From Göbekli Tepe to the Nebelivka Temple: A Comparative Analysis of the Structural Components of the Oldest Temple Complexes in Asia and Europe

Abstract

In the past thirty years, monumental archaeological discoveries related to the oldest temple complexes in Asia and Europe have emerged on the global cultural stage. In 1995, the ancient temple complex of Göbekli Tepe, dating to the 9th millennium BC, was discovered in southeastern Türkiye. Seventeen years after the discovery of Göbekli Tepe, in 2012, an Eneolithic temple of the Trypillia culture, the Nebelivka Temple, was excavated in present-day Ukraine, dating to the 4 th millennium BC. Today, both temple complexes are recognized as the oldest religious centers in Asia and Europe, respectively. The findings from Göbekli Tepe and the Nebelivka Temple, along with accompanying materials, extend far beyond archaeology. They shed light on the history, culture, and religion of prehistoric times. It is the ancient religion that establishes connections between the two temple complexes, allowing us, as this study reveals, to transcend the material, seemingly disparate archaeological facts to understand the general characteristics of an organized religious system of the early agricultural type. This paper explores some specific similarities between the two temple complexes and their cultures overall. Both temples exhibit a shared spatial arrangement of key structural elements, and there is ideological affinity in the iconographic themes, symbols, and artifacts that were not used in other world cultures. This comparative analysis reveals patterns of religious interactions and parallels across different regions and even subcontinents over a significant period. In this study, the author comprehensively highlights the features of the oldest forms of religiosity, providing valuable information on the genesis and evolution of beliefs inherent to organized early agricultural communities. Such a specification of “Neolithic religion,” demonstrating signs of a global phenomenon in the ancient world, is a highly promising direction for modern science, relevant both for research in the Near East and European civilization. This research enriches our understanding of ancient cultures and provides valuable material for contemplating the role of religion in the development of human society as a whole, opening new perspectives for further scientific inquiry in this field.