Latest news with #shepherds
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The 4,000-year-old mystery of a shepherd's arrow to the back
Grisly, 4,000-year-old forensic evidence found in a cave in the Pyrenees Mountains hints at a serious disagreement between members of the region's first shepherds. According to archaeologists at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (CERCA) and Spain's Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, a flint arrowhead embedded in a human rib bone at the prehistoric tomb indicates a case of foul play. But despite the severe injury, additional signs reveal the wound wasn't necessarily fatal– at least not immediately. Archaeologists uncovered the rib and its accompanying arrowhead at the Roc de les Orenetes archaeological site. Located 79 miles north of Barcelona at an altitude of over 5,900 feet, Roc de les Orenetes was first discovered in the late 1960s. Researchers have spent the last six years combing through the remarkable trove of ancient skeletal remains in the mountains of Catalan. So far, the project has yielded more than 6,000 bone fragments from over 60 individuals, primarily adult men. However, the grave site wasn't used by just one or two generations. Instead, local herders interred their deceased in the cave over two or three centuries. Previous bone analysis showed the Pyrenean community was well adapted to their environment, with strong skeletal structures, noticeable muscular insertions, and evidence of strenuous physical activity. Experts believe these signs are all indicative of a culture tied to grazing and high-altitude resource cultivation. But as CERCA explained, additional examinations of the bones also highlighted significant trauma, including cut marks from axes and daggers and intentional fractures. The nearby arrowheads further suggests evidence of altercations, but there is still a possibility that community members simply buried the items with the deceased during funereal rites. Their most recent find all-but-dispells the more optimistic funeral theory. According to the team, excavators have located a flint arrowhead identical to the others in Roc de les Orenetes, this time, embedded in a rib fragment. Although the entry angle shows that the victim was shot through the back, it appears they survived the assault— at least for a little bit. 'Considering the position and trajectory of the arrow, it could have killed the person at two moments: either at the moment of impact, due to bleeding or lung damage (for example, a pneumothorax), or shortly afterward, due to infection,' excavation director Carlos Tornero said in a statement. Tornero added that if the shot was clean and the victim managed to fight off any ensuing infections, it's possible they survived the encounter entirely. Given that the bone regenerated around the arrowhead, the latter outcome seems even more plausible. Tornero and colleagues plan to conduct more analyses of their find to potentially confirm the individual's cause of death, as well as learn more about the attack itself. 'Now we can study the force of the impact, the type of weapon used, and the position of the attacker and the victim,' added collaborator Miguel Ángel Moreno. Combined with ongoing excavations and lab work, archaeologists like Tornero and Moreno hope to better contextualize how the southern European communities in the third millennium BCE lived with one another. And as their new discovery graphically shows, how they sometimes fought. Solve the daily Crossword
Asharq Al-Awsat
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Continued Israeli Incursions in South Lebanon: A Bid to Create New Realities on the Ground
South Lebanon is witnessing an escalating series of military operations, marked by repeated Israeli ground incursions and extensive bulldozing along the border. The latest incidents have unfolded in the Marjayoun district and around the Wadi Hunin area, where Israeli military vehicles advanced more than 800 meters into Lebanese territory. According to analysts, these moves signal an effort to entrench a security presence that reflects 'an advanced strategy to impose a new status quo along the frontier.' On Friday, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli army bulldozers, protected by tanks stationed nearby, crossed the boundary at Wadi Hunin and moved towards a landfill south of the town of Adaisseh. The forces sealed off a road and erected earthen barriers, prompting heightened alert from the Lebanese side. Separately, an Israeli patrol breached the withdrawal line in the outskirts of Kfar Shouba - penetrating 400 meters into Lebanese territory - and fired shots at shepherds without causing injuries. The incursions did not stop there. Residents of Blida also reported a fresh advance of over 800 meters. Meanwhile, Israeli troops detonated a civilian structure in the Ghassouna area east of Adaisseh, using incendiary and stun grenades that sowed panic among local families. In parallel, Israeli aerial attacks have intensified. On Friday, an Israeli drone struck a car traveling on the Nmeiriyeh–Sharqiyyeh road in Nabatieh district, killing one person and injuring five others, Lebanon's Health Ministry confirmed. The attack underscores the widening scope of targets, reaching deeper into southern Lebanon and extending beyond military sites to include civilian vehicles. Another drone dropped a bomb on a small transport truck in the border town of Kfar Kila, causing material damage but no casualties. Such incidents have become a recurring pattern in the ongoing escalation. Adding to the strain on civilians, an entire house in Kfar Kila was blown up after being rigged with explosives. In Meiss El Jabal, Israeli forces destroyed a newly renovated tile factory last week, as part of what Israeli spokesmen described as 'special operations' targeting weapons depots and infrastructure allegedly tied to Hezbollah in locations including Labouneh and Jabal Balat. Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee stated on Wednesday that the operations were based on intelligence gathering and surveillance of 'Hezbollah's combat means and terrorist infrastructure.' He added that special units were working to dismantle these networks to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing its positions along the border. Adraee also released nighttime video footage showing Israeli infantry operating deep inside southern Lebanon. A Systematic Effort to Empty the Border Military analyst Brigadier General Naji Malaeb described these incursions as 'part of a systematic plan to reshape the situation on the border.' He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israeli ground advances typically coincide with major diplomatic developments - whether a US envoy arriving in Beirut or Israeli delegations traveling to Washington. 'Every time there is a significant diplomatic event, we see coordinated maneuvers - airstrikes, artillery shelling, or limited ground incursions targeting civilian or logistical sites,' Malaeb noted. He argued that Israel's consistent pattern of targeting rebuilt homes and small businesses reveals a clear message: preventing displaced residents from returning. 'Whenever villagers attempt to repair their homes or revive their livelihoods, the response is immediate,' he said, citing a recent case in Aitaroun where Israeli troops demolished a factory that had been reconstructed inside a residence. 'This is no longer just a violation of Lebanese sovereignty or UN Resolution 1701,' Malaeb concluded. 'It has evolved into a deliberate strategy to depopulate the border strip and impose new facts on the ground, creating, in effect, a buffer zone through indirect means.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Weekend Warm-Up: Crossing Dreams
Crossing Dreams, subtitled "Solo bivouac paragliding adventure in Himalaya," documents the recent exploits of professional paragliding coach Francois Ragolski. His attempt to follow a long route through and over the Himalaya covered 60 days, four countries, 2,580km and 113 hours of paragliding. Ragolski has been paragliding for 18 years and planning this expedition for six months. Like him, the movie is anxious to finally start, so it wastes no time launching into the first day of the journey. It's a solo trip, but he avoids self-isolation, stopping to speak and share meals with the people he passes. "I thought everybody here would speak Russian," Ragolski says ruefully, when his attempts to find a common language with two hunters in Tajikistan fail. "I was wrong, nobody here speaks Russian." But even with the language barrier, his friendly enthusiasm carries him through. "Everyone was so load you with so much good food," Ragolski says. Every few days, he meets locals, usually shepherds, who share their food and shelter with him. Left to his own devices, he mostly eats packaged noodles and dried fruit, so a hot meal and friendly faces are a welcome change. Ragolski spent months plotting his course on Google Maps using satellite images. But when he arrived in Dushanbe, Tajikistan to begin his route, officials stopped him. Government officials, military officers, and tour agency representatives told him the airspace he planned to fly through was simply too dangerous. They gave him a new route. It was less likely to get him shot down, but it was also longer and more difficult from a technical perspective. The route change lands him in an area heavily populated by wolves and bears, where officials warned him not to stay the night. But the wind and weather conditions ground him, and he passes a stressful night hearing the sounds of animals outside of his tent. Tired and hoping to avoid confrontations with the local wildlife, Ragolski hitches a ride into Pakistan. Some exceptions for bear and militarized airspace-related dangers aside, he aims to fly as much as possible. Doing that means landing -- and sleeping -- in places he can take off from again in the morning. This makes for some uncomfortable digs, but it's better than walking. "I am lazy," Ragolski jokes. After the stark beauty of the mountains, the intermissions in crowded urban areas are another kind of striking. Later, a two-week-long spot of rain grounds him in India. He avoids despair through ping pong and a bit of light tourism. "But as soon as I flew again, I was just so happy," Ragolski says when he finally gets back in the air on day 41. This is a frequent exclamation; his sheer joy at being aloft and moving forward is palpable. The point of going solo is that he can go at his own pace, taking his time to explore, to meet people, to avoid unnecessary dangers and complications. It's not a race or an exercise in self punishment -- it's an adventure. In the final days of his journey, Ragolski glides past famous peaks like Annapurna and Everest, marveling aloud. "Wow! What an adventure...I'm so so happy I came."
