This article in Newsweek last week really blew me away. Particularly:
“Schmidt’s thesis is simple and bold: it was the urge to worship that brought mankind together in the very first urban conglomerations. The need to build and maintain this temple, he says, drove the builders to seek stable food sources, like grains and animals that could be domesticated, and then to settle down to guard their new way of life. The temple begat the city.”
Okay, forget that the author uses some outdated language (really? “mankind” instead of “humankind”??).
Instead, what if it is our search for truth and meaning that makes us human? To come together, and look for (or create) answers. And that civilization flows out of that need, rather than the reverse.
I love it! And I am not one whit surprised.
Speaking of... 
I know! I’ve been emailing the article all over. Here’s another article about it: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/gobekli-tepe.html
Wow – very cool. Thanks for sharing that one!!
Interesting article. Thanks for passing it along.