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The National
4 days ago
- Health
- The National
Plant-based foods were all the rage in the ancient eastern Gulf, researchers reveal
Diets thousands of years ago were more varied than the archaeological record suggests, with new research finding people consumed numerous plant-based foods. Chemical analysis of pottery from south-east Arabia in the Bronze Age used cutting-edge techniques to cast new light on an ancient peoples previously thought to have had a diet based almost entirely on meat and dairy. Investigations had found animal-based products on such pottery, leading to the previous conclusion about diet, but a new inquiry has changed that perspective after it found evidence of plant-based products. In the study published in PLOS One, researchers analysed the lipid fat, oil and wax content of 179 pottery items from eight inland and coastal sites in the UAE and Oman. Among these were Hili 8 and Hili North Tomb A, part of a complex of Bronze Age sites in Al Ain. What does the study show? The first author of the new study, Dr Akshyeta Suryanarayan of the University of Cambridge, said one the most widely accepted components of Middle East culture 4,000 years ago was the growth of oasis agriculture and more sedentary lifestyles. 'Lipid residue analysis of early locally made pottery consistently shows fats derived from animal-based products, such as the meat of goats, sheep, cattle or wild deer and camels – and dairy products,' she told The National. 'This indicates that animal husbandry and pastoral practices formed a major part of everyday subsistence, even while agriculture was being adopted in the region.' The study indicates that the consumption of animal products was far from the full story, however, as it suggests communities relied on a wide range of plants, too. Plant-derived residues were found in fewer vessels but their presence is significant, according to Dr Suryanarayan. 'Due to their lower lipid content and the inherent difficulty in detecting such compounds using current analytical techniques, the recovery of plant markers – alongside those from cereals and date palm products – suggests a broader spectrum of plant use than previously assumed,' she said. 'This hints at more varied and complex dietary practices than are typically visible in the archaeological record.' Changing perspectives In the paper, the researchers suggested their lipid analysis indicates Bronze Age communities in the region were using types of plants that did not show up in the 'macrobotanical record', meaning they left no visible trace. As a result, the work highlights the use of a wider range of plants than archaeologists would otherwise detect. 'It is plausible that the gathering of fruits, seeds, shoots, leaves and tubers from numerous wild species along with cereal consumption would have been a part of food practices,' the researchers wrote. Previous work has shown that cereals, legumes and date palms were consumed in Middle Eastern settlements in the early Bronze Age. Fats from cereals are rarely preserved and the researchers said they could not be confident of either their presence or absence from the vessels looked at in the current study. The researchers said it was difficult to know if the pottery vessels were used as containers for substances traded with other societies, but their work does suggest the pottery may have been reused over extended periods. Dr Suryanarayan said the study reaffirmed that pottery vessels 'were fundamentally culinary tools and containers' used to store, transport, alter and prolong the life of perishable produce. She added that archaeologists had been analysing lipid residues since the 1990s but this approach became more widely used in the past decade. 'Recent methodological advancements have significantly enhanced the ability to extract and identify highly degraded biomolecules from archaeological ceramics,' she said. 'These innovations now permit the successful analysis of residues even in regions with poor organic preservation due to harsh environmental conditions.' Pottery production is first documented in the UAE and Oman from the early third millennium BCE. The latest study looked at locally made and imported pottery, including fine red Omani vessels and black-slipped jars – tall, pear-shaped vessels with a black coating – from the Indus Civilisation. Titled Identifying pastoral and plant products in local and imported pottery in Early Bronze Age south-eastern Arabia, the paper was published last month and was co-written by researchers in the UAE, Oman, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France and Poland. Thanks to funding from the Zayed National Museum, the research will continue, with the next phase set to look at material on pottery from coastal sites.
