Latest news with #UpperPaleolithic
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Science
- Daily Record
World's oldest human structure built 23,000 years before Pyramids discovered
Archaeologists have been left reeling after uncovering a cave that pre-dates the Great Pyramid by 16,000 years The world's oldest human structure, built 23,000 years before the Great Pyramid of Giza, has been discovered - and has single-handedly re-written everything we thought we knew about the history of ancient structures. Teopetra cave in Greece, is the oldest known structure built by man - older than the largest of the three pyramids at the Giza Necropolis complex in Egypt, the last remaining wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The stone wall of Theopetra in Thessaly was built during the Upper Paleolithic, a whopping 130,000 years ago, when humanity was just beginning to develop more complex tools and survival strategies. The wall partially closed off the entrance of the cave and its most likely purpose was to protect against the harsh glacial climate that dominated the region at that time, as per Unión Rayo. Its construction has been placed around 16,000 years before the Pyramids of Egypt, and shows that the cave's inhabitants - nomadic gatherers - knew about architecture or, at least, adapting to their environment. The cave was inhabited for more than 130,000 years, from the Middle Paleolithic to the Neolithic, and boasts "an almost continuous human presence". Stone tools, remnants of hearths, and even children's footprints have been found inside - contextualising the lives of those who lived in the chamber for such a consistent period of time. In fact, human footprints in the cave are among the oldest in Europe, dated to approximately 135,000 years ago. This remarkable find consists of four footprints in a row, believed to have been made by children aged two to seven. The children likely walked on the remnants of a fire, which later petrified, allowing the footprints to be preserved today. Neolithic pottery, bone and shell artefacts, skeletons dating from 9000 and 8000 BC, and traces of plants and seeds giving a look into the dietary habits of the time have been stumbled upon during excavation efforts. Specimens such as coal and human bones also prove that the cave was occupied from about 135,000 BC to 4000 BC and that temporary use continued during the Bronze Age and historic times up to 1955. Even after that, the shepherds used the cave occasionally to shelter their herds until the excavations began. The latest cave findings published in 2012 have raised the time records of the cave's dwelling to 135.000 BC. What's more, the site showcases the records of two significant cultural transitions within a single location - the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans and the shift from hunter-gathering to farming after the end of the last Ice Age. In a similar way, in Scotland, the islands of Orkney also hold proof of a remarkable ancient past. This area was home to developed Neolithic communities thousands of years ago, creating settlements and monuments that were built even before world-famous sites like Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza existed. Orkney is home to a collection of Stone Age sites that are recognised internationally. Together, these form a UNESCO World Heritage site called the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney." Back on mainland Europe, for history buffs or those taken with this remarkable finding, you can visit Theopetra, located 5 km from Meteora, because after eight years, Theopetra Cave finally reopened to the public this year. A museum located on the incredible site housing the remains found inside the cave. The Theopetra Cave and the museum remain open every day except Tuesdays, from 8.30am-3.30pm. The entrance fee/ticket is five euros per person with special rates for children/students/elderly. With the same ticket you can access both the museum and the cave. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ice Age Humans Were Experts at Wielding Fire, Study Finds
Learning to control fire was a game-changer for ancient humans, who could use it to cook food, see at night, and endure cold weather, among other things. This skill dates back at least a million years, and while fire has proven pivotal throughout human history, it can be especially valuable at certain times. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), for example, was the iciest part of the most recent glacial period in Earth's current ice age – and presumably a great time to cozy up by a fire. Yet despite the era's extreme cold, there is scant evidence of humans using fire during the LGM, which lasted from about 26,500 to 19,000 years ago. In a new study, researchers sought answers to this mystery by analyzing the remains of three ancient fireplaces found at an archaeological site in modern-day Ukraine, all of which are associated with human occupations at the site during the LGM. These hearths reveal new details about pyrotechnology in the late Upper Paleolithic – a span of several frigid millennia when fireplaces seem inexplicably rare in the archaeological record. "We know that fire was widespread before and after this period, but there is little evidence from the height of the Ice Age," says co-author William Murphree, a geoarchaeologist at the University of Algarve in