Posted on 09/15/2013 2:16:39 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
An international team of researchers led by Oxford University have new dating evidence indicating when the earliest fully modern humans arrived in the Near East, the region known as the Middle East today. They have obtained the radiocarbon dates of marine shell beads found at Ksar Akil, a key archaeological site in Lebanon, which allowed them to calculate that the oldest human fossil from the same sequence of archaeological layers is 42,400-41,700 years old. This is significant because the age of the earliest fossils, directly and indirectly dated, of modern humans found in Europe is roughly similar. This latest discovery throws up intriguing new possibilities about the routes taken by the earliest modern humans out of Africa, says the study...
The research team radiocarbon dated 20 marine shells from the top 15 metres of archaeological layers at Ksar Akil, north of Beirut. The shells were perforated, which indicates they were used as beads for body or clothes decoration... through direct radiocarbon dating they are between 41,000-35,000 years old...
In Ksar Akil, the Lebanese rockshelter, several human remains were found in the original excavations made 75 years ago. Unfortunately since then, the most complete skeleton of a young girl, thought to be about 7-9 years of age buried at the back of the rock shelter, has been lost. Lost also are the fragments of a second individual, found next to the buried girl. However, the team was able to calculate the age of the lost fossil at 40,800-39,200 years ago, taking into account its location in the sequence of archaeological layers in relation to the marine shell beads.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Beads from the site of Ksar Akil (Lebanon) found closely associated with the skeleton of an early modern girl dating to between 39,000–41,000 years ago. The beads shown here are made of the shell of a small marine snail (Nassarius gibbosulus/circumcinctus). The large Glycymeris valve in the centre was not pierced, but its surface preserved bright red pigmentation. (Credit: Katerina Douka and Natural History Museum London)
Going East: New Genetic and Archaeological Perspectives on the Modern Human Colonization of Eurasia
Sciene | 2006-08-12 | Paul Mellars
Posted on 08/11/2006 6:10:23 PM PDT by Lessismore
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1682189/posts
First gay marriage, now people are dating beads.
Thumb sucker?
Audible (audiobook site) has this “Great Courses” section. I found this series very enjoyable and I bet that you would, too.
http://www.audible.com/pd/History/The-Other-Side-of-History-Daily-Life-in-the-Ancient-World-Audiobook/B00DDVPXJG/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1379282115&sr=1-1
:’) It’s amazing that any of the skull survived.
Ooh. Awesome find. I have been listen to the hardcore history podcasts by Dan Carlin which are amazing. Audible is one of his advertisers so I got a great course book on the history of war. Wish I went with this one.
Probably string them along though.
No fluoridated water?
Hardcore History is phenomenal. It’s like having William Shatner teach you the best parts of history. I had no idea that the Muslims were caught between the Crusaders and Mongols.
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