Or Maybe Not?
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
8000 year old coca habit
Archaeological evidence shows that South Americans were chewing coca leaves at least 8,000 years ago, an international team of researchers has discovered.
The researchers, who were led by Dr. Tom Dillehay of the Vanderbilt University Department of Anthropology, discovered and dated coca leaves beneath house floors in the Nanchoc Valley of Peru.
Dillehay and colleague describe their findings in a paper, which appears in the latest edition of Antiquity, a quarterly journal of archaeology founded in 1927.
Furthermore, they also discovered fragments of calcite, which according to the researchers "is used by chewers to bring out the alkaloids from the leaves."
"Excavation and chemical analysis at a group of neighboring sites suggests that specialists were beginning to extract and supply lime or calcite, and by association coca, as a community activity at about the same time as systematic farming was taking off in the region," they added.
According to BBC News Science and Technology Reporter Jason Palmer, the discovery shows that people were using coca at least 3,000 years earlier than first believed. The alkaloids contained in coca leaves can serve as mild stimulants, can reduce hunger, can help the digestive process, and can help individuals overcome the effects of high-altitude, low-oxygen environments, he added.
"We found it not so much in a household context, as if it was something that was heavily used by a lot of people, but rather... restricted to certain households of individuals and produced in a sort of public context - not individualized," Dillehay told Palmer.
"The evidence we have suggests that unlike in Western societies--where if you've got the economic means you can have access to medicinal plants--that seems not to be the case back then," he added.
Palmer notes that the discovery could also have an effect on modern-day policy making, as the international community is attempting to curb the production of coca in the Andes due to its association with cocaine.
Dillehay told Palmer that people are too focused on the cocaine-related aspects of the plant, and they fail to see that the use of the coca plan is "a deeply-rooted economic, social and even religious tradition in the Andes."
link
The researchers, who were led by Dr. Tom Dillehay of the Vanderbilt University Department of Anthropology, discovered and dated coca leaves beneath house floors in the Nanchoc Valley of Peru.
Dillehay and colleague describe their findings in a paper, which appears in the latest edition of Antiquity, a quarterly journal of archaeology founded in 1927.
Furthermore, they also discovered fragments of calcite, which according to the researchers "is used by chewers to bring out the alkaloids from the leaves."
"Excavation and chemical analysis at a group of neighboring sites suggests that specialists were beginning to extract and supply lime or calcite, and by association coca, as a community activity at about the same time as systematic farming was taking off in the region," they added.
According to BBC News Science and Technology Reporter Jason Palmer, the discovery shows that people were using coca at least 3,000 years earlier than first believed. The alkaloids contained in coca leaves can serve as mild stimulants, can reduce hunger, can help the digestive process, and can help individuals overcome the effects of high-altitude, low-oxygen environments, he added.
"We found it not so much in a household context, as if it was something that was heavily used by a lot of people, but rather... restricted to certain households of individuals and produced in a sort of public context - not individualized," Dillehay told Palmer.
"The evidence we have suggests that unlike in Western societies--where if you've got the economic means you can have access to medicinal plants--that seems not to be the case back then," he added.
Palmer notes that the discovery could also have an effect on modern-day policy making, as the international community is attempting to curb the production of coca in the Andes due to its association with cocaine.
Dillehay told Palmer that people are too focused on the cocaine-related aspects of the plant, and they fail to see that the use of the coca plan is "a deeply-rooted economic, social and even religious tradition in the Andes."
link
Sea Level Jumps
Possible explanation for a non-linear migration, excess ice being
melted into the sea could provide conditions where either the shore
untraversible or the the ability to use small craft limited.
Global Sea-Level Rise at the End of the Last Ice Age Interrupted by
Rapid 'Jumps'
Coastal erosion in Portugal. (Credit: E. Rohling)
ScienceDaily (Dec. 4, 2010) — Southampton researchers have estimated
that sea-level rose by an average of about 1 metre per century at the
end of the last Ice Age, interrupted by rapid 'jumps' during which it
rose by up to 2.5 metres per century. The findings, published in
Global and Planetary Change, will help unravel the responses of ocean
circulation and climate to large inputs of ice-sheet meltwater to the
world ocean.
Global sea level rose by a total of more than 120 metres as the vast
ice sheets of the last Ice Age melted back. This melt-back lasted from
about 19,000 to about 6,000 years ago, meaning that the average rate
of sea-level rise was roughly 1 metre per century.
Previous studies of sea-level change at individual locations have
suggested that the gradual rise may have been marked by abrupt 'jumps'
of sea-level rise at rates that approached 5 metres per century. These
estimates were based on analyses of the distribution of fossil corals
around Barbados and coastal drowning along the Sunda Shelf, an
extension of the continental shelf of East Asia.
However, uncertainties in fossil dating, scarcity of sea-level
markers, and the specific characteristics of individual sites can make
it difficult to reconstruct global sea level with a high degree of
confidence using evidence from any one site.
"Rather than relying on individual sites that may not be
representative, we have compared large amounts of data from many
different sites, taking into account all potential sources of
uncertainty," said Professor Eelco Rohling of the University of
Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science (SOES) based at the
National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton.
The researchers brought together about 400 high-quality sea-level
markers from study sites around the globe, concentrating on locations
far removed from the distorting effects of the past massive ice
sheets.
Using an extensive series of sophisticated statistical tests, they
then reconstructed sea-level history of the last 21 thousand years
with a high degree of statistical confidence.
Their analyses indicate that the gradual rise at an average rate of 1
metre per century was interrupted by two periods with rates of rise up
to 2.5 metres per century, between 15 and 13 thousand years ago, and
between 11 and 9 thousand years ago.
The first of these jumps in the amount of ice-sheet meltwater entering
the world ocean coincides with the beginning of a period of global
climate warming called the Bølling-Allerød period. The second jump
appears to have happened shortly after the end the 'big freeze' called
the Younger Dryas that brought the Bølling-Allerød period to an abrupt
end.
"Our estimates of rates of sea-level rise are lower than those
estimated from individual study sites, but they are statistically
robust and therefore greatly improve our understanding of loss of ice
volume due to the melting of the ice sheets at the end of the last Ice
Age," said lead author Dr Jennifer Stanford of SOES.
"The new findings will be used to refine models of the Earth climate
system, and will thus help to improve forecasts of future sea-level
responses to global climate change," added Rohling.
The researchers are Jenny Stanford, Rebecca Hemingway, Eelco Rohling
and Martin Medina-Elizalde (SOES), Peter Challenor (NOC) and Adrian
Lester (The Chamber of Shipping, London).
The research was supported by the United Kingdom's Natural Environment
Research Council.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101201120605.htm
Sea-level probability for the last deglaciation: A statistical
analysis of far-field records
Purchase the full-text article
References and further reading may be available for this article. To
view references and further reading you must purchase this article.
J.D. Stanforda, low asterisk, E-mail The Corresponding Author, R.
Hemingwaya, E.J. Rohlinga, P.G. Challenorb, M. Medina-Elizaldea and
A.J. Lesterc
a School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton,
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom
b National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom
c The Chamber of Shipping, 12 Carthusian Street, London, EC1M 6EZ
Received 4 March 2010;
accepted 8 November 2010.
Available online 26 November 2010.