CNN
6 days ago
- Health
- CNN
Increasing your walking cadence can improve mobility
Are you not as strong and physically capable as you would like? Around 7% to 12% of Americans 65 and older are considered frail. That's when at least three of the following symptoms are true, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine: unintentional weight loss, reduced strength, exhaustion, low activity levels and a slow pace. Frailty often makes it difficult for older adults to complete day-to-day tasks. But there may be something they can do about it. Increasing a person's walking cadence by 14 steps per minute was associated with a 10% increase in functional capacity in prefrail and frail older adults, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One. Prefrailty is the period before frailty, where older adults may experience higher risk of physical impairment, cognitive decline, nutritional deficiencies and socioeconomic disadvantages. 'What we ended up finding was that those who are able to walk faster, particularly at a cadence 14 steps per minute faster than their usual pace, were more likely to improve in their mobility or endurance or function,' said Dr. Daniel Rubin, the study's lead author. 'In particular, we were targeting to try to really improve (people's) mobility and their function, just because prefrail and frail older adults tend to be a little bit more limited, at least in the concept of physical frailty,' added Rubin, associate professor of anesthesia and critical care at the University of Chicago. The study was a secondary data analysis of a primary trial that looked at walking intervention in retirement communities and took place over a span of 36 weeks. Whether or not an older adult is frail, mobility is still an important part of healthy aging. By practicing easy strength-training moves, such as walking, you can improve your strength and combat frailty, experts say. Individuals who regularly incorporate walking exercises in their routines also experience longevity, which is living longer and better lives. Active older adults were 28% less likely to become disabled and were able to perform day-to-day tasks with little to no assistance, according to a 2020 study. Other benefits include maintenance of healthy weight, reduced high blood pressure, decreased risk for type 2 diabetes and a stronger musculoskeletal system. 'Walking has been associated with the same type of health outcomes as exercise activities (e.g., risk of mortality, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, improved cognitive ageing),' said Rayane Haddadj, a doctoral candidate in the department of public health and nursing at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, in an email. He was not associated with the study. 'Advantages of walking are that it is a simple, low cost, and accessible activity that can be promoted widely to reduce the burden of various diseases and conditions,' he added. Increasing your walking pace can lower the risk of heart rhythm abnormalities, such as atrial fibrillation, and walking for longer periods of time can have health benefits, such as reducing back pain. 'Even small increases in daily activity can make a difference. Walking more could therefore be a simple yet powerful way to reduce risk of chronic low back pain and other diseases,' Haddadj said. 'I think one of the hardest parts when you're giving public health advice, when you're talking about walking, in particular, is what pace to walk at,' Rubin said. Previous methods used to help older adults follow a moderate intensity walking pace, such as the talk test or tracking heart rate, can be subjective and difficult to track pace or cadence accurately. 'The easiest way is, actually, you can use a metronome on your phone,' Rubin said. 'It's called rhythmic auditory cueing.' To do this, start by walking at your normal pace for 30 minutes and time it with the metronome. Once you've established a rhythm, you can gradually increase your pace by five or 10 steps per minute. 'Some people use music to do that. Music is actually a little harder, unless you have a trained ear to really be able to identify the beat,' Rubin said. While keeping this pace, older adults could also benefit from practicing conscious breathing, such as breathing through their nose, said CNN fitness contributor Dana Santas, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and mind-body coach in professional sports. Nasal breathing, which is when you inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth, can help lower blood pressure and improve heart rate variability, according to a 2023 study. Doing so can help prevent development of hypertension. It's also important that you maintain good form while walking, such as standing tall and swinging your arms. It will prevent backaches, make it easy to breathe and keep you balanced. 'Walking is a full body movement. It is not just about your lower body. It's not just one step in front of the one foot in front of the other,' Santas said. 'Your arm swing is a huge part involved in the mechanics of walking. So, you want to have an arm swing that's coordinated with your foot movement, so it's opposing.' Sign up for CNN's Fitness, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide will help you ease into a healthy routine, backed by experts.
CNN
6 days ago
- Health
- CNN
Increasing your walking cadence can improve mobility
FacebookTweetLink Are you not as strong and physically capable as you would like? Around 7% to 12% of Americans 65 and older are considered frail. That's when at least three of the following symptoms are true, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine: unintentional weight loss, reduced strength, exhaustion, low activity levels and a slow pace. Frailty often makes it difficult for older adults to complete day-to-day tasks. But there may be something they can do about it. Increasing a person's walking cadence by 14 steps per minute was associated with a 10% increase in functional capacity in prefrail and frail older adults, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One. Prefrailty is the period before frailty, where older adults may experience higher risk of physical impairment, cognitive decline, nutritional deficiencies and socioeconomic disadvantages. 'What we ended up finding was that those who are able to walk faster, particularly at a cadence 14 steps per minute faster than their usual pace, were more likely to improve in their mobility or endurance or function,' said Dr. Daniel Rubin, the study's lead author. 