Latest news with #StoneAge
Al Etihad
4 hours ago
- General
- Al Etihad
Sharjah's Faya Palaeolandscape marks 11 years of advancing the global understanding of early human life in desert environments
3 June 2025 16:10 SHARJAH (WAM)Sharjah's Faya Palaeolandscape, one of the most scientifically significant prehistory archaeological sites in Arabia, continues to serve as a cornerstone in UNESCO's Human Evolution, Adaptations, Dispersals and Social Developments (HEADS) 11 years, the site has played a vital role in advancing global understanding of early human migration, adaptation, and survival in desert long-term collaboration between Sharjah and UNESCO HEADS programme has established Faya as a global reference point in palaeoanthropology and archaeology, placing the UAE at the centre of international scientific discourse on human property's uninterrupted record of over 210,000 years of human habitation has made it a key contributor to the evolving narrative of early life in Southeast Arabia.'Faya's recognition in the HEADS programme for more than a decade is a testament to the UAE's commitment to safeguarding its ancient heritage,' said Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, the official ambassador for Faya Palaeolandscape ongoing UNESCO World Heritage nomination.'Sharjah has never viewed archaeology as merely a glimpse into the past, but as a vital part of our national identity and a platform for international cultural dialogue. Faya stands as evidence of how Sharjah combines scientific research with cultural vision, elevating the emirate as a leading contributor to global heritage. The site strengthens our cultural identity, supports cutting-edge research, and invites the world to explore how deeply rooted our region is in the story of human civilisation," she to Eisa Yousif, Director-General of the Sharjah Archaeology Authority (SAA), Faya has played a pivotal role in shaping international scientific discourse on early human life.'Faya has long been a cornerstone in the global understanding of how early humans adapted, survived, and evolved in arid landscapes. Its archaeological record — spanning more than 210,000 years — reveals unprecedented insights into toolmaking, burial practices, and shifting lifestyles in response to climatic extremes."Faya challenges long-held assumptions and affirms that the Arabian Peninsula was not merely a corridor, but a cradle of human evolution in its own right. It demonstrates that early societies did not just pass through this region — they thrived here, innovated, and laid cultural and social foundations that deepen our understanding of human resilience.'As one of the few documented Stone Age desert landscapes in the world, Faya provides exceptional evidence of early modern human adaptation to hyper-arid environments over tens of thousands of the earliest hunter-gatherer communities to pastoral nomadic herders with funeral practices, the archaeological record at Faya reveals how humans evolved socially, technologically and spiritually in response to extreme and changing its regional significance, the property contributes to a larger global understanding of how early humans navigated survival, resource management, and social development in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. The sediment layers and preserved palaeoenvironmental features at Faya have made it a key site for understanding water availability, vegetation distribution, and climatic shifts during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene findings offer invaluable insight not only into human resilience but also into wider environmental transformations that shaped early is part of key sites recognised by the UNESCO HEADS programme for its critical contributions to human evolutionary studies, including Klasies River Caves, Border Cave and Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, and the Tchitundo-Hulu Rock Art Site in distinguishes Faya, however, is its location within the Arabian Peninsula - a region previously understudied in global narratives of human migration. Faya is now helping reshape that narrative, anchoring Arabia as a key locus in the shared history of support of this global effort, Dr. Knut Bretzke, one of the lead researchers on the Faya site, recently presented the findings and significance of the landscape at a UNESCO HEADS programme meeting in Cairo, underscoring the international importance of the site and Sharjah's continued leadership in heritage-based research. As the Faya nomination for World Heritage inscription progresses, the property's legacy is already firmly established: a pivotal source of scientific inquiry, international cooperation and national pride. Faya continues to show the world that the answers to humanity's oldest questions are not only written in stone but preserved in the land.
Sharjah 24
6 hours ago
- General
- Sharjah 24
Sharjah's Faya Palaeolandscape marks 11 years in UNESCO HEADS prog
This long-term collaboration between Sharjah and UNESCO HEADS Programme has established Faya as a global reference point in palaeoanthropology and archaeology, placing the UAE at the centre of international scientific discourse on human origins. The property's uninterrupted record of over 210,000 years of human habitation has made it a key contributor to the evolving narrative of early life in Southeast Arabia. The evolving narrative of early life in Southeast Arabia 'Faya's recognition in the HEADS Programme for more than a decade is a testament to the UAE's commitment to safeguarding its ancient heritage,' said Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, the official ambassador for Faya Palaeolandscape ongoing UNESCO World Heritage nomination. 'Sharjah has never viewed archaeology as merely a glimpse into the past, but as a vital part of our national identity and a platform for international cultural dialogue. Faya stands as evidence of how Sharjah combines scientific research with cultural vision, elevating the emirate as a leading contributor to global heritage. The site strengthens our cultural identity, supports cutting-edge research, and invites the world to explore how deeply rooted our region is in the story of human civilisation.' According to Eisa Yousif, Director-General of the Sharjah Archaeology Authority (SAA), Faya has played a pivotal role in shaping international scientific discourse on early human life. 'Faya has long been a cornerstone in the global understanding of how early humans adapted, survived, and evolved in arid landscapes,' he said. 'Its archaeological record — spanning more than 210,000 years — reveals unprecedented insights into toolmaking, burial practices, and shifting lifestyles in response to climatic extremes. Faya challenges long-held assumptions and affirms that the Arabian Peninsula was not merely a corridor, but a cradle of human evolution in its own right. It demonstrates that early societies did not just pass through this region — they thrived here, innovated, and laid cultural and social foundations that deepen our understanding of human resilience.' Faya Connects Arabia's Past to the Global Human Story As one of the few documented Stone Age desert landscapes in the world, Faya provides exceptional evidence of early modern human adaptation to hyper-arid environments over tens of thousands of years. From the earliest hunter-gatherer communities to pastoral nomadic herders with funeral practices, the archaeological record at Faya reveals how humans evolved socially, technologically and spiritually in response to extreme and changing climates. Beyond its regional significance, the property contributes to a larger global understanding of how early humans navigated survival, resource management, and social development in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. The sediment layers and preserved palaeoenvironmental features at Faya have made it a key site for understanding water availability, vegetation distribution, and climatic shifts during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. These findings offer invaluable insight not only into human resilience but also into wider environmental transformations that shaped early civilisations. Faya is part of key sites recognised by the UNESCO HEADS programme for their critical contributions to human evolutionary studies, including Klasies River Caves, Border Cave and Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, and the Tchitundo-Hulu Rock Art Site in Angola. What distinguishes Faya, however, is its location within the Arabian Peninsula - a region previously understudied in global narratives of human migration. Faya is now helping reshape that narrative, anchoring Arabia as a key locus in the shared history of our species. In support of this global effort, Dr Knut Bretzke, one of the lead researchers on the Faya site, recently presented the findings and significance of the landscape at a UNESCO HEADS Programme meeting in Cairo, underscoring the international importance of the site and Sharjah's continued leadership in heritage-based research. As the Faya nomination for World Heritage inscription progresses, the property's legacy is already firmly established: a pivotal source of scientific inquiry, international cooperation and national pride. Faya continues to show the world that the answers to humanity's oldest questions are not only written in stone but preserved in the land we call home.
