The World’s Oldest Musical Instruments

Somewhere between 35,000 and 40,000 years ago, someone in what is now Germany was producing and playing flutes made from the bones of large birds. And even more remarkably, they were also creating flutes made from sections of mammoth ivory carefully fitted together in such a way that the resulting tube was airtight.

So far, a total of eight flutes have been found. Four were made from the wing bones of swans and griffon vultures, and another four were created using sections of ivory, presumably from mammoth tusks. The most complete remains indicate that this particular flute would have been about 14 inches (34 centimeters) long and had five finger holes carved with stone tools. There were two notches at the playing end to allow the musician to blow into the hollow tube. One of the bird bone flutes had only three finger holes, but a replica demonstrated that it was capable of making four distinct notes and at least three overtones.

Even more impressive are the ivory flutes, which display a surprisingly sophisticated technology. Mammoth tusks are curved, but the flute-maker knew how to straighten the ivory into straight segments, which were cut into sections. The flute-maker then drilled finger holes into the sections and carefully refitted the sections, creating airtight seals. These flutes are smaller than those made with bird bones, but in both cases, the knowledge needed to make the instruments was very sophisticated indeed.

Bear in mind, though, that our ancestors might have been beating sticks or bones together, banging on logs, or even clapping their hands to create rhythms long before these flutes were created. And, of course, since these ancient instruments are obviously not the first of their kind to be created, flute-making may possibly extend several thousand years before they were made. We just don’t know.

The World’s Oldest Man-Made Fiber

A team of archaeologists analyzing clay samples for tree pollen in Dzudzuana Cave in the Republic of Georgia made a surprising discovery: The oldest flax fibers made by humans. And there were quite a few of them, nearly 800 in all.

The fibers are more than 34,000 years old. Previously, the oldest known evidence for fiber-making was found at the 28,000-year-old site of Dolni Vestonice in the Czech Republic.

These fibers are not evidence for early farming, since flax grew wild in the area. But they do indicate that the people living in the cave were already experienced in gathering and working with the fibers, possibly to make thread for sewing, or even to weave cloth or other textiles. Some of the fibers appear to have been dyed in various colors such as yellow, green, blue, violet, red and black. For some, this means that the people who occupied the cave might have been producing colorful fabrics.

These fibers give us evidence that people had been using plant fibers to make thread, ropes and twines for some time before they themselves were created. Because plant remains are so rarely preserved, it may be some time before earlier samples are discovered.

Photos and more information on this important discovery can be found here

The World’s Oldest Campfire

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

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 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 World’s Oldest Popcorn

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

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.
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