Abstract
Pulses of ice-sheet meltwater into the world ocean during the last
deglaciation are of great current interest, because these large-scale
events offer important test-beds for numerical models of the responses
of ocean circulation and climate to meltwater addition. The largest
such event has become known as meltwater pulse (mwp) 1a, with
estimates of about 20 m of sea-level rise in about 500 years. A second
meltwater pulse (mwp-1b) has been inferred from some sea-level
records, but its existence has become debated following the
presentation of additional records. Even the use of the more
ubiquitous mwp-1a in modelling studies has been compromised by debate
about its exact age, based upon perceived discrepancies between far-
field sea-level records. It is clear that an objective investigation
is needed to determine to what level inferred similarities and/or
discrepancies between the various deglacial sea-level records are
statistically rigorous (or not). For that purpose, we present a Monte
Carlo style statistical analysis to determine the highest-probability
sea-level history from six key far-field deglacial sea-level records,
which fully accounts for realistic methodological and chronological
uncertainties in all these records, and which is robust with respect
to removal of individual component datasets. We find that sea-level
rise started to accelerate into the deglaciation from around 17 ka BP.
Within the deglacial rise, there were two distinct increases; one at
around the timing of the Bølling warming (14.6 ka BP), and another,
much broader, event that just post-dates the end of the Younger Dryas
(11.3 ka BP). We interpret these as mwp-1a and mwp-1b, respectively.
We find that mwp-1a occurred between 14.3 ka BP and 12.8 ka BP.
Highest rates of sea-level rise occurred at ~ 13.8 ka, probably (67%
confidence) within the range 100-130 cm/century, although values may
have been as high as 260 cm/century (99% confidence limit). Mwp-1b is
robustly expressed as a broad multi-millennial interval of enhanced
rates of sea-level rise between 11.5 ka BP and 8.8 ka BP, with peak
rates of rise of up to 250 cm/century (99 % confidence), but with a
probable rate of 130 -150 cm/century (67 % confidence) at around 9.5
ka BP. When considering the 67 % probability interval for the
deglacial sea-level history, it is clear that both mwp1a and 1b were
relatively subdued in comparison to the previously much higher rate
estimates.
source
melted into the sea could provide conditions where either the shore
untraversible or the the ability to use small craft limited.
Global Sea-Level Rise at the End of the Last Ice Age Interrupted by
Rapid 'Jumps'
Coastal erosion in Portugal. (Credit: E. Rohling)
ScienceDaily (Dec. 4, 2010) — Southampton researchers have estimated
that sea-level rose by an average of about 1 metre per century at the
end of the last Ice Age, interrupted by rapid 'jumps' during which it
rose by up to 2.5 metres per century. The findings, published in
Global and Planetary Change, will help unravel the responses of ocean
circulation and climate to large inputs of ice-sheet meltwater to the
world ocean.
Global sea level rose by a total of more than 120 metres as the vast
ice sheets of the last Ice Age melted back. This melt-back lasted from
about 19,000 to about 6,000 years ago, meaning that the average rate
of sea-level rise was roughly 1 metre per century.
Previous studies of sea-level change at individual locations have
suggested that the gradual rise may have been marked by abrupt 'jumps'
of sea-level rise at rates that approached 5 metres per century. These
estimates were based on analyses of the distribution of fossil corals
around Barbados and coastal drowning along the Sunda Shelf, an
extension of the continental shelf of East Asia.
However, uncertainties in fossil dating, scarcity of sea-level
markers, and the specific characteristics of individual sites can make
it difficult to reconstruct global sea level with a high degree of
confidence using evidence from any one site.
"Rather than relying on individual sites that may not be
representative, we have compared large amounts of data from many
different sites, taking into account all potential sources of
uncertainty," said Professor Eelco Rohling of the University of
Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science (SOES) based at the
National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton.
The researchers brought together about 400 high-quality sea-level
markers from study sites around the globe, concentrating on locations
far removed from the distorting effects of the past massive ice
sheets.
Using an extensive series of sophisticated statistical tests, they
then reconstructed sea-level history of the last 21 thousand years
with a high degree of statistical confidence.
Their analyses indicate that the gradual rise at an average rate of 1
metre per century was interrupted by two periods with rates of rise up
to 2.5 metres per century, between 15 and 13 thousand years ago, and
between 11 and 9 thousand years ago.
The first of these jumps in the amount of ice-sheet meltwater entering
the world ocean coincides with the beginning of a period of global
climate warming called the Bølling-Allerød period. The second jump
appears to have happened shortly after the end the 'big freeze' called
the Younger Dryas that brought the Bølling-Allerød period to an abrupt
end.
"Our estimates of rates of sea-level rise are lower than those
estimated from individual study sites, but they are statistically
robust and therefore greatly improve our understanding of loss of ice
volume due to the melting of the ice sheets at the end of the last Ice
Age," said lead author Dr Jennifer Stanford of SOES.
"The new findings will be used to refine models of the Earth climate
system, and will thus help to improve forecasts of future sea-level
responses to global climate change," added Rohling.
The researchers are Jenny Stanford, Rebecca Hemingway, Eelco Rohling
and Martin Medina-Elizalde (SOES), Peter Challenor (NOC) and Adrian
Lester (The Chamber of Shipping, London).
The research was supported by the United Kingdom's Natural Environment
Research Council.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101201120605.htm
Sea-level probability for the last deglaciation: A statistical
analysis of far-field records
Purchase the full-text article
References and further reading may be available for this article. To
view references and further reading you must purchase this article.
J.D. Stanforda, low asterisk, E-mail The Corresponding Author, R.
Hemingwaya, E.J. Rohlinga, P.G. Challenorb, M. Medina-Elizaldea and
A.J. Lesterc
a School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton,
National Oceanography Centre, Southampton SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom
b National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, United Kingdom
c The Chamber of Shipping, 12 Carthusian Street, London, EC1M 6EZ
Received 4 March 2010;
accepted 8 November 2010.
Available online 26 November 2010.
Abstract
Pulses of ice-sheet meltwater into the world ocean during the last
deglaciation are of great current interest, because these large-scale
events offer important test-beds for numerical models of the responses
of ocean circulation and climate to meltwater addition. The largest
such event has become known as meltwater pulse (mwp) 1a, with
estimates of about 20 m of sea-level rise in about 500 years. A second
meltwater pulse (mwp-1b) has been inferred from some sea-level
records, but its existence has become debated following the
presentation of additional records. Even the use of the more
ubiquitous mwp-1a in modelling studies has been compromised by debate
about its exact age, based upon perceived discrepancies between far-
field sea-level records. It is clear that an objective investigation
is needed to determine to what level inferred similarities and/or
discrepancies between the various deglacial sea-level records are
statistically rigorous (or not). For that purpose, we present a Monte
Carlo style statistical analysis to determine the highest-probability
sea-level history from six key far-field deglacial sea-level records,
which fully accounts for realistic methodological and chronological
uncertainties in all these records, and which is robust with respect
to removal of individual component datasets. We find that sea-level
rise started to accelerate into the deglaciation from around 17 ka BP.
Within the deglacial rise, there were two distinct increases; one at
around the timing of the Bølling warming (14.6 ka BP), and another,
much broader, event that just post-dates the end of the Younger Dryas
(11.3 ka BP). We interpret these as mwp-1a and mwp-1b, respectively.
We find that mwp-1a occurred between 14.3 ka BP and 12.8 ka BP.
