Objects that travel long distances carry with them the social relationships through which they were transmitted — the alliances, the kinship ties, the obligations of hospitality and reciprocity that structured interaction between communities.

A piece of obsidian from a distant source is not merely a raw material; it is evidence of a social relationship that connected the people at the receiving end to a broader world of human networks.

For Göbekli Tepe, the presence of long-distance materials in the site’s assemblages is additional evidence that the site was a point of convergence for communities from across a wide area.

People who came to the site from different directions, for whatever combination of ritual, social, and practical purposes, brought with them the materials and connections of their home territories.