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Keyword: prehistory

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  • Prehistoric human remains found in East Yorkshire

    04/01/2024 6:25:00 PM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 21 replies
    BBC News ^ | March 26, 2024 | Eleanor Maslin
    A burial monument with human remains thought to be about 4,500 years old has been discovered in East Yorkshire.Parts of a Roman road and a burnt mound were also discovered during a £5m project to build a 5.2km (3.2 miles) sewer near Full Sutton.Ecus Archaelogy, working on the site for Yorkshire Water, said the three sites give a glimpse into the prehistoric and early historic past of the area.The analysis stage of the project is yet to start and the sewer is now being laid.The small circular burial monument was discovered in the vicinity of Full Sutton with the human...
  • Neanderthals used glue to make stone tools 40,000 years ago, a new study suggests “Earliest evidence of a multi-component adhesive in Europe”

    02/22/2024 3:10:28 AM PST · by Red Badger · 29 replies
    Arkeonews ^ | 22 February 2024 | By Leman Altuntaş
    Cover Photo: An artist’s reconstruction shows how a Neanderthal could hold a stone artifact with an adhesive handle. Daniela Greiner ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ More than 40,000 years ago, Neanderthals in what is now France used a multi-component adhesive to make handles for stone tools. They produced a sophisticated mixture of ochre and bitumen, two raw materials that had to be procured from the wider region. This is the earliest discovery of a multi-component adhesive in Europe to date. This complex adhesive found on Neanderthal stone tools has given researchers new insights into the intelligence of this extinct human species. The work, reported...
  • Puzzling prehistoric artifacts served a practical purpose: ropemaking

    02/07/2024 11:07:01 AM PST · by FarCenter · 35 replies
    In 2015, archaeologists working at a cave in southwestern Germany found an enigmatic perforated baton in a cave called Hohle Fels. It was a near-perfect match for an artifact found in 1983 in a cave down the road. Carved from single pieces of mammoth ivory, the Hohle Fels baton—roughly 20 centimeters long, about the length of a large paperback book—had multiple holes with spiraling grooves around the openings. Similar objects have been found elsewhere in Germany and in nearby France, often made from ivory or antler. They date from the last ice age, more than 35,000 years ago, a time...
  • Strangely Engraved Rock Is Giant 'Treasure Map', Archaeologists Say

    10/18/2023 12:42:02 PM PDT · by Red Badger · 15 replies
    Science Alert ^ | 18 October 2023 | By ANTOINE AGASSE, AFP
    The Saint-Belec slab. (D. Gliksman/Inrap) A piece of rock with mysterious markings that lay largely unstudied for 4,000 years is now being hailed as a "treasure map" for archaeologists, who are using it to hunt for ancient sites around north-western France. The so-called Saint-Belec slab was claimed as Europe's oldest map by researchers in 2021 and they have been working ever since to understand its etchings – both to help them date the slab, and to rediscover lost monuments. "Using the map to try to find archaeological sites is a great approach. We never work like that," said Yvan Pailler,...
  • Man Filmed Himself Destroying Stone Age Relic: ‘Archaeological Information Has Been Lost Forever’

    09/02/2023 11:16:04 AM PDT · by nickcarraway · 21 replies
    ARTnews ^ | August 31, 2023
    A spate of cultural vandalism continued earlier this year when part of a buried Stone Age monument in Wales was crudely excavated and left to the elements. Julian Baker, a 52-year-old man from Abertridwr, Caerphilly, filmed himself unearthing the 4,500-year-old relic on Eglwysilan mountain and posted the video to Facebook, according to local heritage officials. In a first prosecution of its sort in Wales, Baker has been ordered to pay £4,400 (roughly $5,600) for its restoration. Additionally, he was given a four-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, at the Magistrates Court in Wales, according to the BBC. Ancient Roman...
  • Early humans in the Hula Valley invested in systematic procurement of raw materials hundreds of thousands of years ago – much earlier than previously assumed

    07/23/2023 7:20:16 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 15 replies
    EurekAlert! ^ | July 19, 2023 | Tel Aviv University
    In the present study the researchers looked for the source of the raw material used to produce thousands of handaxes found at two prehistoric sites in the Hula Valley: Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, dated to 750,000 YBP [years before present] and Ma'ayan Barukh, dated to 500,000 YBP, both of the Acheulian culture. Prof. Sharon: "Approximately 3,500 handaxes were found scattered on the ground at Ma'ayan Barukh, and several thousands more were discovered at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov. The average hand axe, a little over 10cm long and weighing about 200g, was produced by reducing stones that are five times larger – at...
  • ... what about BONCUKLU TARLA?