Highest rates of sea-level rise occurred at ~ 13.8 ka, probably (67%
confidence) within the range 100-130 cm/century, although values may
have been as high as 260 cm/century (99% confidence limit). Mwp-1b is
robustly expressed as a broad multi-millennial interval of enhanced
rates of sea-level rise between 11.5 ka BP and 8.8 ka BP, with peak
rates of rise of up to 250 cm/century (99 % confidence), but with a
probable rate of 130 -150 cm/century (67 % confidence) at around 9.5
ka BP. When considering the 67 % probability interval for the
deglacial sea-level history, it is clear that both mwp1a and 1b were
relatively subdued in comparison to the previously much higher rate
estimates.
source
12,000 yo Mine in Americas
"12K" ya? Work the logic of traveling the distance from Beringa,
roughly 6000 miles, establishing a culture, finding the mine, and
creating the mine.
12,000-Year-Old Mine Found in Northern Chile
SANTIAGO – A mine from which a prehistoric culture extracted iron
oxide 12,000 years ago was discovered in northern Chile by a group of
archaeologists, El Mercurio newspaper reported Sunday.
The find took place in the San Ramon ravine in 2008, although this is
the first time that the archaeological team has revealed it publicly,
and – they say – it could make an important contribution to the
understanding of the prehistoric cultures that lived in the Taltal
area, some 1,100 kilometers (682 miles) north of Santiago.
The ancient people who exploited the mine were members of the
Huentelauquen culture, which used iron oxide for ceremonial purposes,
archaeologists said.
This is the oldest mine discovered in the Americas, much older than
one used 2,500 years ago that was discovered in the United States,
University of Chile professor Diego Salazar said.
In South Africa, a 40,000-year-old mine was discovered, in Australia
there is one that was used 30,000 years ago and in Greece there is a
15,000-year-old mine, Salazar said.
The Huentelauquen culture, which inhabited the area, was discovered in
1961 and to date very little is known about its members, who were
nomadic hunters and gatherers but also lived from fishing and
collecting shellfish.
The exploitation of the mine “indicates the importance of religious
activity in their way of life because iron oxide is not eaten, is not
sold, is not bought,” and it was used as a coloring agent in religious
rites, Salazar said.
It has been determined that the Chinchorro mummies found farther to
the north in the Arica area and whose age has been calculated at about
10,000 years were dyed with iron oxide, the archaeologist said.
Link
roughly 6000 miles, establishing a culture, finding the mine, and
creating the mine.
12,000-Year-Old Mine Found in Northern Chile
SANTIAGO – A mine from which a prehistoric culture extracted iron
oxide 12,000 years ago was discovered in northern Chile by a group of
archaeologists, El Mercurio newspaper reported Sunday.
The find took place in the San Ramon ravine in 2008, although this is
the first time that the archaeological team has revealed it publicly,
and – they say – it could make an important contribution to the
understanding of the prehistoric cultures that lived in the Taltal
area, some 1,100 kilometers (682 miles) north of Santiago.
The ancient people who exploited the mine were members of the
Huentelauquen culture, which used iron oxide for ceremonial purposes,
archaeologists said.
This is the oldest mine discovered in the Americas, much older than
one used 2,500 years ago that was discovered in the United States,
University of Chile professor Diego Salazar said.
In South Africa, a 40,000-year-old mine was discovered, in Australia
there is one that was used 30,000 years ago and in Greece there is a
15,000-year-old mine, Salazar said.
The Huentelauquen culture, which inhabited the area, was discovered in
1961 and to date very little is known about its members, who were
nomadic hunters and gatherers but also lived from fishing and
collecting shellfish.
The exploitation of the mine “indicates the importance of religious
activity in their way of life because iron oxide is not eaten, is not
sold, is not bought,” and it was used as a coloring agent in religious
rites, Salazar said.
It has been determined that the Chinchorro mummies found farther to
the north in the Arica area and whose age has been calculated at about
10,000 years were dyed with iron oxide, the archaeologist said.
Link
Did first humans come out of the Middle East?
Did first humans come out of Middle East and not Africa? Israeli discovery forces scientists to re-examine evolution of modern man
By Matthew Kalman
Last updated at 7:51 AM on 28th December 2010
Comments (185) Add to My Stories
Scientists could be forced to re-write the history of the evolution of modern man after the discovery of 400,000-year-old human remains.
Until now, researchers believed that homo sapiens, the direct descendants of modern man, evolved in Africa about 200,000 years ago and gradually migrated north, through the Middle East, to Europe and Asia.
Recently, discoveries of early human remains in China and Spain have cast doubt on the 'Out of Africa' theory, but no-one was certain.
Professor Avi Gopher, a researcher from Tel Aviv University's Institute of Archaeology, holds a pre-historic tooth at Qesem cave, an excavation site near the town of Rosh Ha'ayin
The new discovery of pre-historic human remains by Israeli university explorers in a cave near Ben-Gurion airport could force scientists to re-think earlier theories.
Early humans: Middle Awash Aramis, Ethiopia, where the first 'modern' human beings were thought to have been discovered
Archeologists from Tel Aviv University say eight human-like teeth found in the Qesem cave near Rosh Ha’Ayin - 10 miles from Israel’s international airport - are 400,000 years old, from the Middle Pleistocene Age, making them the earliest remains of homo sapiens yet discovered anywhere in the world.
The size and shape of the teeth are very similar to those of modern man. Until now, the earliest examples found were in Africa, dating back only 200,000 years.
Other scientists have argued that human beings originated in Africa before moving to other regions 150,000 to 200,000 years ago.
Homo sapiens discovered in Middle Awash, Ethiopia, from 160,000 years ago were believed to be the oldest 'modern' human beings.
Other remains previously found in Israeli caves are thought to have been more recent and 80,000 to 100,000 years old.
A group of international and Israeli researchers have discovered pre-historic artefacts and human remains at the site that may prove the earliest existence of modern man was about 400,000 years ago
The findings of Professor Avi Gopher and Dr Ran Barkai of the Institute of Archeology at Tel Aviv University, published last week in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, suggest that modern man did not originate in Africa as previously believed, but in the Middle East.
The Qesem cave was discovered in 2000 and has been the focus of intense study ever since.
Along with the teeth – the parts of the human skeleton that survive the longest – the researchers found evidence of a sophisticated early human society that used sharpened flakes of stone to cut meat and other impressive prehistoric tools.
The Israeli scientists said the remains found in the cave suggested the systematic production of flint blades, the habitual use of fire, evidence of hunting, cutting and sharing of animal meat, and mining raw materials to produce flint tools from rocks below ground.
'A diversified assemblage of flint blades was manufactured and used,' the Tel Aviv scientists wrote, describing the tools they found in the cave.
'Thick-edged blades, shaped through retouch, were used for scraping semi-hard materials such as wood or hide, whereas blades with straight, sharp working edges were used to cut soft tissues.'
The explorers said they were continuing to investigate the cave and its contents, expecting to make more discoveries that would shed further light on human evolution in prehistoric times.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1341973/Did-humans-come-Middle-East-Africa-Scientists-forced-write-evolution-modern-man.html#ixzz19r1Nlm7sSource
By Matthew Kalman
Last updated at 7:51 AM on 28th December 2010
Comments (185) Add to My Stories
Scientists could be forced to re-write the history of the evolution of modern man after the discovery of 400,000-year-old human remains.
Until now, researchers believed that homo sapiens, the direct descendants of modern man, evolved in Africa about 200,000 years ago and gradually migrated north, through the Middle East, to Europe and Asia.