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- Science
- The Irish Sun
Stone age bed bugs were humanity's first pests, scientists reveal
STONE Age people had a far more troublesome enemy than sabre-tooth tigers — bed bugs. Their first settlements — like Fred Flinstone's fictional home of Bedrock — would have been crawling with the blood-suckers. 2 Stone age people had a problem with bed bugs Credit: Getty The bugs' numbers exploded when humans moved out of caves, making them the first household pests, researchers say. In the study, DNA analysis was used to trace back the species found in homes today to those feeding off cave dwellers. Cimex lectularius was found to have had a 'close relationship' with humans for 50,000 years. The team from Virginia Tech University in the US confirmed the bugs first lived on bats before some switched to Stone Age humans in caves. But the population took off only 13,000 years ago — when people quit cave life and began farming and building settlements While its numbers rocketed, the bat bed bug species fell away. Researcher Dr Linsday Miles said: 'Both populations saw a general decline that is consistent with the last ice age. 'The bat-associated lineage never bounced back and it is still decreasing in size. Most read in Health 'The really exciting part is that the human-associated lineage did recover and their population increased.' The researchers say bed bugs, which live in furniture and bite to feed on blood, predate rats and even cockroaches as domestic pests. Rats moved in to homes 2,000 years ago, and cockroaches 5,000 years ago. 2 Blood sucking bed bugs were the first pest Credit: AFP I was homeless so I carved myself a CAVE house with incredible sea views – but officials are trying to kick me out
Scottish Sun
7 days ago
- Science
- Scottish Sun
Stone age bed bugs were humanity's first pests, scientists reveal
Researchers say bed bugs predate rats and even cockroaches as domestic pests YABA DABA OOO Stone age bed bugs were humanity's first pests, scientists reveal Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) STONE Age people had a far more troublesome enemy than sabre-tooth tigers — bed bugs. Their first settlements — like Fred Flinstone's fictional home of Bedrock — would have been crawling with the blood-suckers. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Stone age people had a problem with bed bugs Credit: Getty The bugs' numbers exploded when humans moved out of caves, making them the first household pests, researchers say. In the study, DNA analysis was used to trace back the species found in homes today to those feeding off cave dwellers. Cimex lectularius was found to have had a 'close relationship' with humans for 50,000 years. The team from Virginia Tech University in the US confirmed the bugs first lived on bats before some switched to Stone Age humans in caves. But the population took off only 13,000 years ago — when people quit cave life and began farming and building settlements While its numbers rocketed, the bat bed bug species fell away. Researcher Dr Linsday Miles said: 'Both populations saw a general decline that is consistent with the last ice age. 'The bat-associated lineage never bounced back and it is still decreasing in size. 'The really exciting part is that the human-associated lineage did recover and their population increased.' The researchers say bed bugs, which live in furniture and bite to feed on blood, predate rats and even cockroaches as domestic pests. Rats moved in to homes 2,000 years ago, and cockroaches 5,000 years ago. 2 Blood sucking bed bugs were the first pest Credit: AFP
The Sun
7 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Stone age bed bugs were humanity's first pests, scientists reveal
STONE Age people had a far more troublesome enemy than sabre-tooth tigers — bed bugs. Their first settlements — like Fred Flinstone's fictional home of Bedrock — would have been crawling with the blood-suckers. 2 The bugs' numbers exploded when humans moved out of caves, making them the first household pests, researchers say. In the study, DNA analysis was used to trace back the species found in homes today to those feeding off cave dwellers. Cimex lectularius was found to have had a 'close relationship' with humans for 50,000 years. The team from Virginia Tech University in the US confirmed the bugs first lived on bats before some switched to Stone Age humans in caves. But the population took off only 13,000 years ago — when people quit cave life and began farming and building settlements While its numbers rocketed, the bat bed bug species fell away. Researcher Dr Linsday Miles said: 'Both populations saw a general decline that is consistent with the last ice age. 'The bat-associated lineage never bounced back and it is still decreasing in size. 'The really exciting part is that the human-associated lineage did recover and their population increased.' The researchers say bed bugs, which live in furniture and bite to feed on blood, predate rats and even cockroaches as domestic pests. Rats moved in to homes 2,000 years ago, and cockroaches 5,000 years ago. 2
