Editing Göbekli Tepe (section)

==Chronology==
[[Radiocarbon dating]] shows that the earliest exposed structures at Göbekli Tepe were built between 9500 and {{BCE|9000}}, towards the end of the [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic A]] (PPNA) period.{{sfn|Dietrich et al.|2013}}{{sfn|Kinzel|Clare|2020|pp=32–33}} The site was significantly expanded in the early {{BCE|9th millennium}} and remained in use until around {{BCE|8000}}, or perhaps slightly later (the early [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic B]], PPNB).{{sfn|Kinzel|Clare|2020|pp=32–33}} There is evidence that smaller groups returned to live amongst the ruins after the Neolithic structures were abandoned.{{sfn|Kinzel|Clare|2020|pp=32–33}}

Schmidt originally dated the site to the PPN based on the [[typology (archaeology)|types of stone tools]] found there, considering a PPNA date "most probable".{{sfn|Schmidt|2000b|p=51}} Establishing its [[absolute dating|absolute chronology]] took longer due to methodological challenges.{{sfn|Dietrich|2011}}{{sfn|Dietrich|2016b}} Though the first two radiocarbon dates were published in 1998,{{sfn|Kromer|Schmidt|1998}} these and other samples from the {{archaeogloss|fill}} of the structure dated to the late 10th and early 9th millennium – 500 to 1000 years later than expected for a PPNA site.{{sfn|Dietrich|2011}} Schmidt's team explained the discrepancy in light of their theory that this material was brought to the site from elsewhere when it was abandoned, and so was not representative of the actual use of the structures.{{sfn|Dietrich|2011}}{{sfn|Dietrich|2016b}} They instead turned to a novel method of dating organic material preserved in the [[plaster]] on the structure's walls, which resulted in dates more consistent with a PPNA occupation, in the middle or even early {{BCE|10th millennium}}.{{sfn|Pustovoytov|2002}}{{sfn|Dietrich|Schmidt|2010}}{{sfn|Dietrich et al.|2013}} Subsequent research led to a significant revision of Schmidt's chronology, including the abandonment of the hypothesis that the fill of the structures was brought from elsewhere, and a recognition that direct dates on plaster are affected by the [[old wood effect]].{{sfn|Kinzel|Clare|2020|p=38}} Together with new radiocarbon dates, this has established the site's absolute chronology as falling in the period 9500 to {{BCE|8000}} – the late PPNA and PPNB.{{sfn|Clare|2020}}{{sfn|Kinzel|Clare|2020}}

=== Building phases ===
The preliminary, now abandoned,{{Sfn|Kinzel|Clare|2020|p=32}} stratigraphic model by Klaus Schmidt consisted of three architectural layers. The large circular enclosures were attributed to Layer III, dated to the {{BCE|10th millennium}} (PPNA). The smaller rectangular structures and the abandonment of the site were assigned to Layer II in the {{BCE|9th millennium}} (early to middle PPNB). Layer I consisted of all post-Neolithic activities up to the modern surface.{{sfn|Dietrich et al.|2013}}

The revised chronology consists of eight phases that span at least 1,500 years. It details the history of the large circular enclosures, including events that led to their alteration or abandonment, and the evolution of the domestic buildings surrounding them.{{Sfn|Kinzel|Clare|2020|p=32-33}}
* '''Phase 1''': The earliest settlement phase dates to the second half of the {{BCE|10th millennium}} and includes the first versions of enclosures A to D and round-oval domestic structures, which indicate a (semi) sedentary lifestyle.{{Sfn|Kinzel|Clare|2020|p=32}}
* '''Phase 2:''' In the second phase (early {{BCE|9th millennium}}) significant modifications of enclosures A-D were undertaken: New walls were erected, which incorporated the first monolithic T-shaped pillars. An increasing number of domestic structures were built, still mostly oval-round, though with a rising tendency for a rectangular floor plan.{{Sfn|Kinzel|Clare|2020|p=32}}
* '''Phases 3–5:''' In the early PPNB, the northern and western slopes saw the erection of rectangular (domestic) structures. They underwent multiple construction phases, for instance, the addition of benches with incorporated T-shaped pillar, and new inner walls resulting in more rectangular rooms. The large enclosures were modified as well. Walls were repaired and new ones added. Benches were placed against the interior sides of phase 2 walls.{{Sfn|Kinzel|Clare|2020|p=32-33}}<br> At the end of the early PPNB, a slope slide inundated the lower lying structures, flushing sediments and domestic rubble (likely including midden and burials) downhill. This caused extensive damage to enclosure D, and led to stabilization works in Phase 5. Building C was reconstructed for the last time, and a terrace wall was placed above it, to prevent future slope-slides. Nonetheless, a second major slope-slide event occurred, which likely resulted in enclosure D being abandoned in the late {{BCE|9th millennium}}.{{Sfn|Kinzel|Clare|2020|p=32-33}}
* '''Phases 6 and 7:''' Building activity gradually declined in phases 6 and 7 (late 9th to early {{BCE|8th millennium}}). The loss of enclosures B and D may have led to the construction of building G and the "Lion Pillar Building". In Phase 7 another terrace wall was constructed in a last attempt to stabilize the northern slope.{{Sfn|Kinzel|Clare|2020|p=33}}
* '''Phase 8:''' In the final occupation period, small habitation structures were built within the remains of the abandoned Neolithic village.{{Sfn|Kinzel|Clare|2020|p=33}}