Recently, discoveries of early human remains in China and Spain have cast doubt on the 'Out of Africa' theory, but no-one was certain.
Professor Avi Gopher, a researcher from Tel Aviv University's Institute of Archaeology, holds a pre-historic tooth at Qesem cave, an excavation site near the town of Rosh Ha'ayin
The new discovery of pre-historic human remains by Israeli university explorers in a cave near Ben-Gurion airport could force scientists to re-think earlier theories.
Early humans: Middle Awash Aramis, Ethiopia, where the first 'modern' human beings were thought to have been discovered
Archeologists from Tel Aviv University say eight human-like teeth found in the Qesem cave near Rosh Ha’Ayin - 10 miles from Israel’s international airport - are 400,000 years old, from the Middle Pleistocene Age, making them the earliest remains of homo sapiens yet discovered anywhere in the world.
The size and shape of the teeth are very similar to those of modern man. Until now, the earliest examples found were in Africa, dating back only 200,000 years.
Other scientists have argued that human beings originated in Africa before moving to other regions 150,000 to 200,000 years ago.
Homo sapiens discovered in Middle Awash, Ethiopia, from 160,000 years ago were believed to be the oldest 'modern' human beings.
Other remains previously found in Israeli caves are thought to have been more recent and 80,000 to 100,000 years old.
A group of international and Israeli researchers have discovered pre-historic artefacts and human remains at the site that may prove the earliest existence of modern man was about 400,000 years ago
The findings of Professor Avi Gopher and Dr Ran Barkai of the Institute of Archeology at Tel Aviv University, published last week in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, suggest that modern man did not originate in Africa as previously believed, but in the Middle East.
The Qesem cave was discovered in 2000 and has been the focus of intense study ever since.
Along with the teeth – the parts of the human skeleton that survive the longest – the researchers found evidence of a sophisticated early human society that used sharpened flakes of stone to cut meat and other impressive prehistoric tools.
The Israeli scientists said the remains found in the cave suggested the systematic production of flint blades, the habitual use of fire, evidence of hunting, cutting and sharing of animal meat, and mining raw materials to produce flint tools from rocks below ground.
'A diversified assemblage of flint blades was manufactured and used,' the Tel Aviv scientists wrote, describing the tools they found in the cave.
'Thick-edged blades, shaped through retouch, were used for scraping semi-hard materials such as wood or hide, whereas blades with straight, sharp working edges were used to cut soft tissues.'
The explorers said they were continuing to investigate the cave and its contents, expecting to make more discoveries that would shed further light on human evolution in prehistoric times.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1341973/Did-humans-come-Middle-East-Africa-Scientists-forced-write-evolution-modern-man.html#ixzz19r1Nlm7sSource
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Smithsonian does not dispute authenticity of archaeological find in Vero Beach
The approval of the Smithsonian may be a crack at the people from
the Smithsonian who poo-pooed the Vero Man discovery of the 1916.
There were similar etched bones in that dig but mostly simple
markings.
Smithsonian does not dispute authenticity of archaeological find in
Vero Beach
By Elliott Jones
Updated Wednesday, October 20, 2010
VERO BEACH — The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., has
found no reason to dispute the authenticity of an one-of-a-kind
archaeological discovery that might help confirm a human presence here
up to 13,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age.
In early 2009, local fossil collector James Kennedy cleaned off an old
bone he found two years earlier and noticed some lines on it — lines
that turned out to be a clear etching of a walking mammoth with tusks.
The location where he found it hasn’t been disclosed, except that it
came from an area north of Vero Beach.
University of Florida researchers scrutinized the four-inch etching on
the 15-inch prehistoric bone with an electron microscope and their
tests showed it to be apparently genuine.
In May, Kennedy took the bone to the National Museum of Natural
History for further studies. There Smithsonian Institution
archaeologists made a copy and used advanced techniques to look at the
etching.
“We have found no traces that would indicate that a (modern) metal
tool was used to carve the bone,” said the institution’s Dennis
Stanford, who specializes in early North American archaeology.
“While we see no evidence that it is a forgery” the institution
doesn’t authenticate objects unless they are donated to the museum,
Stanford wrote in an e-mail on Tuesday.
Kennedy is keeping the bone in hopes of selling it by auction.
“I want to auction it to the person with the most money, although I
would rather it go to a museum,” Kennedy said.
It is presumed to be the oldest known art object of its type found in
the New World, said Richard Hulbert, a paleontologist with the Florida
Museum of Natural History, Gainesville.
The person who created the etching, presumably with a shark tooth or
flint implement, had to have seen a live animal to have drawn it in
such detail, he said.
“I’d like to have that (an image of it) flying on a flag outside the
museum,” Hulbert said while visiting Vero Beach during the spring.
“I pulled out of the dirt,” Kennedy said. “People have looked at it
with all types of equipment and it has all come back positive. It is
what it is.”
Source
the Smithsonian who poo-pooed the Vero Man discovery of the 1916.
There were similar etched bones in that dig but mostly simple
markings.
Smithsonian does not dispute authenticity of archaeological find in
Vero Beach
By Elliott Jones
Updated Wednesday, October 20, 2010
VERO BEACH — The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., has
found no reason to dispute the authenticity of an one-of-a-kind
archaeological discovery that might help confirm a human presence here
up to 13,000 years ago at the end of the last Ice Age.
In early 2009, local fossil collector James Kennedy cleaned off an old
bone he found two years earlier and noticed some lines on it — lines
that turned out to be a clear etching of a walking mammoth with tusks.
The location where he found it hasn’t been disclosed, except that it
came from an area north of Vero Beach.
University of Florida researchers scrutinized the four-inch etching on
the 15-inch prehistoric bone with an electron microscope and their
tests showed it to be apparently genuine.
In May, Kennedy took the bone to the National Museum of Natural
History for further studies. There Smithsonian Institution
archaeologists made a copy and used advanced techniques to look at the
etching.
“We have found no traces that would indicate that a (modern) metal
tool was used to carve the bone,” said the institution’s Dennis
Stanford, who specializes in early North American archaeology.
“While we see no evidence that it is a forgery” the institution
doesn’t authenticate objects unless they are donated to the museum,
Stanford wrote in an e-mail on Tuesday.
Kennedy is keeping the bone in hopes of selling it by auction.
“I want to auction it to the person with the most money, although I
would rather it go to a museum,” Kennedy said.
It is presumed to be the oldest known art object of its type found in
the New World, said Richard Hulbert, a paleontologist with the Florida
Museum of Natural History, Gainesville.
The person who created the etching, presumably with a shark tooth or
flint implement, had to have seen a live animal to have drawn it in
such detail, he said.
“I’d like to have that (an image of it) flying on a flag outside the
museum,” Hulbert said while visiting Vero Beach during the spring.
“I pulled out of the dirt,” Kennedy said. “People have looked at it
with all types of equipment and it has all come back positive. It is
what it is.”
Source
A Setback for Neanderthal Smarts? Not
My issue with this article is that I have no problem expanding the Chatelperronian to include dates from 21k to 49k and still associate it with Neanderthals.
We know that there weren't any Hss in France 49k ago....and we know that there were still neanderthals in southern Iberia 21k ago...and we know that neanderthals definitely mixed with Hss.
So late Chatelperronian in France doesn't really seem outlandish to me, and I'd be willing to bet that whoever made those lithics 21k ago had more than any modern person's share of neanderthal blood in them.
