Something or someone of great importance and influence had convinced and motivated these neolithic hunter-gatherers to put their way of life on hold and come together as a group to undertake such a tremendous project as Göbekli Tepe. This is likely the first time hundreds of prehistoric peoples had formed an organized collective in order to build a religious sanctuary. The work would've taken years to accomplish and the temple would be built upon for many centuries more. The result of this work is believed to have spurred civilization as we know it today. But what beliefs or legends could have generated such a monumental task? In Part Three of our series, we examine the hypotheses put forth in Andrew Collins' book, Göbekli Tepe, Genesis of the Gods: The Temple of the Watchers and the Discovery of Eden. With his comprehensive and detailed research, Collins goes beyond the boundaries of interpretation where Processual archaeologists would not stray. Could the memory of a global, natural catastrophe which nearly wiped out humanity be the impetus for creating a shrine to assuage the gods into sparing them more devastation? Could the builders have been directed by foreign and mysterious visitors who seemed to have knowledge of the heavens and history far beyond their own? If they did indeed fear destruction from the cosmos, then a connection from them to us could be made, because we're subject to those very same dangers.

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