sees religion as an outdated and unreliable practice. Whether or not this informed a biased opinion, one thing remains concrete: physical evidence speaks volumes.

Reference

Mann, C. C. The birth of religion. National Geographic Magazine, June 2011.