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Episode 9.1 · 21 min

why people settled down and began to farm, from the Natufians and Göbekli Tepe to the first crops

Why did people settle down and begin farming when wild food still sustained them? This episode follows the Natufians and the builders of Göbekli Tepe as warmer, steadier conditions, rich harvests, storage, and generations of tending turned wild wheat, lentils, sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs into crops and herds. It also traces farming’s independent beginnings elsewhere, and why the transition was gradual.

Watch this film on YouTube ↗

Visual credits

57 sources

Sources and credits for imagery used in this film, including material incorporated into explanatory animations.

  • Göbekli Tepe pillar: arm and fox

    Guérin Nicolas

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  • Einkorn wheat, Triticum monococcum

    Roger Culos

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  • Wild einkorn, Triticum boeoticum

    Tracey Slotta

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

    USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database.

  • Natufian stone mortars from Eynan

    Gary Todd

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  • Vulture Stone, Göbekli Tepe

    Sue Fleckney

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

    Cropped into views of the vulture and disc, upper registers, and vulture detail.

  • Göbekli Tepe, Building A

    Dosseman

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Göbekli Tepe, Building D pillar

    Dosseman

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Source photograph is a crop.

  • Limestone and basalt mortars from Eynan

    Gary Todd

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

  • Decorated stone vessels from Körtik Tepe

    - Ozymandias -

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Cropped to the vessels, excluding surrounding reflections.

  • Painted boar statue from Göbekli Tepe, Building D

    Dosseman

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Painted boar statue from Göbekli Tepe, alternate view

    Dosseman

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Göbekli Tepe totem pole, Şanlıurfa Museum

    Klaus-Peter Simon

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

    Source image was extracted from a larger photograph.

  • Karahan Tepe overview

    Frantisek Trampota

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

  • Replica of Göbekli Tepe Pillar 18, Şanlıurfa Museum

    Dosseman

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Source image was extracted from another photograph; a detail of the hands, belt and hanging skin is also shown.

  • Microlith

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of H. Dunscombe Colt, 1953.

  • Human-faced T-shaped pillar at Karahan Tepe, 2025

    T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı (Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism)

    View original source ↗Source licence: All rights reserved; Ministry site terms restrict commercial use and alteration.

  • Bread-like remains from Shubayqa 1: SEM images, Figure 3

    Amaia Arranz-Otaegui, Lara Gonzalez Carretero, Monica N. Ramsey, Dorian Q. Fuller and Tobias Richter

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

    Figure extracted from the article; cropped to panels A–C, omitting the surrounding caption.

    Arranz-Otaegui et al. (2018), PNAS 115(31), 7925–7930, Figure 3.

  • Göbekli Tepe and its landscape before excavation, Figure 1

    Photographer unknown; German Archaeological Institute, Göbeklitepe Project

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Photograph extracted from Figure 1; surrounding caption omitted.

    Reproduced in Lee Clare (2026), Heritage 9(5), 179, Figure 1.

  • Grinding tools from Göbekli Tepe, Figure 7

    H. Höhler-Brockmann and N. Schäkel / German Archaeological Institute

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Figure extracted from the article; surrounding caption omitted.

    3D models: H. Höhler-Brockmann and N. Schäkel, German Archaeological Institute. Dietrich et al. (2019), PLOS ONE, Figure 7.

  • Göbekli Tepe Building 25 with grinding bowl, Figure 3A

    K. Schmidt / German Archaeological Institute

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Cropped to Figure 3A; other panels and surrounding caption omitted.

    Photograph: K. Schmidt, German Archaeological Institute. Dietrich et al. (2019), PLOS ONE, Figure 3A.

  • Göbekli Tepe and contemporary Taş Tepeler sites, Figure 1A

    E. Küçük / German Archaeological Institute, Göbeklitepe Research Project

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Relative site positions from the map inset adapted into animated location glows; the published figure itself is not displayed.

    Map in Julia Gresky and Lee Clare (2026), PLOS ONE, Figure 1A.

  • Human-on-leopard sculpture in situ at Karahan Tepe, 2026

    T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı (Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism)

    View original source ↗Source licence: All rights reserved; Ministry site terms restrict commercial use and alteration.

  • Cleaning the human-on-leopard sculpture at Karahan Tepe, 2026

    T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı (Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism)

    View original source ↗Source licence: All rights reserved; Ministry site terms restrict commercial use and alteration.

