Scientists currently believe that corn was originally domesticated around 9,.000 years ago in Mexico and reached South America a few thousand years later. Now they believe they’ve found the world’s oldest popcorn in Peru.
Evidence for the presence of popcorn was found at two sites, Paredones and Huaca Prieta, both located on Peru’s northern coast. Researchers analyzed stalks, cobs, corn husks and tassels and determined that the remains dated from 6,700 to about 3,000 years ago. Though the experts believe that the primitive corn was actually popped, they also believe that it was ground into flour.
The tiny corn cobs measure less than 4 inches, and on first glance bear little resemblance to modern corn. It is interesting that no wild varieties of corn have ever been found either in Mexico or in South America. It is currently thought that corn was deliberately developed from a wild grass called teosinte.
It is also interesting that corn arrived in South America long before the development of pottery and ceramics.
If you are interested in seeing a picture and learning more about this remarkable discovery, click here
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Thursday, March 1, 2012
The World’s Oldest Elephant Tracks Aren’t in Africa
These tracks are about 7 million years old, and were found at a site located in the Arabian Desert within the United Arab Emirates. They are believed to have been made by about 13 four-tusked, primitive ancestors of modern elephants.
The tracks cover an area of more than 12 acres (5 hectares). Originally thought by locals to be dinosaur prints, they were finally identified in January 2011 when the area was mapped by air.
For more on this story, visit
The tracks cover an area of more than 12 acres (5 hectares). Originally thought by locals to be dinosaur prints, they were finally identified in January 2011 when the area was mapped by air.
For more on this story, visit
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The World’s Oldest Working Light Bulb
The lucky owners of world’s oldest working light bulb celebrated its 100th birthday in June 2001. Nearly 12 years later, it’s still burning, though not as brightly as it once did.
On June 18, 1901, Dennis Bernal, owner of the Livermore Power and Light Company of Livermore, California, donated the 60-watt light bulb to the local fire department. It was first installed at a hose cart house, but was soon moved to the main firehouse. In 1903, it was again moved, this time to the new Station 1. It was turned off for about a week when the firehouse was renovated in 1937, when it was turned back on without incident.
In 1976, it was moved to Fire Station 6, escorted by police and fire trucks. This time it got its own power supply, though it was still running at 110 watts. It is now serving as a night light, and its power has now been cut to only four watts.
This particular bulb was developed by Adolphe A. Chaillet and manufactured by the Shelby Electric Company. The bulb itself was handblown and equipped with a carbon filament. No one seems to know why it has lasted so long.
The Centennial Bulb is recognized as the oldest known working light bulb by both the Guinness Book of World Records and by Ripley’s Believe-It-or–Not.
The Livermore bulb, also called the Centennial Bulb and the Shelby Bulb, even has its own website.
On June 18, 1901, Dennis Bernal, owner of the Livermore Power and Light Company of Livermore, California, donated the 60-watt light bulb to the local fire department. It was first installed at a hose cart house, but was soon moved to the main firehouse. In 1903, it was again moved, this time to the new Station 1. It was turned off for about a week when the firehouse was renovated in 1937, when it was turned back on without incident.
In 1976, it was moved to Fire Station 6, escorted by police and fire trucks. This time it got its own power supply, though it was still running at 110 watts. It is now serving as a night light, and its power has now been cut to only four watts.
This particular bulb was developed by Adolphe A. Chaillet and manufactured by the Shelby Electric Company. The bulb itself was handblown and equipped with a carbon filament. No one seems to know why it has lasted so long.
The Centennial Bulb is recognized as the oldest known working light bulb by both the Guinness Book of World Records and by Ripley’s Believe-It-or–Not.
The Livermore bulb, also called the Centennial Bulb and the Shelby Bulb, even has its own website.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The World’s Oldest Astrologer’s Board
Astrology is thought to have first developed in Babylon some time before 2500 B.C. It spread to the eastern Mediterranean area around 2100 years ago. So you would expect to find the oldest astrology board in Babylon.
