I’m sure they didn’t go from hunter gatherer straight to building that or the other sites around it. There are about 6 other sites in the area archeologists are looking at. As far as I know they haven’t found simple standing stones in the area yet. Going from nothing to carved stones seems unlikely. Especially the size of the stones. Normal progression other places are smaller stones or wood going to larger ones. So there’s a lot missing from our understanding of early people in the area.

I’ve heard it described as the beginnings of village life. But there had to have been a smaller settlements long before. They’re also not sure if Gobekli Tepe had cultivated grain or if it was just wild.

and large complexes that are missing.

I was taught that agriculture led hunter-gatherers to a sedentary lifestyle, but I suspect that animal habitats and extended families played a role in settlements before agriculture did. Agriculture allowed larger settlements because it could feed larger numbers of people in one place, but semi-permanent settlements of extended families (clans) in areas where game could be consistently hunted or trapped most likely preceded the larger villages and cities that developed with agriculture.

Following game animals led to the domestication of herd animals in areas of the Middle East and southeastern Europe. Bands of herders had semi-permanent villages, were connected through clan relationships, and moved their herds seasonally for grazing.

Larger, more permanent settlements were possible when agriculture and the domesticated animals were combined in a lifestyle. When both meat and crops were available in one area, people could stay put, start building larger homes and ceremonial sites, and develop more varied and specialized occupations.

In pre-Columbian North America, settlements that eventually grew into large villages and cities often began as trade and ceremonial sites that drew people from nearby regions, not always from the same ethnic identity.

The spread of maize agriculture played a role, but the availability of fish led to weirs and ponds that ensured a supply of animal food. Careful tending of habitats encouraged the availability of nearby large game (deer) to hunt and small game (rabbits, beavers) to trap. In the Midwest, where large stone building blocks were not available, the people built large earthen monuments and ceremonial mounds based on astronomy, with homes for political and ceremonial leaders. Residential homes for the general population were outside of the ceremonial centers. Artifacts from civilization sites like Cahokia include carved stone pipes, copper tools and jewelry, shell jewelry, obsidian knives, pottery, small statues, etc. The population was around 20,000.

Even here along the gulf coast you can find ancient Clovis points and other stone tools. There have been more Clovis points found at McFadden beach than anywhere else in Texas along with mammoth bones and other animals just laying on the ground. You know there had to be camps in the area. But as far as I know none have been found. Smaller sites early sites don’t get the same attention they deserve.

I was a member of the Houston gem and mineral society. Went on a couple trips with them. One was on private land near Jasper Texas. My wife found a really nice fossilized palmwood scraper. All I got was a bad back trying to get 4 chunks of fossilized tree trunks to the car. I still get emails from them. Every so often they send a link to live talks from archeologists, paleontologists, etc. pretty interesting hearing it directly from them.

I grew up on the shore of Lake Erie. I used to collect mussel shells and colorful, water worn pieces of glass that resembled "exotic" rocks when I was a child.

As an adult, I started collecting different types of rocks and some fossils after taking a historical geology course in college. During the summer I did clerical work on a large construction site. After the foundations were dug, I walked around the site at the end of the day looking for rocks, fossils, or human made artifacts. The supervising engineer said that he hoped I didn't find any artifacts because they would be legally required to delay construction to let an archaeologist evaluate the site first. I didn't find any.

The guys working on the site started dropping off interesting rocks on my desk. I think they did it partly to keep me from going onto the site and partly because they were amused that a woman was interested in geology and archaeology. One guy went on a 2 week honeymoon to Hawaii during that time and brought back a lava rock for me.

If you're interested, quite a few amateurs work as volunteers on archaeological digs.
Dr. Adovasio, the archaeologist who excavated Meadowcroft, was the director of an archaeological institute in my home town, Erie, PA. One summer I volunteered on one of his digs in the PA National Forest in northwestern PA. The dig was required field work experience for his archaeology students. I was just there for a week, during my vacation from work.

Adovasio's staff were directing the daily work. I had a chance to chat with them on some ideas about the earliest people in the Americas. I met Adovasio very briefly when he dropped by to check on things. I also met a mother and her daughter who were volunteers. They had previously volunteered at the Cahokia site in Illinois.

No great discoveries were made at the dig that I was on, but I got to see how the area was sectioned off and participated in walking through one section to look for anything of interest.

While the students were prepping a section for us to walk through, a Forest Ranger took the volunteers on a tour of the area surrounding the dig site. He pointed out to us the evidence of forest and water management by Native Americans, like planting trees along the river bank to protect the bank from erosion and maintain the river as a water route for travel.