'In particular, we were targeting to try to really improve (people's) mobility and their function, just because prefrail and frail older adults tend to be a little bit more limited, at least in the concept of physical frailty,' added Rubin, associate professor of anesthesia and critical care at the University of Chicago. The study was a secondary data analysis of a primary trial that looked at walking intervention in retirement communities and took place over a span of 36 weeks. Whether or not an older adult is frail, mobility is still an important part of healthy aging. By practicing easy strength-training moves, such as walking, you can improve your strength and combat frailty, experts say. Individuals who regularly incorporate walking exercises in their routines also experience longevity, which is living longer and better lives. Active older adults were 28% less likely to become disabled and were able to perform day-to-day tasks with little to no assistance, according to a 2020 study. Other benefits include maintenance of healthy weight, reduced high blood pressure, decreased risk for type 2 diabetes and a stronger musculoskeletal system. 'Walking has been associated with the same type of health outcomes as exercise activities (e.g., risk of mortality, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, improved cognitive ageing),' said Rayane Haddadj, a doctoral candidate in the department of public health and nursing at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, in an email. He was not associated with the study. 'Advantages of walking are that it is a simple, low cost, and accessible activity that can be promoted widely to reduce the burden of various diseases and conditions,' he added. Increasing your walking pace can lower the risk of heart rhythm abnormalities, such as atrial fibrillation, and walking for longer periods of time can have health benefits, such as reducing back pain. 'Even small increases in daily activity can make a difference. Walking more could therefore be a simple yet powerful way to reduce risk of chronic low back pain and other diseases,' Haddadj said. 'I think one of the hardest parts when you're giving public health advice, when you're talking about walking, in particular, is what pace to walk at,' Rubin said. Previous methods used to help older adults follow a moderate intensity walking pace, such as the talk test or tracking heart rate, can be subjective and difficult to track pace or cadence accurately. 'The easiest way is, actually, you can use a metronome on your phone,' Rubin said. 'It's called rhythmic auditory cueing.' To do this, start by walking at your normal pace for 30 minutes and time it with the metronome. Once you've established a rhythm, you can gradually increase your pace by five or 10 steps per minute. 'Some people use music to do that. Music is actually a little harder, unless you have a trained ear to really be able to identify the beat,' Rubin said. While keeping this pace, older adults could also benefit from practicing conscious breathing, such as breathing through their nose, said CNN fitness contributor Dana Santas, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and mind-body coach in professional sports. Nasal breathing, which is when you inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth, can help lower blood pressure and improve heart rate variability, according to a 2023 study. Doing so can help prevent development of hypertension. It's also important that you maintain good form while walking, such as standing tall and swinging your arms. It will prevent backaches, make it easy to breathe and keep you balanced. 'Walking is a full body movement. It is not just about your lower body. It's not just one step in front of the one foot in front of the other,' Santas said. 'Your arm swing is a huge part involved in the mechanics of walking. So, you want to have an arm swing that's coordinated with your foot movement, so it's opposing.' Sign up for CNN's Fitness, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide will help you ease into a healthy routine, backed by experts.
CNN
6 days ago
- Health
- CNN
Increasing your walking cadence can improve mobility
Are you not as strong and physically capable as you would like? Around 7% to 12% of Americans 65 and older are considered frail. That's when at least three of the following symptoms are true, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine: unintentional weight loss, reduced strength, exhaustion, low activity levels and a slow pace. Frailty often makes it difficult for older adults to complete day-to-day tasks. But there may be something they can do about it. Increasing a person's walking cadence by 14 steps per minute was associated with a 10% increase in functional capacity in prefrail and frail older adults, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One. Prefrailty is the period before frailty, where older adults may experience higher risk of physical impairment, cognitive decline, nutritional deficiencies and socioeconomic disadvantages. 'What we ended up finding was that those who are able to walk faster, particularly at a cadence 14 steps per minute faster than their usual pace, were more likely to improve in their mobility or endurance or function,' said Dr. Daniel Rubin, the study's lead author. 'In particular, we were targeting to try to really improve (people's) mobility and their function, just because prefrail and frail older adults tend to be a little bit more limited, at least in the concept of physical frailty,' added Rubin, associate professor of anesthesia and critical care at the University of Chicago. The study was a secondary data analysis of a primary trial that looked at walking intervention in retirement communities and took place over a span of 36 weeks. Whether or not an older adult is frail, mobility is still an important part of healthy aging. By practicing easy strength-training moves, such as walking, you can improve your strength and combat frailty, experts say. Individuals who regularly incorporate walking exercises in their routines also experience longevity, which is living longer and better lives. Active older adults were 28% less likely to become disabled and were able to perform day-to-day tasks with little to no assistance, according to a 2020 study. Other benefits include maintenance of healthy weight, reduced high blood pressure, decreased risk for type 2 diabetes and a stronger musculoskeletal system. 