A Setback for Neandertal Smarts?
by Michael Balter on 18 October 2010, 3:00 PM | Permanent Link | 0
Comments
Neandertals are looking sharp these days. Many researchers now credit
our evolutionary cousins, once regarded as brutish and dumb, with
"modern behavior," such as making sophisticated tools and fashioning
jewelry, a sign of symbolic expression. But new radiocarbon dating at
a site in France could mar this flattering view. The study concludes
that the archaeological layers at the site are so mixed up that
ornaments and tools once attributed to Neandertals could actually be
the work of modern humans, who lived in the same cave at a later date.
One prominent researcher even argues that this celebrated site, the
Grotte du Renne (literally "reindeer cave") at Arcy-sur-Cure in
central France, should now be eliminated from scientific
consideration. "This key site should be disqualified from the debate
over [Neandertal] symbolism," says Randall White, an archaeologist at
New York University. But João Zilhão, an archaeologist at the
University of Bristol in the United Kingdom who has often tussled with
White and other researchers over the evidence from the Grotte du
Renne, says that the new study "prove[s] the exact opposite of what
[its] authors claim."
The Grotte du Renne was excavated between 1949 and 1963 by the late
French prehistorian André Leroi-Gourhan, who found 15 levels of
hominid occupation ranging from about 45,000 to 28,000 years ago. This
period includes the overlapping occupation of Europe by Neandertals,
who show up about 130,000 years ago and disappear no later than 30,000
years ago, and modern humans, who arrived in Europe between 45,000 and
40,000 years ago and stayed for good.
Leroi-Gourhan attributed the artifacts in the lowest levels to
Neandertals and artifacts from higher levels to modern humans, based
largely on the types of tools they made. But the middle layers at the
site included bone tools, ivory ornaments, and other sophisticated
artifacts that Leroi-Gourhan attributed to a culture called the
Châtelperronian. Although Châtelperronian artifacts closely resemble
those made by modern humans, many researchers have attributed them to
Neandertals because they have sometimes been found with Neandertal
fossils. Indeed, at the Grotte du Renne, Leroi-Gourhan found about 30
Neandertal teeth in the Châtelperronian levels, which can be
distinguished from modern human teeth based on the size and shape of
their cusps and other features.
Most debates about the Châtelperronian—which begins about 40,000 years
ago—have revolved around whether Neandertals invented it or simply
copied the behavior of incoming modern humans. But recently, some
researchers have begun questioning whether Neandertals made the
Châtelperronian at all.
In the new study, published online today in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, a team led by dating expert Thomas
Higham of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom reports 31
new radiocarbon dates from the Grotte du Renne, using new filtration
methods to purify radiocarbon samples and remove contamination by
modern carbon sources, which has long plagued dating accuracy. The
dates, obtained on materials such as bone tools and ornaments made of
animal teeth, painted a disturbing picture: Whereas upper layers
attributed to modern humans clocked in at no older than 35,000 years,
artifacts from the Châtelperronian levels ranged from 21,000 years
ago, when Neandertals were long extinct, to 49,000 years ago, before
the Châtelperronian actually began. Indeed, Higham and his colleagues
found that at least one-third of the Châtelperronian dates were
outside the known time period of this culture.
The team concludes that the archaeological levels must have become
mixed over thousands of years and that younger artifacts made by
modern humans may have moved down into levels long thought to be
associated with Neandertals. "The evidence from the Grotte du Renne
ought to be viewed with extreme caution," the authors write.
The authors do not speculate on whether the layers became mixed
through natural sedimentation processes or excavation errors that
caused some artifacts to be assigned to the wrong occupation levels.
White says that the results should not be surprising, because Leroi-
Gourhan's excavations took place "at a time when excavation techniques
in general were rudimentary." He adds that only one other
Châtelperronian site has produced personal ornaments, in much smaller
numbers, meaning that claims that Neandertals were capable of such
symbolic expression rests heavily on the evidence at the Grotte du
Renne. But Zilhão counters that two-thirds of the dates are consistent
with Neandertals having made the Châtelperronian. The other, outlying
dates could be the result of contamination rather than mixing of
artifacts among layers, he says.
Yet Higham, who has been redating nearly 20 other Neandertal and
modern human sites in Europe, says that the Grotte du Renne is unique
in producing such wildly varying dates. "I think this is telling us
something," Higham says. "This site has some problems."
Read the discussion here!
We know that there weren't any Hss in France 49k ago....and we know that there were still neanderthals in southern Iberia 21k ago...and we know that neanderthals definitely mixed with Hss.
So late Chatelperronian in France doesn't really seem outlandish to me, and I'd be willing to bet that whoever made those lithics 21k ago had more than any modern person's share of neanderthal blood in them.
A Setback for Neandertal Smarts?
by Michael Balter on 18 October 2010, 3:00 PM | Permanent Link | 0
Comments
Neandertals are looking sharp these days. Many researchers now credit
our evolutionary cousins, once regarded as brutish and dumb, with
"modern behavior," such as making sophisticated tools and fashioning
jewelry, a sign of symbolic expression. But new radiocarbon dating at
a site in France could mar this flattering view. The study concludes
that the archaeological layers at the site are so mixed up that
ornaments and tools once attributed to Neandertals could actually be
the work of modern humans, who lived in the same cave at a later date.
One prominent researcher even argues that this celebrated site, the
Grotte du Renne (literally "reindeer cave") at Arcy-sur-Cure in
central France, should now be eliminated from scientific
consideration. "This key site should be disqualified from the debate
over [Neandertal] symbolism," says Randall White, an archaeologist at
New York University. But João Zilhão, an archaeologist at the
University of Bristol in the United Kingdom who has often tussled with
White and other researchers over the evidence from the Grotte du
Renne, says that the new study "prove[s] the exact opposite of what
[its] authors claim."
The Grotte du Renne was excavated between 1949 and 1963 by the late
French prehistorian André Leroi-Gourhan, who found 15 levels of
hominid occupation ranging from about 45,000 to 28,000 years ago. This
period includes the overlapping occupation of Europe by Neandertals,
who show up about 130,000 years ago and disappear no later than 30,000
years ago, and modern humans, who arrived in Europe between 45,000 and
40,000 years ago and stayed for good.
Leroi-Gourhan attributed the artifacts in the lowest levels to
Neandertals and artifacts from higher levels to modern humans, based
largely on the types of tools they made. But the middle layers at the
site included bone tools, ivory ornaments, and other sophisticated
artifacts that Leroi-Gourhan attributed to a culture called the
Châtelperronian. Although Châtelperronian artifacts closely resemble
those made by modern humans, many researchers have attributed them to
Neandertals because they have sometimes been found with Neandertal
fossils. Indeed, at the Grotte du Renne, Leroi-Gourhan found about 30
Neandertal teeth in the Châtelperronian levels, which can be
distinguished from modern human teeth based on the size and shape of
their cusps and other features.
Most debates about the Châtelperronian—which begins about 40,000 years
ago—have revolved around whether Neandertals invented it or simply
copied the behavior of incoming modern humans. But recently, some
researchers have begun questioning whether Neandertals made the
Châtelperronian at all.