  • Wild barley ears, Hordeum spontaneum

    Davidbena

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Reconstructed buildings at Aşıklı Höyük

    Joe Wallace

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

  • Teosinte in Jalisco

    Mbhufford

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  • Nevalı Çori diorama, Şanlıurfa Museum

    Dosseman

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Wild emmer wheat, Triticum dicoccoides

    Davidbena

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Harvested wild barley

    Davidbena

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Aşıklı Höyük excavation

    Ingeborg Simon

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  • Wild emmer wheat ears

    Davidbena

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

  • Excavated walls of Jericho

    Daniel Case

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

  • Aurochs skeleton from Geiseltal

    DagdaMor

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

  • Vulture Stone: vulture and disc detail

    Sue Fleckney

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

    Cropped to the vulture and disc in the middle register.

  • Vulture Stone: upper registers

    Sue Fleckney

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

    Cropped to the upper registers.

  • Vulture Stone: vulture detail

    Sue Fleckney

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 2.0

    Cropped to a close view of the vulture.

  • Pillar 18 replica: hands, belt and hanging skin

    Dosseman

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Cropped to the lower shaft of the museum replica.

  • Körtik Tepe stone vessels, detail

    - Ozymandias -

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Cropped to the vessels, excluding surrounding reflections.

  • Göbekli Tepe Building 25 with grinding bowl, Figure 3A

    K. Schmidt / German Archaeological Institute

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Cropped to Figure 3A; other panels and surrounding caption omitted.

    Photograph: K. Schmidt, German Archaeological Institute. Dietrich et al. (2019), PLOS ONE, Figure 3A.

  • Göbekli Tepe before excavation, aerial photograph

    Photographer unknown; German Archaeological Institute, Göbeklitepe Project

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Cropped to the photograph in Figure 1; caption omitted.

    Reproduced in Lee Clare (2026), Heritage 9(5), 179, Figure 1.

  • Grinding tools from Göbekli Tepe, Figure 7

    H. Höhler-Brockmann and N. Schäkel / German Archaeological Institute

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Cropped to the figure, excluding the surrounding caption.

    3D models: H. Höhler-Brockmann and N. Schäkel, German Archaeological Institute. Dietrich et al. (2019), PLOS ONE, Figure 7.

  • Bread-like remains from Shubayqa 1: SEM panels A–C

    Amaia Arranz-Otaegui, Lara Gonzalez Carretero, Monica N. Ramsey, Dorian Q. Fuller and Tobias Richter

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

    Cropped to the three SEM panels in Figure 3; caption omitted.

    Arranz-Otaegui et al. (2018), PNAS 115(31), 7925–7930, Figure 3.

  • Experimental einkorn grinding, S1 Movie

    Laura Dietrich, Julia Meister, Oliver Dietrich, Jens Notroff, Janika Kiep, Julia Heeb, André Beuger and Brigitta Schütt / German Archaeological Institute

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Excerpted for the film.

    Dietrich et al. (2019), PLOS ONE, S1 Movie: experimental einkorn grinding.

  • Karahan Tepe, 3D model

    333DDD

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Model displayed as a video capture and excerpted for the film.

  • Natural Earth 1:50m lakes

    Natural Earth contributors

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

    Selected lake polygons projected and styled for the animated maps.

    Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

  • Natural Earth 1:50m land

    Natural Earth contributors

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

    Land polygons projected and styled for the animated maps.

    Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

  • Natural Earth 1:50m rivers and lake centerlines

    Natural Earth contributors

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

    Selected river lines projected and styled for the animated maps.

    Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

  • Earth normal map

    Solar System Scope

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Normal-map values sampled and converted into soft land hill shading for a projected 2D world map.

    Textures by Solar System Scope (solarsystemscope.com), CC BY 4.0.

  • NGRIP oxygen-isotope data on the GICC05 chronology, 20-year resolution

    NGRIP dating group; Ice and Climate Research Group, Niels Bohr Institute

    View original source ↗

    Selected intervals plotted as an original climate-proxy chart; b2k ages converted to years before 1950 by subtracting 50 years.

    NGRIP dating group (2008), IGBP PAGES/World Data Center for Paleoclimatology Data Contribution Series 2008-034, NOAA/NCDC Paleoclimatology Program. Chronology references for the plotted intervals: Rasmussen et al. (2006), Andersen et al. (2006), Svensson et al. (2006, 2008).

  • NGRIP oxygen-isotope data on the GICC05 chronology, 20-year resolution

    NGRIP dating group; Ice and Climate Research Group, Niels Bohr Institute

    View original source ↗

    Selected intervals plotted in the inherited climate charts; b2k ages converted to years before 1950 by subtracting 50 years.

