The problem is that establishing the systematic, arbitrary relationship between graphic signs and specific meanings that is necessary for a true writing system requires substantially more evidence than the currently available record provides.

The symbols are real, and they appear to be meaningful in some sense.

Whether they constitute the earliest known writing is a much more specific claim that the evidence does not currently support.

The Death and Afterlife Practices of the PPN World

The treatment of the dead in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Fertile Crescent was complex, varied, and clearly invested with significant cultural and symbolic meaning.

Understanding the mortuary practices of the broader PPN world helps contextualize the fragmentary human remains found at Göbekli Tepe.