In the new study, published online today in the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, a team led by dating expert Thomas
Higham of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom reports 31
new radiocarbon dates from the Grotte du Renne, using new filtration
methods to purify radiocarbon samples and remove contamination by
modern carbon sources, which has long plagued dating accuracy. The
dates, obtained on materials such as bone tools and ornaments made of
animal teeth, painted a disturbing picture: Whereas upper layers
attributed to modern humans clocked in at no older than 35,000 years,
artifacts from the Châtelperronian levels ranged from 21,000 years
ago, when Neandertals were long extinct, to 49,000 years ago, before
the Châtelperronian actually began. Indeed, Higham and his colleagues
found that at least one-third of the Châtelperronian dates were
outside the known time period of this culture.
The team concludes that the archaeological levels must have become
mixed over thousands of years and that younger artifacts made by
modern humans may have moved down into levels long thought to be
associated with Neandertals. "The evidence from the Grotte du Renne
ought to be viewed with extreme caution," the authors write.
The authors do not speculate on whether the layers became mixed
through natural sedimentation processes or excavation errors that
caused some artifacts to be assigned to the wrong occupation levels.
White says that the results should not be surprising, because Leroi-
Gourhan's excavations took place "at a time when excavation techniques
in general were rudimentary." He adds that only one other
Châtelperronian site has produced personal ornaments, in much smaller
numbers, meaning that claims that Neandertals were capable of such
symbolic expression rests heavily on the evidence at the Grotte du
Renne. But Zilhão counters that two-thirds of the dates are consistent
with Neandertals having made the Châtelperronian. The other, outlying
dates could be the result of contamination rather than mixing of
artifacts among layers, he says.
Yet Higham, who has been redating nearly 20 other Neandertal and
modern human sites in Europe, says that the Grotte du Renne is unique
in producing such wildly varying dates. "I think this is telling us
something," Higham says. "This site has some problems."
Read the discussion here!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
49,000 years ago migration got out of their canoes and headed uplands.
49,000 years ago migration got out of their canoes and headed uplands.
Two articles.
PNG find prompts human migration rethink
By: Julian Swallow | October-1-2010
49,000-year-old artefacts have been unearthed in PNG, suggesting a
rethink of human migration patterns.
The Ivane Valley in PNG, where 49,000 year-old artefacts have been
uncovered. (Photo: Glenn Summerhayes and Andrew Fairbairn)
ANCIENT ARTEFACTS UNEARTHED IN the highlands of Papua New Guinea
provide some of the earliest evidence of human settlement of Sahul,
the primordial landmass that once joined Papua New Guinea with
Australia.
Charred nut shells from pandanus trees, fragments of animal bone and
the remains of stone axes were found in the remote Ivane Valley of
south-eastern Papua New Guinea - near the famous Kokoda Track - by a
team led by archaeology Professor Glenn Summerhayes from the
University of Otago, New Zealand.
These artefacts, which have been dated to between 49,000 and 44,000
years old, may prompt a rethink of the traditional view that the
prehistoric migration of people throughout the world took place along
the coasts.
"This is among the earliest evidence of human habitation in this part
of the world, or indeed any place outside Africa, India and the Middle
East," Glenn told Australian Geographic. "Many models for the
movements of people argue for a colonisation route along the coast,
arguing that people were pre-adapted to a coastal way of life...Our
evidence shows such a pre-adaptation would have been short lived as
people moved into highland valleys as soon as they got out of their
canoes."
Ivane Valley resident, Paul Lamui, demonstrates how to use rocks to
crack pandanus nuts open - the same method used 49,000 years ago
according to excavation evidence in the Ivane Valley of PNG. (Photo:
Andrew Fairbairn)
"Cold, uncompromising place"
The team's study is published today in the journal Science.
Professor Peter Bellwood, an archaeologist at ANU who was not part of
the team, agrees the wealth of evidence found in the Ivane Valley
"provides the first reliable dates for the earliest habitation of the
PNG Highlands."
Professor Chris Gosden from the University of Oxford - who writes a
related article in the same issue of Science - says its unlikely early
humans would have lived there permanently as it was a "cold, difficult
and uncompromising place to live at any time over the past 50,000
years."
Starch grains from yams recovered in the valley appear to support
this, having most likely been transported there from their natural
habitat in the lower elevations closer to the country's steamy sub-
tropical coast.
Highly mobile
Archaeologist Dr Andrew Fairbairn from the University of Queensland,
who worked with Glenn on the research, says this suggests early humans
lived in small nomadic populations that moved up and down the
mountains of Papua New Guinea in search of food.
"They clearly were very mobile. We assume [they lived in] some form of
egalitarian structure, but it's very difficult to say from the
archaeological remains alone. It was a very cold period in history and
these people were both resourceful and capable to be able to live at
this altitude," he says.
Long isolated by water, Sahul is thought to have been first colonised
via canoe from Southeast Asia sometime after 50,000 years ago. The
subsequent settlement of the Papua New Guinea Highlands was a
forerunner to the great migrations that took place several thousand
years later, when other parts of Sahul were settled, including wet and
semi-arid parts of Australia.
A map of the Ivane Valley in Papua New Guinea at the citation
and
Ancient New Guinea settlers headed for the hills
First human arrivals rapidly adapted to mile-high forests 50,000 years
ago
By Bruce Bower
Web edition : 2:06 pm
font_down font_up Text Size
access
Enlargemagnify
Tree TopplerPeople who reached New Guinea nearly 50,000 years ago
fashioned stone tools dubbed waisted axes, such as this specimen shown
from three angles, that were apparently used to fell trees and clear
patches of forest in a mountain valley.G. Summerhayes
Excavations in Papua New Guinea’s western highlands have turned up the
oldest well-documented evidence of people in Sahul, a land mass that
once joined the island to Australia.
Stone tools and plant remains indicate that, as early as 49,000 years
ago, people lived 2,000 meters, or 1.2 miles, above sea level in Papua
New Guinea’s Ivane Valley, say archaeologist Glenn Summerhayes of the
University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, and his colleagues.
By at least 50,000 years ago, modern humans occupied lowland
rainforests and savannas of southeastern Asia’s land mass known as
Sunda. From there they crossed the open ocean to Sahul, presumably in
seacraft of some kind. Rising sea levels separated Papua New Guinea
from Australia roughly 10,000 years ago.
Many researchers assume that modern humans spread from Africa to Sahul
along the coast and preferred living at low altitudes. That idea gets
drubbed by the new discoveries, Summerhayes says. Shortly after
reaching Sahul’s shores, settlers headed uphill to the Ivane Valley’s
thin air, cold temperatures and harsh habitat, the scientists conclude
in the Oct. 1 Science.
“Early occupation of such adverse environments contributes to a model
in which small numbers of foraging peoples moved around the Sahul
landscape, colonizing new areas and then returning back to where they
had been,” Summerhayes says.
access
Enlargemagnify
GOING UPAfter crossing the sea from southeastern Asia to New Guinea,
people reached the mile-high Ivane Valley between 49,000 and 43,000
years ago, making them the earliest known settlers of a land mass
called Sahul, which at the time included Australia. Science © 2010
AAAS
Despite the challenges at high altitudes, prehistoric people had the
mental savvy to survive, archaeologist Chris Gosden of the University
of Oxford in England writes in a comment published in the same issue
of Science. Crucial survival skills in their intellectual arsenal
included an ability to remember complex travel routes and to identify
potentially edible and possibly lethal plants, Gosden says.