Portugal. Previous research suggests fire loomed large in the lives of Upper Paleolithic people, enabling vital activities that would be difficult or impossible without it. "Fire was not just about keeping warm; it was also essential for cooking, making tools, and for social gatherings," says co-author Philip Nigst, an archaeologist at the University of Vienna in Austria. The LGM brought "rapid climatic deterioration" to Europe, the researchers note, with extremely cold, arid conditions that led to habitat loss and geographic isolation. In that context, it seems unlikely people would choose to build fewer fires. Maybe the cold hindered tree growth in steppes and grasslands, limiting the supply of firewood. Or maybe people built as many fires as ever, but harsh conditions during and after the LGM destroyed most of the evidence. This prehistoric trend may also be an illusion, reflecting a modern publication bias more than an actual decline. Given this uncertainty, the discovery of multiple hearths from the LGM could be revelatory. In addition to insights about ancient fire traditions, it might offer clues about the apparent dearth of hearths from this era. Researchers investigated three hearths previously uncovered at Korman' 9, a site on the Dniester River in Ukraine. They analyzed each with a series of geoarchaeological techniques, seeking long-lost details about fires built tens of thousands of years ago. Using microstratigraphic, micromorphological, and colorimetric analyses, they found the remains came from flat, open fireplaces, and that people mostly burned wood in them. Despite their simplicity, these fires could have heated the ground to 600 degrees Celsius, which could indicate a fire burning well over that temperature, suggesting impressive pyrotechnic sophistication, especially amid such climatic upheaval. The lack of big charcoal fragments made it hard to identify the main fuel source, but analysis of available charcoal revealed a predominance of spruce wood. The hearths also contained traces of bone, but it's unclear why, explains co-author Marjolein Bosch, a zooarchaeologist at the University of Vienna, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and the Natural History Museum Vienna. "Some of the animal bones found at the site were burnt in a fire with a temperature of over 650 degrees Celsius. We are currently investigating whether they were used as fuel or just accidentally burned," Bosch says. Differences among the three hearths could point to separate occupations of the site, possibly weeks or centuries apart, or these could be specialized hearths used by people within one occupation for various purposes or seasons. "People perfectly controlled the fire and knew how to use it in different ways, depending on the purpose of the fire," Nigst says. "But our results also show that these hunter-gatherers used the same place at different times of the year during their annual migrations." While at least some people apparently retained their pyrotechnic skills during the LGM, more research is still needed to explain why we find so few hearths like these at contemporary sites. "Was most of the evidence destroyed by the ice-age-typical, alternating freezing and thawing of the soil?" Murphree says. "Or did people not find enough fuel during the Last Glacial Maximum?" Nigst adds. "Did they not use fire, but instead relied on other technological solutions?" The study was published in Geoarchaeology. Why Aren't Humans as Hairy as Other Mammals? Here's The Science. Ancient Body Paint May Have Been Prehistoric Sunscreen, Study Says Scientists Discover First Probable Evidence of a Roman Fighter Mauled by a Lion
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ice age humans built sophisticated fireplaces
To make it out of the last ice age alive, our ancestors needed a special set of skills. One of which was harnessing the power of fire. However, not many well-preserved fireplaces dating back to the coldest part of the ice age (between 26,500 and 19,000 years ago) remain in Europe. Evidence from a prehistoric site at the shore of the Dnister river in modern-day Ukraine shows that people living during the most recent ice age built different types of hearths. Wood served as their primary source of fuel, but they may have used fat and bones as well. The findings were published April 1 in the journal Geoarchaeology. Archaeologists believe that Homo sapiens in Europe during the Upper Paleolithic period (between 45,000 and 10,000 years ago) used fire in several different ways. 'Fire was not just about keeping warm; it was also essential for cooking, making tools and for social gatherings,' Philip R. Nigst, a study co-author and archaeologist at the University of Vienna in Austria, said in a statement. [ Related: Ancient rocks tie Roman Empire's collapse to a mini ice age. ] Fire was likely a key part of survival for ice age hunter-gatherers in what is now Europe. Yet a lack of evidence from the coldest part of the ice age has prevented scientists from saying how. 