    NGRIP dating group (2008), IGBP PAGES/World Data Center for Paleoclimatology Data Contribution Series 2008-034, NOAA/NCDC Paleoclimatology Program. Chronology references for the plotted intervals: Rasmussen et al. (2006), Andersen et al. (2006), Svensson et al. (2006, 2008).

  • GEBCO 2021 Grid: southwest Asia elevation subset

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain (GEBCO Grid terms of use)

    Subset via Ifremer ERDDAP: 26–44° N, 23–59° E, every twelfth grid cell; converted into soft land hill shading.

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021), GEBCO 2021 Grid, doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f. Subset supplied through Ifremer ERDDAP.

  • GEBCO 2021 Grid: southeastern Türkiye elevation subset

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain (GEBCO Grid terms of use)

    Subset via Ifremer ERDDAP: 35–39.5° N, 35.5–42.5° E, every second grid cell; converted into land hill shading for the close map view.

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021), GEBCO 2021 Grid, doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f. Subset supplied through Ifremer ERDDAP.

  • GEBCO 2021 Grid: southeastern Türkiye elevation subset

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain (GEBCO Grid terms of use)

    Subset via Ifremer ERDDAP: 35–39.5° N, 35.5–42.5° E, every second grid cell; used for land hill shading during the map zoom.

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021), GEBCO 2021 Grid, doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f. Subset supplied through Ifremer ERDDAP.

  • GEBCO 2021 Grid: southwest Asia elevation subset

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain (GEBCO Grid terms of use)

    Subset via Ifremer ERDDAP: 26–44° N, 23–59° E, every twelfth grid cell; used for land hill shading and the shaded arc of hills.

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021), GEBCO 2021 Grid, doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f. Subset supplied through Ifremer ERDDAP.

  • GEBCO 2021 Grid: southwest Asia elevation subset

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain (GEBCO Grid terms of use)

    Subset via Ifremer ERDDAP: 26–44° N, 23–59° E, every twelfth grid cell; used for soft land hill shading.

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021), GEBCO 2021 Grid, doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f. Subset supplied through Ifremer ERDDAP.

  • GEBCO 2021 Grid: wider southwest Asia elevation subset

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain (GEBCO Grid terms of use)

    Subset via Ifremer ERDDAP: 18–50° N, 14–79° E, every twelfth grid cell; used for soft land hill shading in the wider map.

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021), GEBCO 2021 Grid, doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f. Subset supplied through Ifremer ERDDAP.

  • GEBCO 2021 Grid: wider southwest Asia elevation subset

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021)

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain (GEBCO Grid terms of use)

    Subset via Ifremer ERDDAP: 18–50° N, 14–79° E, every twelfth grid cell; used for soft land hill shading beneath the regional tints.

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021), GEBCO 2021 Grid, doi:10.5285/c6612cbe-50b3-0cff-e053-6c86abc09f8f. Subset supplied through Ifremer ERDDAP.

Stock footage

57 items

Licensed stock footage used in this film, with each item’s creator and source page.

Research references

Selected sources from the episode’s research and scientific figures.

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Music

  • Original score
    AgentHouse · Project-made score (From Cosmos to Civilization score catalog v4 with bespoke opening and closing)
    Impulse responses: Detmold University of Music SRIR database, CC BY 4.0.
Footage and image usage

Credits and usage times retained from the published edition or its production credit record. Where present, times identify visual appearances, not documentary chapters. Source and licence corrections are listed in the visual credits above.