Swift settlement of southern as well as northern Sahul occurred
shortly after 50,000 years ago (SN: 3/15/03, p. 173), proposes
archaeologist Matthew Spriggs of Australian National University in
Canberra. “Finding the first human sites is a bit of a needle-in-the-
haystack problem, but people in northern Sahul could have walked to
and from what we now know as Australia,” he says.
Previous reports that people reached northern Australia at least
60,000 years ago, based on measurements of stored radiation that
indicate when an artifact was buried, have drawn skepticism because of
possible shifting of sediment layers and artifacts over time.
Prior research on Papua New Guinea, conducted by Summerhayes and
others, has located human occupations with radiocarbon dates as old as
41,000 years along the coast and at one Ivane Valley site.
In 2007 and 2008, Summerhayes’ team found seven more ancient camps in
the highland valley. Radiocarbon measures of charcoal from one site,
Vilakuav, put it at between 49,000 and 43,000 years old. Other sites
dated to between 41,400 and 26,000 years ago.
Each camp yielded various stone tools. Investigators found sharp
implements indented in the middle, known as waisted axes, at four
sites, including Vilakuav. Already known from later Stone Age sites on
Papua New Guinea, waisted axes were used to clear trees and open
patches of forest to sunlight so that edible and medicinal plants
could grow faster, Summerhayes suggests.
Sahul settlers made stone tools where they camped, he notes. Finds
included large stones from which sharp flakes had been removed and
shards of rock produced during toolmaking.
Starch grains found on several stone tools came from yams, a food that
must have been gathered in its natural range at lower altitudes, the
researchers say.
Charred nut shells from high-altitude Pandanus trees turned up at
Vilakuav and at three other sites. Ancient settlers ate these nuts and
probably a pineapple-like fruit that grows on Pandanus trees, the
scientists suspect.
Excavations at Vilakuav also produced burned bone fragments from
unidentified animals that had been hunted, in Summerhayes’ view.
Available game probably included animals still found in the region —
possums, tree kangaroos, bats, frogs, anteaters, lizards, snakes and
birds.
Farming began in Papua New Guinea’s highlands about 9,000 years ago.
Today, Gosden points out, farming populations thrive where small bands
of foragers once scrounged out a living.
A Geographic
Science news
Two articles.
PNG find prompts human migration rethink
By: Julian Swallow | October-1-2010
49,000-year-old artefacts have been unearthed in PNG, suggesting a
rethink of human migration patterns.
The Ivane Valley in PNG, where 49,000 year-old artefacts have been
uncovered. (Photo: Glenn Summerhayes and Andrew Fairbairn)
ANCIENT ARTEFACTS UNEARTHED IN the highlands of Papua New Guinea
provide some of the earliest evidence of human settlement of Sahul,
the primordial landmass that once joined Papua New Guinea with
Australia.
Charred nut shells from pandanus trees, fragments of animal bone and
the remains of stone axes were found in the remote Ivane Valley of
south-eastern Papua New Guinea - near the famous Kokoda Track - by a
team led by archaeology Professor Glenn Summerhayes from the
University of Otago, New Zealand.
These artefacts, which have been dated to between 49,000 and 44,000
years old, may prompt a rethink of the traditional view that the
prehistoric migration of people throughout the world took place along
the coasts.
"This is among the earliest evidence of human habitation in this part
of the world, or indeed any place outside Africa, India and the Middle
East," Glenn told Australian Geographic. "Many models for the
movements of people argue for a colonisation route along the coast,
arguing that people were pre-adapted to a coastal way of life...Our
evidence shows such a pre-adaptation would have been short lived as
people moved into highland valleys as soon as they got out of their
canoes."
Ivane Valley resident, Paul Lamui, demonstrates how to use rocks to
crack pandanus nuts open - the same method used 49,000 years ago
according to excavation evidence in the Ivane Valley of PNG. (Photo:
Andrew Fairbairn)
"Cold, uncompromising place"
The team's study is published today in the journal Science.
Professor Peter Bellwood, an archaeologist at ANU who was not part of
the team, agrees the wealth of evidence found in the Ivane Valley
"provides the first reliable dates for the earliest habitation of the
PNG Highlands."
Professor Chris Gosden from the University of Oxford - who writes a
related article in the same issue of Science - says its unlikely early
humans would have lived there permanently as it was a "cold, difficult
and uncompromising place to live at any time over the past 50,000
years."
Starch grains from yams recovered in the valley appear to support
this, having most likely been transported there from their natural
habitat in the lower elevations closer to the country's steamy sub-
tropical coast.
Highly mobile
Archaeologist Dr Andrew Fairbairn from the University of Queensland,
who worked with Glenn on the research, says this suggests early humans
lived in small nomadic populations that moved up and down the
mountains of Papua New Guinea in search of food.
"They clearly were very mobile. We assume [they lived in] some form of
egalitarian structure, but it's very difficult to say from the
archaeological remains alone. It was a very cold period in history and
these people were both resourceful and capable to be able to live at
this altitude," he says.
Long isolated by water, Sahul is thought to have been first colonised
via canoe from Southeast Asia sometime after 50,000 years ago. The
subsequent settlement of the Papua New Guinea Highlands was a
forerunner to the great migrations that took place several thousand
years later, when other parts of Sahul were settled, including wet and
semi-arid parts of Australia.
A map of the Ivane Valley in Papua New Guinea at the citation
and
Ancient New Guinea settlers headed for the hills
First human arrivals rapidly adapted to mile-high forests 50,000 years
ago
By Bruce Bower
Web edition : 2:06 pm
font_down font_up Text Size
access
Enlargemagnify
Tree TopplerPeople who reached New Guinea nearly 50,000 years ago
fashioned stone tools dubbed waisted axes, such as this specimen shown
from three angles, that were apparently used to fell trees and clear
patches of forest in a mountain valley.G. Summerhayes
Excavations in Papua New Guinea’s western highlands have turned up the
oldest well-documented evidence of people in Sahul, a land mass that
once joined the island to Australia.
Stone tools and plant remains indicate that, as early as 49,000 years
ago, people lived 2,000 meters, or 1.2 miles, above sea level in Papua
New Guinea’s Ivane Valley, say archaeologist Glenn Summerhayes of the
University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, and his colleagues.
By at least 50,000 years ago, modern humans occupied lowland
rainforests and savannas of southeastern Asia’s land mass known as
Sunda. From there they crossed the open ocean to Sahul, presumably in
seacraft of some kind. Rising sea levels separated Papua New Guinea
from Australia roughly 10,000 years ago.
Many researchers assume that modern humans spread from Africa to Sahul
along the coast and preferred living at low altitudes. That idea gets
drubbed by the new discoveries, Summerhayes says. Shortly after
reaching Sahul’s shores, settlers headed uphill to the Ivane Valley’s
thin air, cold temperatures and harsh habitat, the scientists conclude
in the Oct. 1 Science.
“Early occupation of such adverse environments contributes to a model
in which small numbers of foraging peoples moved around the Sahul
landscape, colonizing new areas and then returning back to where they
had been,” Summerhayes says.
access
Enlargemagnify
GOING UPAfter crossing the sea from southeastern Asia to New Guinea,
people reached the mile-high Ivane Valley between 49,000 and 43,000
years ago, making them the earliest known settlers of a land mass
called Sahul, which at the time included Australia. Science © 2010
AAAS
Despite the challenges at high altitudes, prehistoric people had the
mental savvy to survive, archaeologist Chris Gosden of the University
of Oxford in England writes in a comment published in the same issue
of Science. Crucial survival skills in their intellectual arsenal
included an ability to remember complex travel routes and to identify
potentially edible and possibly lethal plants, Gosden says.