    06/02/2023 6:13:45 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 22 replies
    YouTube ^ | May 10, 2023 | The Prehistory Guys
    ... what about BONCUKLU TARLA? | Uncovering the real star of Middle Eastern archaeology. | 23:21The Prehistory Guys | 63.2K subscribers | 305,710 views | May 10, 2023
  • [Mexico] National Guard, police dispatched to protect archaeological site: Construction at Teotihuacan has caused 'irreparable damage,' say officials

    06/05/2021 8:39:00 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 17 replies
    Mexico News Daily ^ | Tuesday, June 1, 2021 | unattributed
    The National Guard and Federal Police were dispatched Monday to an outlying section of the Teotihuacán archaeological site to seize land where illegal construction work has continued in recent months despite stop-work orders.The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the Ministry of Culture said 250 National Guard troops and 60 agents of the Attorney General’s Office participated in an operation to seize two parcels of land in Oztoyahualco, an area of the México state site that is known as the “old city” because it is believed that the Teotihuacán settlement began there.In March, INAH suspended projects being built...
  • Archaeologists discover remains of 9 Neanderthals near Rome

    05/09/2021 7:14:07 AM PDT · by ETL · 56 replies
    Phys.org ^ | May 8, 2021
    Italian archaeologists have uncovered the fossilized remains of nine Neanderthals in a cave near Rome, shedding new light on how the Italian peninsula was populated and under what environmental conditions. The Italian Culture Ministry announced the discovery Saturday, saying it confirmed that the Guattari Cave in San Felice Circeo was "one of the most significant places in the world for the history of Neanderthals." A Neanderthal skull was discovered in the cave in 1939.The fossilized bones include skulls, skull fragments, two teeth and other bone fragments. The oldest remains date from between 100,000 and 90,000 years ago, while the other...
  • Neanderthal remains unearthed in Italian cave

    05/08/2021 8:24:38 PM PDT · by blueplum · 29 replies
    BBC News ^ | 08 May 2021 | staff
    Archaeologists in Italy have discovered the remains of nine Neanderthals who may have been hunted by hyenas, in a prehistoric cave south-east of Rome. The fossilized bones, which include skull fragments and broken jawbones, were found in the Guattari Cave in the coastal town San Felice Circeo.... ...Mario Rolfo, a professor of archaeology at Tor Vergata University, said most of the Neanderthals had been killed by hyenas and dragged back to their cave den as food. "Neanderthals were prey for these animals," the Guardian quoted him as saying. "Hyenas hunted them, especially the most vulnerable, like sick or elderly individuals."...
  • Polynesians, Native Americans made contact before European arrival, genetic study finds

    07/08/2020 9:31:46 AM PDT · by rdl6989 · 52 replies
    phys.org ^ | July 8, 2020 | Stanford University Medical Center
    Through deep genetic analyses, Stanford Medicine scientists and their collaborators have found conclusive scientific evidence of contact between ancient Polynesians and Native Americans from the region that is now Colombia—something that's been hotly contested in the historic and archaeological world for decades. (snip) Before the study brought scientific evidence to the debate, the idea that Native Americans and Polynesians had crossed paths originated from a complex—both in its structure and origins—carbohydrate: the sweet potato. It turns out the sweet potato, which was originally domesticated in South and Central America, has also been known to grow in one other place prior...
  • DEAD MEN'S SECRETS --- Were ancient times really primitive?

    12/16/2019 2:44:00 AM PST · by Windflier · 138 replies
    YouTube ^ | Jun 27, 2018 | George Gordon
    EGYPT 2000 BC: Drills were used that turned 500X faster than today's power drills and bored into granite rock with ease. Dentists worked with cement fillings, dental bridges, and inserted artificial teeth. Doctors performed pregnancy tests, determined the sex of an unborn child, fed nourishment through tubes, fitted artificial legs and hands; and used anesthetic and sophisticated instruments to perform bone and brain surgery? Mysterious moving walls, automatically flashing lights and lamps that shone century after century, non-stop? A detailed map of Antarctica dating back thousands of years, without ice! A 400 ft pyramid was found on the seabed. 44...
  • Ancient Mariners: Did Neanderthals Sail to Mediterranean?

    11/24/2012 8:17:46 AM PST · by SunkenCiv · 38 replies
    LiveScience ^ | Thursday, November 15, 2012 | Charles Choi
    Neanderthals and other extinct human lineages might have been ancient mariners, venturing to the Mediterranean islands thousands of years earlier than previously thought. This prehistoric seafaring could shed light on the mental capabilities of these lost relatives of modern humans, researchers say. Scientists had thought the Mediterranean islands were first settled about 9,000 years ago by Neolithic or New Stone Age farmers and shepherds... For instance, obsidian from the Aegean island of Melos was uncovered at the mainland Greek coastal site of Franchthi cave in layers that were about 11,000 years old, while excavations on the southern coast of Cyprus...
  • Anthropologist suggests Mediterranean islands inhabited much earlier than thought