'We know that fire was widespread before and after this period, but there is little evidence from the height of the Ice Age,' William Murphree, a study co-author and geoarchaeologist at the University of Algarve in Portugal, said in a statement. In the new study, the team analyzed three hearths unearthed at a prehistoric site in Ukraine. Through microstratigraphic analysis, micromorphology and colorimetric analysis, the scientists identified three simple, flat, wood-fired hearths. Interestingly, the analysis shows that one of these fires reached over 1,112 degrees Fahrenheit (600 degrees Celsius). According to the team, this proves that whoever made these fires had a more sophisticated mastery of pyrotechnics, despite the harsh environments they lived in. Humans used wood as their main fuel source during the peak of the ice age. The charcoal analysis indicates that it was specifically spruce wood. However, animal bones or fat may have also been used to keep fires burning. 'Some of the animal bones found at the site were burnt in a fire with a temperature of over 650 degrees Celsius [1,202 degrees Fahrenheit]. We are currently investigating whether they were used as fuel or just accidentally burned,' study co-author and University of Vienna zooarcheologist Marjolein D. Bosch said in a statement. [ Related: Ice Age hunter-gatherers may have had cheek piercings, even as children. ] All three fireplaces are open and flat. The team's analysis suggests that their use of fire was sophisticated, because the fireplaces were likely to have been constructed and used differently depending on the season. One fireplace is larger and thicker, suggesting that it could reach higher temperatures. 'People perfectly controlled the fire and knew how to use it in different ways, depending on the purpose of the fire. But our results also show that these hunter-gatherers used the same place at different times of the year during their annual migrations,' said Nigst. Even with these new findings, numerous questions remain, particularly about why there is such scant evidence of fireplaces dating back to the last ice age. 'Was most of the evidence destroyed by the ice-age-typical, alternating freezing and thawing of the soil?' asks Murphree. 'Or did people not find enough fuel during the Last Glacial Maximum? Did they not use fire, but instead relied on other technological solutions?' adds Nigst. The team hopes that understanding more about the role fire plays in human evolution will reveal how it helped our species become dominant.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Make Stunning Find of Prehistoric Engraved Rock
Archaeologists in Marbella, Spain have uncovered a rock which contains ancient prehistoric engravings, Ancient Origins reported. The remarkable artifact was discovered in the Coto Correa site in Marbella's Las Chapas district. Scientists believe that the engravings could be as many as 200,000 years old, which would place their creation in the Lower Paleolithic era. Coto Correa has been the subject of much archaeological interest ever since 1950, when stone tools were found at the site. Since then, scientists have recovered a cadre of artifacts which they estimate are at least tens of thousands, and possibly hundreds of thousands, of years old. The rock which contains the etchings is a stone block erected from the volcanic rock gabbro. On its surface are a series of 'deliberate' carvings which align with the rock's angles. The drawings differ from many of the prehistoric cave paintings discovered from the Upper Paleolithic period in that they are completely geometric and do not depict humans, animals, or any other recognizable are still puzzling over what the inscriptions meant to the people who carved them, but it's hypothesized that they served as a preliminary form of record keeping. They could have been used to track seasons; notable achievements within the community; the quantity of food and other items; or possibly served as a method of property identification, meaning the person who engraved the rock then owned it. If scientists are correct about the stone's lineage, it could be one of the oldest examples of rock art known to man. To date, the earliest examples discovered are believed to belong to the Upper Paleolithic era, originating after 50,000 B.C.
Filipino Times
22-03-2025
- Science
- Filipino Times
Archaeologists discover remains of 5 mammoths in Austria, dating back 25,000 years
Archaeologists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) have uncovered the remains of at least five mammoths in Langmannersdorf, Lower Austria. The site, located northeast of St. Pölten, is believed to have been a hunting ground used by ancient humans 25,000 years ago. Researchers found two main areas around 15 meters apart, each containing layers of bones, stone tools, and waste from tool-making. One area had remains of three mammoths, including tusks, but few large bones, indicating that ivory was likely processed on-site. Bones of dismembered mammoths and stone tools in excavation area 2. Courtesy: ÖAW-ÖAI/Marc Händel The second area lacked ivory but showed large bones and vertebrae from at least two more mammoths. Both sites had no rib bones, suggesting that the hunters sorted and used different parts of the mammoths separately. Evidence of fire pits and small pits in the area also showed that hunters stayed there for some time, processing meat and making tools. These signs point to the presence of Upper Paleolithic people, the group of humans living during the late Ice Age. Marc Händel, from the Austrian Archaeological Institute (ÖAI), explained that mammoth herds roamed the Perschling Valley as a grazing and transit route. He added that ancient hunters likely used this area to trap and butcher the animals.
