Joe Rogan Experience #2545 - Jesse Michels · Aired Aug 25, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Irving Finkel believes an artifact from Gobekli Tepe provides evidence of the earliest form of writing dating to 11,600 years ago.
The finding
What the evidence shows
Irving Finkel is a real, respected expert, but his specialty is cuneiform tablets from ancient Mesopotamia, not Gobekli Tepe. Archaeologists studying that site's symbols categorize them as symbolic iconography or possible proto writing rather than an established writing system, and there's no record of Finkel making this specific claim about it.
Read the supporting source · en.wikipedia.org ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Irving Finkel believes an artifact from Gobekli Tepe provides evidence of the earliest form of writing dating to 11,600 years ago?
No, not as stated. Irving Finkel is a real, respected expert, but his specialty is cuneiform tablets from ancient Mesopotamia, not Gobekli Tepe. Joe Rogan said it (matched by voice) on Joe Rogan Experience #2545 - Jesse Michels, aired Aug 25, 2026, at 2:53:24. The supporting source is en.wikipedia.org, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
- Attribution
- Not independently confirmed in this record
- Editorial context review
- Not recorded; generated finding
- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
Revisions to this check
No dated revision is recorded here. Older checks may predate this log.
Challenge this finding or add context →Keep the evidence coming.
Follow new checks in your RSS reader, or catch up with the weekly briefing on the site.
Email signup is currently unavailable.
Prefer to catch up here? Read the weekly briefing.