'Walking has been associated with the same type of health outcomes as exercise activities (e.g., risk of mortality, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, improved cognitive ageing),' said Rayane Haddadj, a doctoral candidate in the department of public health and nursing at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, in an email. He was not associated with the study. 'Advantages of walking are that it is a simple, low cost, and accessible activity that can be promoted widely to reduce the burden of various diseases and conditions,' he added. Increasing your walking pace can lower the risk of heart rhythm abnormalities, such as atrial fibrillation, and walking for longer periods of time can have health benefits, such as reducing back pain. 'Even small increases in daily activity can make a difference. Walking more could therefore be a simple yet powerful way to reduce risk of chronic low back pain and other diseases,' Haddadj said. 'I think one of the hardest parts when you're giving public health advice, when you're talking about walking, in particular, is what pace to walk at,' Rubin said. Previous methods used to help older adults follow a moderate intensity walking pace, such as the talk test or tracking heart rate, can be subjective and difficult to track pace or cadence accurately. 'The easiest way is, actually, you can use a metronome on your phone,' Rubin said. 'It's called rhythmic auditory cueing.' To do this, start by walking at your normal pace for 30 minutes and time it with the metronome. Once you've established a rhythm, you can gradually increase your pace by five or 10 steps per minute. 'Some people use music to do that. Music is actually a little harder, unless you have a trained ear to really be able to identify the beat,' Rubin said. While keeping this pace, older adults could also benefit from practicing conscious breathing, such as breathing through their nose, said CNN fitness contributor Dana Santas, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and mind-body coach in professional sports. Nasal breathing, which is when you inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth, can help lower blood pressure and improve heart rate variability, according to a 2023 study. Doing so can help prevent development of hypertension. It's also important that you maintain good form while walking, such as standing tall and swinging your arms. It will prevent backaches, make it easy to breathe and keep you balanced. 'Walking is a full body movement. It is not just about your lower body. It's not just one step in front of the one foot in front of the other,' Santas said. 'Your arm swing is a huge part involved in the mechanics of walking. So, you want to have an arm swing that's coordinated with your foot movement, so it's opposing.' Sign up for CNN's Fitness, But Better newsletter series. Our seven-part guide will help you ease into a healthy routine, backed by experts.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ancient donkey sacrifice ritual unearthed in Israel sheds light on Egyptian trade links
The donkeys, found buried under a Bronze Age house in ancient Gath, near Tell es-Safi, were determined to have originated from ancient Egypt. A team of archaeologists has made a groundbreaking discovery in Israel, uncovering the remains of four donkeys that were ritually sacrificed over 4,500 years ago. The donkeys, found buried under a Bronze Age house in ancient Gath, near Tell es-Safi, around 20 km. northwest of Hebron, were determined to have originated from ancient Egypt. According to a new study published in the journal PLOS One, the donkeys were likely used for agricultural labor and trade, and their sacrifice may have been a display of wealth and social status. The researchers found that the donkeys were all female, in their prime age, and had been buried with their legs tied together. The discovery of the donkeys' remains has shed new light on the ritual practices of the ancient Canaanites, who inhabited the region during the Early Bronze Age III (circa 2900 to 2550 BCE). The researchers believe that the donkeys' Egyptian origin may indicate that their owners were merchants and traders who had connections with Egypt. Donkey remains have been consistently found at ancient Gath. After finding a decapitated donkey in 2010, with its head having been 'fully cut off and carefully placed on the abdomen facing in the opposite direction' according to the study, researchers continued searching for other donkeys in the area. Using chemical analysis and testing isotopes and the donkey's tooth enamel, researchers determined the donkey was originally from the Nile Valley. These results were also published in PLOS One in 2016. Researchers added that the choice to sacrifice a donkey, rather than any other animal, at the time was likely a sign of power and wealth, based on the demand for the animal in such a critical transportation role. Donkeys and similar animals were used in the ancient world primarily for hard agricultural labor. This included, but was not limited to, plowing and pulling heavy loads, as well as transportation of goods. These donkeys were also female, which was particularly valuable, and were believed to be replaceable by the sacrificing parties, according to the recently published study. All of their skulls pointed eastward, and their front and back legs had been tied together. Finding the four sacrificial animals depicts the mules' vital roles in both ritual practices and the economy. 'This finding highlights the importance of donkeys in the ancient world, not only for economic and trade purposes but also for ritual practices,' Elizabeth Arnold, an anthropologist and environmental archaeologist at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, told LiveScience. The researchers used isotopic analysis to help determine the origin of the donkeys, and the results revealed that they had lived in the Nile Valley. This discovery suggests that the donkeys were brought to ancient Gath from Egypt, likely as part of a trade or economic exchange. The study's findings provide a fascinating glimpse into the lives of ancient animals and their role in human society. As the researchers continue to study the remains of the donkeys, they hope to learn more about the complex relationships between humans and animals in the ancient world.
