Some of our ancient relatives may have been using fire for at least a million years, and probably longer.
When scientists used microscope analysis to study plant ash and charred bone fragments from the famous Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa, they discovered that the remains were about a million years old. They also concluded that the materials were burned inside the cave rather than being carried there by wind or water. The debris was found alongside stone tools, suggesting that humans had built the fire.
Some scientists believe that early man’s use of fire may have influenced human evolution. At the very least, fires helped humans stay warm, kept predators at bay, and might have facilitated the development of communication when early people gathered around the campfires. Fire also allowed people to cook their food, which made it more digestible.
Previous to the Wonderwerk find, the earliest evidence for human use of fire only dated back to about 700,000 years ago, so this new discovery has caused a bit of a sensation.
For more information about this discovery and possible implications, go here
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Gobekli Tepe - The World’s Oldest Temple?
Believed to be more than 11,000 years old, Gobekli Tepe in southern Turkey is currently believed to be the world’s oldest temple. It is also a monument to the extraordinary artistic and engineering skills of its builders.
The Gobekli Tepe site is located near the Turkish city of Urfa. Only a tiny portion of the site has been excavated. So far excavators have found at least 20 stone rings, with one circle built inside another. These rings range from 30 to 100 feet (10 to 30) meters in diameter and are built with carefully carved limestone blocks.
The carving of the T-shaped blocks outlining the circles is strikingly precise, as are the sculptures of people and animals carved on the edges of both the blocks and the two 18-foot (5.5 m) tall pillars located in the center of the rings. So far, at least, no signs of living quarters have been found at Gobekli Tepe, and there are no hearths within the rings. It seems odd that even though there are signs that this structure was a major pilgrimage center, no one seems to have lived near it. Adding to the mystery, buildings dated at 14,000 to 15,000 years old were found at the base of the hill on which Gobekli Tepe is located.
Analysis of obsidian tools found at the site shows that the obsidian came from areas as far as 300 miles (500 km) away from the site. Experts are divided as to whether people actually came from that far away to visit the temple complex, or whether the obsidian was traded from far-away locations.
Gobekli Tepi is well designed and superbly executed. Its design and construction are remarkably advanced considering that it was supposedly constructed by hunter-gatherers. I do not believe that this technology emerged full-blown at Gobekli Tepi. I hope that archaeologists are searching for even earlier temple complexes that might reveal how the technology developed that eventually resulted in Gobekli Tepi. This beautiful and complex temple area is currently believed to be the oldest of its kind, but it seems fairly obvious that there may well be earlier examples still to be found.
There is a great site with information and photographs if you would like to explore further. Just visit here
The Gobekli Tepe site is located near the Turkish city of Urfa. Only a tiny portion of the site has been excavated. So far excavators have found at least 20 stone rings, with one circle built inside another. These rings range from 30 to 100 feet (10 to 30) meters in diameter and are built with carefully carved limestone blocks.
The carving of the T-shaped blocks outlining the circles is strikingly precise, as are the sculptures of people and animals carved on the edges of both the blocks and the two 18-foot (5.5 m) tall pillars located in the center of the rings. So far, at least, no signs of living quarters have been found at Gobekli Tepe, and there are no hearths within the rings. It seems odd that even though there are signs that this structure was a major pilgrimage center, no one seems to have lived near it. Adding to the mystery, buildings dated at 14,000 to 15,000 years old were found at the base of the hill on which Gobekli Tepe is located.
Analysis of obsidian tools found at the site shows that the obsidian came from areas as far as 300 miles (500 km) away from the site. Experts are divided as to whether people actually came from that far away to visit the temple complex, or whether the obsidian was traded from far-away locations.
Gobekli Tepi is well designed and superbly executed. Its design and construction are remarkably advanced considering that it was supposedly constructed by hunter-gatherers. I do not believe that this technology emerged full-blown at Gobekli Tepi. I hope that archaeologists are searching for even earlier temple complexes that might reveal how the technology developed that eventually resulted in Gobekli Tepi. This beautiful and complex temple area is currently believed to be the oldest of its kind, but it seems fairly obvious that there may well be earlier examples still to be found.
There is a great site with information and photographs if you would like to explore further. Just visit here
Saturday, April 14, 2012
The World’s Oldest Preserved Forests (Yes, there are two of them)
The record for the world’s oldest preserved forest turns out to be a tie. Both forests are about 300 million years old, and were found half a world apart.
The first, reported in 2007, was discovered in a coal mine located in Illinois. This one is also the largest ever found and is believed to cover an area of about 6 square miles (10 km). It was found more than 100 feet below the surface during mining operations. The remains are a treasure-trove of examples of extinct species, with club mosses which grew to over 40 feet high along with tree ferns, shrubs, and giant horsetails.
The huge size and diversity of the forest is allowing researchers to gain significant insights into the complex make-up of these ancient forests. For more information on the Illinois forest, click here
The second forest, located near Wuda in northern China, was found beneath a coal mine. It is much smaller in size than the Illinois find, but exhibits a wide diversity of plant life. Researchers studied three different sites totaling about 1,000 square meters and found that each site was a bit different than the others in terms of plant composition.
The Wuda forest was buried by a layer of volcanic ash, which preserved not only trunks and branches, but leaves and even pinecones. The Illinois forest apparently fell victim to an earthquake which which caused the area to drop below sea level. The forest was then buried in mud, which preserved the plants.
The fact that the two forests were found in or near coal mines is not too surprising. Both forests flourished during the Carboniferous period, which is when most of the world’s coal deposits were formed.
For more information on the Wuda forest, click here
The first, reported in 2007, was discovered in a coal mine located in Illinois. This one is also the largest ever found and is believed to cover an area of about 6 square miles (10 km). It was found more than 100 feet below the surface during mining operations. The remains are a treasure-trove of examples of extinct species, with club mosses which grew to over 40 feet high along with tree ferns, shrubs, and giant horsetails.
The huge size and diversity of the forest is allowing researchers to gain significant insights into the complex make-up of these ancient forests. For more information on the Illinois forest, click here
The second forest, located near Wuda in northern China, was found beneath a coal mine. It is much smaller in size than the Illinois find, but exhibits a wide diversity of plant life. Researchers studied three different sites totaling about 1,000 square meters and found that each site was a bit different than the others in terms of plant composition.
The Wuda forest was buried by a layer of volcanic ash, which preserved not only trunks and branches, but leaves and even pinecones. The Illinois forest apparently fell victim to an earthquake which which caused the area to drop below sea level. The forest was then buried in mud, which preserved the plants.
The fact that the two forests were found in or near coal mines is not too surprising. Both forests flourished during the Carboniferous period, which is when most of the world’s coal deposits were formed.
For more information on the Wuda forest, click here
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