  • Ozymandias — 4:13-4:16
  • Ozymandias - — 4:13-4:16
  • 333DDD — 8:08-8:19
  • albertog67 — 12:51-12:53
  • Amaia Arranz-Otaegui, Lara Gonzalez Carretero, Monica N. Ramsey, Dorian Q. Fuller and Tobias Richter — 2:33-2:38
  • BlackBoxGuild — 0:45-0:47, 5:15-5:19, 6:25-6:29, 7:42-7:50, 11:49-11:52, 11:52-11:59, 11:59-12:02, 12:02-12:08, 12:14-12:17, 12:42-12:46, 14:56-14:59, 15:35-15:39, 16:45-16:48, 16:58-17:03, 17:22-17:24, 17:25-17:28, 17:41-17:44, 17:44-17:46, 20:20-20:26
  • DagdaMor — 13:59-14:02
  • Daniel Case — 15:14-15:22
  • Davidbena — 2:06-2:07, 2:07-2:09, 10:15-10:19, 10:31-10:35
  • Dosseman — 0:13-0:16, 0:19-0:20, 5:29-5:30, 5:30-5:34, 5:44-5:47, 5:47-5:50, 15:07-15:14
  • duckdivetales — 1:03-1:11
  • E. Küçük / German Archaeological Institute, Göbeklitepe Research Project — 8:01-8:04, 9:35-9:37, 10:10-10:15, 16:02-16:09, 16:17-16:20, 16:20-16:33
  • efeeylul — 8:38-8:43
  • Egoreichenkov — 12:56-12:59
  • egunes_ — 5:39-5:44, 8:43-8:46, 19:24-19:28
  • filin72 — 17:08-17:13
  • Frantisek Trampota — 8:04-8:08
  • FrozenNature — 3:59-4:04
  • Gary Todd — 1:45-1:48, 2:20-2:24
  • GEBCO Compilation Group (2021) — 1:11-1:31, 8:00-8:01, 8:00-8:04, 9:35-9:53, 9:35-9:37, 10:10-10:15, 16:02-16:09, 16:17-16:20, 16:20-16:33
  • Great_bru — 17:16-17:18
  • Guérin Nicolas — 0:16-0:19, 8:54-8:57
  • H. Höhler-Brockmann and N. Schäkel / German Archaeological Institute — 6:38-6:42
  • Ingeborg Simon — 13:28-13:33
  • Joe Wallace — 13:14-13:18
  • K. Schmidt / German Archaeological Institute — 6:14-6:17
  • Klaus-Peter Simon — 19:19-19:24
  • Laura Dietrich, Julia Meister, Oliver Dietrich, Jens Notroff, Janika Kiep, Julia Heeb, André Beuger and Brigitta Schütt / German Archaeological Institute — 6:42-6:44
  • magicstock — 17:03-17:06
  • makproduction — 14:13-14:16
  • Mbhufford — 17:13-17:16
  • MegiasD — 9:13-9:16
  • Natural Earth contributors — 1:11-1:31, 8:00-8:01, 8:00-8:04, 9:35-9:53, 10:10-10:15, 16:02-16:09, 16:17-16:20, 16:20-16:33, 16:33-16:45, 16:56-16:58, 17:06-17:08, 17:18-17:22, 17:24-17:25, 17:31-17:33, 17:39-17:41, 17:46-18:27
  • NGRIP dating group; Ice and Climate Research Group, Niels Bohr Institute — 3:30-3:37, 3:37-3:47, 4:18-4:43, 18:38-18:44
  • PD-media — 1:55-2:03
  • Photographer unknown; German Archaeological Institute, Göbeklitepe Project — 5:50-5:58
  • Pro-Stock — 12:31-12:37, 13:33-13:34, 20:29-20:36
  • Roger Culos — 12:17-12:20
  • ronib1979 — 0:42-0:45, 1:48-1:51, 1:51-1:55, 2:09-2:12, 6:30-6:32, 6:32-6:34, 9:16-9:21, 10:35-10:40, 12:37-12:42, 12:46-12:51, 20:11-20:15
  • RSfilm — 0:10-0:13, 5:19-5:22, 5:22-5:24, 5:24-5:29, 6:01-6:06, 6:12-6:14, 6:44-6:49, 8:31-8:38, 9:03-9:06, 15:54-16:02, 17:33-17:39
  • shico2000 — 1:37-1:41
  • Solar System Scope — 16:33-16:45, 16:56-16:58, 17:06-17:08, 17:18-17:22, 17:24-17:25, 17:31-17:33, 17:39-17:41, 17:46-18:27
  • Stovtwo — 20:15-20:20
  • studiostocks — 16:48-16:56
  • Sue Fleckney — 0:20-0:22, 8:46-8:54, 9:06-9:13
  • T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı (Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism) — 8:19-8:26
  • T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı (Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism) — 8:26-8:29, 8:29-8:31
  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art — 3:26-3:30
  • Tracey Slotta — 7:55-8:00
  • UglyduckBG — 13:53-13:59
  • WhiteMountMedia — 17:28-17:31
  • worledit — 12:53-12:56
  • xtrekx — 13:40-13:46

How this film was made

Created and editorially directed by Anders Lunde using a custom production system developed over six months. AI assists research, drafting, programming, and visual production; I review and edit the material and make the final editorial decisions. Narration uses text-to-speech. Visuals combine custom-built scientific animations, AI-generated reconstructions, and credited scientific imagery.

Generated reconstructions illustrate scientific interpretations. They are distinct from photographs, specimens, and measured data.

More about the creator and production →