But in 1999, thirty bits of ivory found in a cave near Nakovana in Croatia and painstakingly assembled over the next several years, proved to be the remains of what is now the oldest known astrologer’s board. The part of the cave containing the ivory fragments had been deliberately sealed off more than 2,000 years ago and lay undisturbed until discovered by a team led by Staso Forenbaher of the Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb.
Over time, the Greek symbols used for the signs of the zodiac replaced earlier versions developed by the Babylonians and other cultures and are still in use by today’s astrologers.
Researchers are uncertain where the board was made, although the ivory was identified as coming from an elephant. They believe the symbols may have been attached to a wooden board that did not survive. They also have no idea why it was placed in a cave, which is not a particularly good place for observing stars and constellations.
The cave also contained a large number of drinking vessels which appear to have been deposited over hundreds of years. If these drinking vessels were used in rituals, then the cave had a long history of special significance for the people who lived in the area long before the board was left there. Was it hidden there, or was it an offering to some unknown deity?
If you’re interested in more information, you might want to start here
But in 1999, thirty bits of ivory found in a cave near Nakovana in Croatia and painstakingly assembled over the next several years, proved to be the remains of what is now the oldest known astrologer’s board. The part of the cave containing the ivory fragments had been deliberately sealed off more than 2,000 years ago and lay undisturbed until discovered by a team led by Staso Forenbaher of the Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb.
Over time, the Greek symbols used for the signs of the zodiac replaced earlier versions developed by the Babylonians and other cultures and are still in use by today’s astrologers.
Researchers are uncertain where the board was made, although the ivory was identified as coming from an elephant. They believe the symbols may have been attached to a wooden board that did not survive. They also have no idea why it was placed in a cave, which is not a particularly good place for observing stars and constellations.
The cave also contained a large number of drinking vessels which appear to have been deposited over hundreds of years. If these drinking vessels were used in rituals, then the cave had a long history of special significance for the people who lived in the area long before the board was left there. Was it hidden there, or was it an offering to some unknown deity?
If you’re interested in more information, you might want to start here
Sunday, January 29, 2012
The World’s Oldest Paint Set
An article in the January/February 2012 issue of Archaeology magazine describes what are believed to be the world’s oldest known paint supplies, which appear to have been manufactured about 100,000 years ago in a production shop that may also be candidate for the "world’s oldest" factory.
Blombos Cave in South Africa has yielded a number of "world’s oldest" artifacts over the last many years, and the discovery of two abalone shells containing mineral residue and ochre should not surprise anyone familiar with excavations at the cave. The excavators also found what may have been primitive mortars and pestles used to grind the red and yellow ochre pigments, along with other tools that the owner may have used repeatedly over a period of time.
Red ochre, in particular, was used during that time as a part of early funeral practices when it was scattered over the corpse prior to burial. But the evidence found at Blombos Cave indicates that the ochre was used either for creating paintings, or possibly for body decoration, or both.
In Europe, no evidence for the manufacture and use of such "paints" exists much before 35,000 to 37,000 years BC, when the famous cave paintings in caves such as Lascaux and Chauvet were created. Were the people living in what is now southwestern South Africa that far ahead of those living elsewhere in the world 100,000 years ago?
Blombos Cave in South Africa has yielded a number of "world’s oldest" artifacts over the last many years, and the discovery of two abalone shells containing mineral residue and ochre should not surprise anyone familiar with excavations at the cave. The excavators also found what may have been primitive mortars and pestles used to grind the red and yellow ochre pigments, along with other tools that the owner may have used repeatedly over a period of time.
Red ochre, in particular, was used during that time as a part of early funeral practices when it was scattered over the corpse prior to burial. But the evidence found at Blombos Cave indicates that the ochre was used either for creating paintings, or possibly for body decoration, or both.
In Europe, no evidence for the manufacture and use of such "paints" exists much before 35,000 to 37,000 years BC, when the famous cave paintings in caves such as Lascaux and Chauvet were created. Were the people living in what is now southwestern South Africa that far ahead of those living elsewhere in the world 100,000 years ago?