    11/16/2012 8:16:41 AM PST · by Renfield · 4 replies
    PhysOrg ^ | 11-16-2012 | Bob Yirka
    Modern science has held that islands such as Cypress and Crete were first inhabited by seafaring humans approximately 9,000 years ago by agriculturists from the late Neolithic period. Simmons writes that research over the past 20 years has cast doubt on that assumption however and suggests that it might be time to rewrite the history books. He cites evidence such as pieces of obsidian found in a cave in mainland Greece that were found to have come from Melos, an island in the Aegean Sea and were dated at 11,000 years ago as well as artifacts from recent digs on...
  • Neanderthals were ancient mariners

    03/02/2012 10:22:47 AM PST · by presidio9 · 18 replies
    New Scientist ^ | 29 February 2012 | Michael Marshall
    IT LOOKS like Neanderthals may have beaten modern humans to the seas. Growing evidence suggests our extinct cousins criss-crossed the Mediterranean in boats from 100,000 years ago - though not everyone is convinced they weren't just good swimmers. Neanderthals lived around the Mediterranean from 300,000 years ago. Their distinctive "Mousterian" stone tools are found on the Greek mainland and, intriguingly, have also been found on the Greek islands of Lefkada, Kefalonia and Zakynthos. That could be explained in two ways: either the islands weren't islands at the time, or our distant cousins crossed the water somehow. Now, George Ferentinos of...
  • Cretan tools point to 130,000-year-old sea travel

    01/03/2011 1:35:19 PM PST · by Fractal Trader · 19 replies
    AP via Google ^ | 3 January 2011
    Archaeologists on the island of Crete have discovered what may be evidence of one of the world's first sea voyages by human ancestors, the Greek Culture Ministry said Monday A ministry statement said experts from Greece and the U.S. have found rough axes and other tools thought to be between 130,000 and 700,000 years old close to shelters on the island's south coast. Crete has been separated from the mainland for about five million years, so whoever made the tools must have traveled there by sea (a distance of at least 40 miles). That would upset the current view that...
  • On Crete, New Evidence of Very Ancient Mariners

    02/17/2010 7:15:26 AM PST · by Palter · 29 replies · 531+ views
    The New York Times ^ | 15 Feb 2010 | JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
    <p>Early humans, possibly even prehuman ancestors, appear to have been going to sea much longer than anyone had ever suspected.</p> <p>That is the startling implication of discoveries made the last two summers on the Greek island of Crete. Stone tools found there, archaeologists say, are at least 130,000 years old, which is considered strong evidence for the earliest known seafaring in the Mediterranean and cause for rethinking the maritime capabilities of prehuman cultures.</p>
  • Ancient hominids may have been seafarers

    01/14/2010 4:18:11 AM PST · by SunkenCiv · 23 replies · 636+ views
    Science News ^ | Friday, January 8th, 2010 | Bruce Bower
    Human ancestors that left Africa hundreds of thousands of years ago to see the rest of the world were no landlubbers. Stone hand axes unearthed on the Mediterranean island of Crete indicate that an ancient Homo species -- perhaps Homo erectus -- had used rafts or other seagoing vessels to cross from northern Africa to Europe via at least some of the larger islands in between, says archaeologist Thomas Strasser of Providence College in Rhode Island. Several hundred double-edged cutting implements discovered at nine sites in southwestern Crete date to at least 130,000 years ago and probably much earlier, Strasser...
  • Archaeological mystery solved with modern genetics

    07/02/2019 1:29:35 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 18 replies
    EurekAlert! ^ | Thursday, June 20, 2019 | University of Tokyo
    The current theory on human migrations into Japan is that the original inhabitants, the Jomon people, were met about 2,500 years ago by a separate group coming mainly from the Korean Peninsula, the Yayoi people. Archaeologists have identified fewer Jomon sites from the Late Jomon Period, the era immediately before the Yayoi arrival. Global temperatures and sea levels dropped during that period, which could have made life more difficult for the hunter-gatherer Jomon people. When the Yayoi people arrived, they brought wet rice farming to Japan, which would have led to a more stable food supply for the remaining Jomon...
  • Pompei Discovery For Swedish Archaeologists

    04/17/2005 1:36:52 PM PDT · by blam · 51 replies · 1,380+ views
    The Local ^ | 4-17-2005
    Published: 17th April 2005 11:48 BST+1 Pompei discovery for Swedish archeologists (AFP) Swedish archeologists have discovered a Stone Age settlement covered in ash under the ruins of the ancient city of Pompei, indicating that the volcano Vesuvius engulfed the area in lava more than 3,500 years before the famous 79 AD eruption. The archeologists recently found burnt wood and grains of corn in the earth under Pompei, Anne-Marie Leander Touati, a professor of archeology at Stockholm University who led the team, told AFP. "Carbon dating shows that the finds are from prehistoric times, that is, from 3,500 years BC," Leander...