THE SPHINX

As a general academic scholar, I have to ask myself whether the evident extreme age for the Great Sphinx that I am suggesting makes sense archaeologically and culturally. Dating this unique sculpture to the Seventh or Sixth Millennium B.C. (or perhaps even earlier)-is this compatible with the broad context of known archaeological remains? In other words, is there any context or precedent for a 7,000-or 9,000-year-old (or even older) colossal man-made monument? What were other Mediterranean peoples and cultures like at this time? What types of structures were they creating? In taking a quick look at the relevant archaeological literature, I found that in Egypt for the period from about 10 000 to 5000 B.C. there is little known today that would suggest there were peoples capable either technologically or organizationally-of carving the Great Sphinx or building its associated temples.[21] However, the relatively simple Neolithic sites known in Egypt dating to this period may, in fact, be 'backwater' peripheral or marginal settlements that were, and are, non-representative of the highest level of Egyptian cultural and technological attainment at this time. Quite possibly other cultural remains are, for the most part, buried deep under the Nile alluvium. In addition, rises in sea level since ca. 10,000 or 15,000 years ago may have submerged vast expanses along the Mediterranean coast inhabited by early cultures.[22]

If we move beyond Egypt, however, we find that by the Eighth Millennium B.C. there were already major city-sites around the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Two particularly well-attested examples are ancient Jericho in Palestine and Catal Hüyük in Turkey.

Catal Hüyük, a city built of mud bricks and timber, dates back to at least the late-Seventh Millennium B.C.. This was no primitive settlement, however; rather, the known remains demonstrate a sophistication and opulence previously unimagined by archaeologists for such a remote period in time. The inhabitants built elaborate houses and shrines, covered walls with paintings and reliefs, and apparently had a rich and complex symbolic and religious tradition.[23]