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
The Oldest Domesticated Dogs
It has long been believed that dogs were first domesticated about 14,000 to 17,000 years ago. But a recent report by Mietje Germonpre of Belgium's Museum of Natural History and her research team has produced evidence for dates closer to 31,500 to 37,000 years ago.
Three canid skulls documented in the report were found at Predmosti in the Czech Republic and were dated at around 31,500 years ago. A separate research team working at Razboinichya Cave in Siberia found a skull believed to be 33,000 years old. An even older skull, reported in 2009 by Germonpre, was discovered at Goyer in Belgium and dated at 36,000 years.
Researchers generally consider shorter snouts and wider brain cases, among other characteristics, when trying to separate dogs from wolves. These distinctive characteristics, appearing on skulls from three separate regions of Europe and Eurasia, seem to indicate that the domestication and breeding of dogs was not the product of a single anomalous event. Also, one of the dogs found in the Czech site had been buried with a mastodon bone in its mouth. Did its owner place it there as a parting gift?
This is most likely not the end of this story. Now that these new discoveries have been reported, other researchers may take a closer look at some of their own finds.
Three canid skulls documented in the report were found at Predmosti in the Czech Republic and were dated at around 31,500 years ago. A separate research team working at Razboinichya Cave in Siberia found a skull believed to be 33,000 years old. An even older skull, reported in 2009 by Germonpre, was discovered at Goyer in Belgium and dated at 36,000 years.
Researchers generally consider shorter snouts and wider brain cases, among other characteristics, when trying to separate dogs from wolves. These distinctive characteristics, appearing on skulls from three separate regions of Europe and Eurasia, seem to indicate that the domestication and breeding of dogs was not the product of a single anomalous event. Also, one of the dogs found in the Czech site had been buried with a mastodon bone in its mouth. Did its owner place it there as a parting gift?
This is most likely not the end of this story. Now that these new discoveries have been reported, other researchers may take a closer look at some of their own finds.
Friday, January 6, 2012
The Oldest Beads Found So Far
How many ancient objects are lying forgotten or undiscovered in dusty corners of modern museums? The following story is a case in point.
It seems that around 100,000 years ago, people living in what are now Israel and Algeria were already wearing jewelry made of tiny pierced shells. Researchers rediscovered these ancient beads by combing through old museum collections at the Natural History Museum in London and in Paris at the Musee de l'Homme, where they had lain virtually untouched since the 1930s and 1940s. So far the researchers have rediscovered three shell beads from two different sites.
The shells belong to a Mediterranean species called Nessarius gibbosulus. The beads were found so far inland that researchers believe they must have been intentionally brought there from the Mediterranean coast. Did people bring these beads with them during migrations inland, or do they represent evidence of early trade between coastal peoples and those living farther inland?
There is an interesting sidelight to this story. The same researchers who discovered the Mediterranean shells also found a collection of shells discovered at the famous Blombos Cave in South Africa. These beads, dated to about 75,000 years ago, are also made of Nessarius gibbosulus shells.
More information about these beads can be found here
It seems that around 100,000 years ago, people living in what are now Israel and Algeria were already wearing jewelry made of tiny pierced shells. Researchers rediscovered these ancient beads by combing through old museum collections at the Natural History Museum in London and in Paris at the Musee de l'Homme, where they had lain virtually untouched since the 1930s and 1940s. So far the researchers have rediscovered three shell beads from two different sites.
The shells belong to a Mediterranean species called Nessarius gibbosulus. The beads were found so far inland that researchers believe they must have been intentionally brought there from the Mediterranean coast. Did people bring these beads with them during migrations inland, or do they represent evidence of early trade between coastal peoples and those living farther inland?
There is an interesting sidelight to this story. The same researchers who discovered the Mediterranean shells also found a collection of shells discovered at the famous Blombos Cave in South Africa. These beads, dated to about 75,000 years ago, are also made of Nessarius gibbosulus shells.
More information about these beads can be found here
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