Swift settlement of southern as well as northern Sahul occurred
shortly after 50,000 years ago (SN: 3/15/03, p. 173), proposes
archaeologist Matthew Spriggs of Australian National University in
Canberra. “Finding the first human sites is a bit of a needle-in-the-
haystack problem, but people in northern Sahul could have walked to
and from what we now know as Australia,” he says.
Previous reports that people reached northern Australia at least
60,000 years ago, based on measurements of stored radiation that
indicate when an artifact was buried, have drawn skepticism because of
possible shifting of sediment layers and artifacts over time.
Prior research on Papua New Guinea, conducted by Summerhayes and
others, has located human occupations with radiocarbon dates as old as
41,000 years along the coast and at one Ivane Valley site.
In 2007 and 2008, Summerhayes’ team found seven more ancient camps in
the highland valley. Radiocarbon measures of charcoal from one site,
Vilakuav, put it at between 49,000 and 43,000 years old. Other sites
dated to between 41,400 and 26,000 years ago.
Each camp yielded various stone tools. Investigators found sharp
implements indented in the middle, known as waisted axes, at four
sites, including Vilakuav. Already known from later Stone Age sites on
Papua New Guinea, waisted axes were used to clear trees and open
patches of forest to sunlight so that edible and medicinal plants
could grow faster, Summerhayes suggests.
Sahul settlers made stone tools where they camped, he notes. Finds
included large stones from which sharp flakes had been removed and
shards of rock produced during toolmaking.
Starch grains found on several stone tools came from yams, a food that
must have been gathered in its natural range at lower altitudes, the
researchers say.
Charred nut shells from high-altitude Pandanus trees turned up at
Vilakuav and at three other sites. Ancient settlers ate these nuts and
probably a pineapple-like fruit that grows on Pandanus trees, the
scientists suspect.
Excavations at Vilakuav also produced burned bone fragments from
unidentified animals that had been hunted, in Summerhayes’ view.
Available game probably included animals still found in the region —
possums, tree kangaroos, bats, frogs, anteaters, lizards, snakes and
birds.
Farming began in Papua New Guinea’s highlands about 9,000 years ago.
Today, Gosden points out, farming populations thrive where small bands
of foragers once scrounged out a living.
A Geographic
Science news
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Ancient cave art with Mounted Hunter
Ancient cave art discovered in Somaliland
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) on Sep 18th 2010 at 11:00AM
Somaliland is little-known as an adventure travel destination. The breakaway region of northern Somalia isn't even recognized as a nation, but traveling in Somaliland I found it to be a fascinating and friendly country. Its biggest draw for visitors is the well-preserved cave art at Laas Geel, shown above.
Now Somaliland has even more ancient attractions with the announcement that archaeologist Dr. Sada Mire has discovered rock art at almost a hundred more sites in Somaliland. The Somali-born archaeologist says the paintings date to various periods from two to five thousand years ago. Images include animals, the moon in various phases, and a remarkable four-thousand-year-old depiction of a mounted hunter.
Ten of the sites are so outstanding that they'll be candidates for UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list. Her findings will appear in the next issue of Current World Archaeology.
I met Dr. Mire last year in London, and while she was anxious to promote archaeological tourism to her country, she warned that a lack of funding and education meant ancient sites such as Laas Geel were under threat. Perhaps her spectacular finds will encourage UNESCO and other organizations to take an interest in Somaliland and help foster a sustainable tourism that will be protect and showcase the caves.Source
by Sean McLachlan (RSS feed) on Sep 18th 2010 at 11:00AM
Somaliland is little-known as an adventure travel destination. The breakaway region of northern Somalia isn't even recognized as a nation, but traveling in Somaliland I found it to be a fascinating and friendly country. Its biggest draw for visitors is the well-preserved cave art at Laas Geel, shown above.
Now Somaliland has even more ancient attractions with the announcement that archaeologist Dr. Sada Mire has discovered rock art at almost a hundred more sites in Somaliland. The Somali-born archaeologist says the paintings date to various periods from two to five thousand years ago. Images include animals, the moon in various phases, and a remarkable four-thousand-year-old depiction of a mounted hunter.
Ten of the sites are so outstanding that they'll be candidates for UNESCO's World Heritage Sites list. Her findings will appear in the next issue of Current World Archaeology.
I met Dr. Mire last year in London, and while she was anxious to promote archaeological tourism to her country, she warned that a lack of funding and education meant ancient sites such as Laas Geel were under threat. Perhaps her spectacular finds will encourage UNESCO and other organizations to take an interest in Somaliland and help foster a sustainable tourism that will be protect and showcase the caves.Source
5000 year old navigation system discovered
5000 year old navigation system discovered
by Kraig Becker (RSS feed) on Sep 15th 2009 at 11:30AM
A primitive, yet highly effective, navigation system was used by ancient man to navigate their way across England and Wales historians claim, proving once again that ancient civilizations were far more sophisticated in their approach to engineering than was once thought.
According to this story from the Daily Mail, the 5000 year old "sat nav" system used stone monuments, often erected atop high hills, to point the way to similar points, sometimes as far as 100 miles away. This intricate network of stone monoliths, which includes Stonehenge, created a system that would allow ancient travelers to navigate across long distances with an accuracy of within 100 meters.
British Historian Tom Brooks used modern GPS systems to examine more than 1500 historical sites, and his findings were astounding. Each of the sites was connected to one another by vast geometric grid made of of isosceles triangles, in which each triangle has two sides of the same length, and pointed to the next settlement, thus allowing for simple and effective navigation across the landscape.
If Brook's assertion that the system was created over 5000 years ago is correct, the use of geometry predates that of the Greeks, who were thought to have discovered that branch of mathematics. He also claims that it is the "world's biggest civil engineering project" as well.
The implications of this theory are very interesting, and it does help to explain what the purpose of sites such as Stonehenge were used for, although their method of construction still remains a mystery. This is a fascinating story of how prehistoric man may have found their way across long distances.Source
by Kraig Becker (RSS feed) on Sep 15th 2009 at 11:30AM
A primitive, yet highly effective, navigation system was used by ancient man to navigate their way across England and Wales historians claim, proving once again that ancient civilizations were far more sophisticated in their approach to engineering than was once thought.
According to this story from the Daily Mail, the 5000 year old "sat nav" system used stone monuments, often erected atop high hills, to point the way to similar points, sometimes as far as 100 miles away. This intricate network of stone monoliths, which includes Stonehenge, created a system that would allow ancient travelers to navigate across long distances with an accuracy of within 100 meters.
British Historian Tom Brooks used modern GPS systems to examine more than 1500 historical sites, and his findings were astounding. Each of the sites was connected to one another by vast geometric grid made of of isosceles triangles, in which each triangle has two sides of the same length, and pointed to the next settlement, thus allowing for simple and effective navigation across the landscape.
If Brook's assertion that the system was created over 5000 years ago is correct, the use of geometry predates that of the Greeks, who were thought to have discovered that branch of mathematics. He also claims that it is the "world's biggest civil engineering project" as well.
The implications of this theory are very interesting, and it does help to explain what the purpose of sites such as Stonehenge were used for, although their method of construction still remains a mystery. This is a fascinating story of how prehistoric man may have found their way across long distances.Source
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