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Recent research by Dr. Mikael Fauvelle and his colleagues, published in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology, proposes that the neolithic Pitted Ware Culture (PWC) may have used skin boats to conduct trade, travel, fishing, and hunting activities.The PWC was a neolithic culture that had migrated from the East during the Early and Middle Neolithic. They settled in what is modern-day Scandinavia around 3500–2300 BCE. This hunter-gatherer culture was named after the pottery they produced, which was characteristically decorated with deep pits along its circumference.The Pitted Ware Culture (PWC) was unusual among European marine-specialized hunter-gatherer groups. While other such groups gradually...

Until now, experts wondered how it was possible that in the middle of the Neolithic period, more than a thousand years before the first pyramids of Egypt were built, these enormous stones could be moved and placed with millimetric precision, orienting them towards the sunrise for astronomical purposes. The 32 stones that make it up weigh about 1,140 tons. Of these, the largest — and the one that covers the back of the chamber — weighs 150 tons. This is the largest slab that was moved during the megalithic phenomenon in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-largest in Europe.

After analyzing a submerged bridge found in a Spanish cave, researchers have determined that humans inhabited the area earlier than previously thought.A submerged, human-constructed limestone bridge found inside a cave on a Spanish island is much older than previously thought, pushing back the record of when humans inhabited the location, a new study finds.Researchers discovered the limestone bridge in 2000 during a scuba-diving expedition inside the flooded cave in Mallorca, a Mediterranean island located off the eastern shore of Spain's mainland. At the time, researchers determined that the 25-foot-long (7.6 meters) bridge, which consists of large limestone blocks stacked on...

According to a statement released by the University of Tübingen, an international team of researchers has studied the effects of climate change on hunter-gatherers living in Europe between 47,000 and 7,000 years ago by analyzing their teeth with a machine learning algorithm called Pheno-ABC. "This has allowed us to collect an unprecedented dataset [including some 450 prehistoric humans from all over Europe] that is significantly larger than previous skeletal and genetic datasets," said Hannes Rathmann of the University of Tübingen. The researchers focused on inheritable features of teeth, such as their shape, the ridge and groove patterns on the chewing...

After 20 years, excavation work at Orkney's Ness of Brodgar will come to a close at the end of this week (16th August).Over the last two decades, this sprawling dig in the heart of Orkney's World Heritage Site has become one of the most important archaeological projects in the world. It has revealed a huge complex of Neolithic buildings covering three hectares, with more lying undisturbed across this ancient landscape.Finds have included beautiful decorated and painted stones, polished axe heads, carved stone balls, and even human and animal bones. But more than that, the excavation has changed the way we...

Newsweek reports that an early farming settlement dated to about 7,000 years ago has been discovered on a plain between two streams in the central Czech Republic. Daniel Pilař of the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic said that the well-preserved settlement, including traces of longhouses and pits full of pottery and tools, was identified during the construction of a barn. The site is thought to have been home to perhaps a dozen people who cultivated plants and raised cattle, yet still hunted and gathered food as well. "Regarding the use of houses, it...

Did humans truly transport these massive stones from Wales, or could a far more natural force be responsible?...The massive bluestones, each weighing several tons, might not have been laboriously hauled over 200 kilometers by Neolithic people, as widely believed, but were instead delivered to the Stonehenge site by the relentless forces of ice.

·What it is: A lifelike figurine of a Neolithic woman carved out of the ivory core of a mammoth tusk.·Where it was found: Inside the Grotte du Pape ("Pope's Cave") in Brassempouy, a village in France, in 1894.·When it was made: Approximately 23,000 years agoWhat it tells us about the past: Also known as "The Lady with the Hood," this prehistoric carving of a woman is prized for both its attention to detail and its realism, which can be seen in the crosshatched pattern used to create her headpiece and her distinct facial features, including her pupils, forehead, nose and...

In November 2023 we we visited Çatalhöyük as part of the Göbekli Tepe to Stonehenge project (https://buymeacoffee.com/prehistoryguys). We were not there for long, but as you can imagine, we were left with a lasting impression.Here we present an introduction to and an overview of the site - coupled with our own personal observations and reflections. We hope you find it valuable and enlightening. For too long, it has lived in the shadow of the other Turkish mega-site some 500 miles to the east! Çatalhöyük: "it's about the people" - 7,000 BC mega-site revealed. | 35:20The Prehistory Guys | 84K subscribers...

Science Magazine reports that six artifacts discovered in 2020 near the shore of Lake Xiada Co in western Tibet have been identified as stone sewing needles by Yun Chen of Sichuan University and her colleagues. The objects, thought to be about 9,000 years old based upon the radiocarbon dating of charcoal fragments and animal bones found with them, are pointed at one end and have a hole in the other. Two of them are intact, and the eyes, or holes, were preserved in four of the needles, which were made of tremolite, serpentine, actinolite, and talc. Examination with ultra-deep-field microscopy...

WASHINGTON (AP) — When archaeologists first discovered the 5,000-year-old ornate tomb in Spain, they assumed it was for a man. It held a rock crystal dagger, ivory tusks and other lavish items. But now they’ve determined the remains are those of a woman, and all it took was two teeth. The researchers used a new method of determining sex that analyzes tooth enamel. This technique, developed about five years ago, is more reliable than analyzing skeletal remains in poor condition, according to their study published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. Most details about the life of the “Ivory Lady,”...

Throughout history, archaeologists have uncovered countless tools from early civilizations. The majority are made of stone, but a group of Spanish experts discovered incredible rock crystal weaponry. One of the most spectacular crystal daggers, dating back to at least 3,000 BC, demonstrates the extraordinary ability of the sculptor.The incredible find occurred at the Montelirio tholos, a megalithic tomb in southern Spain. This gigantic site, which spans 50 meters, is made up of massive slate slabs. The place was excavated between 2007 and 2010. Scholars from the University of Granada, Seville, and the Spanish Higher Council for Scientific Research published a...

In 5,259 BC, our planet was bombarded with a shower of highly energetic particles resulting from a rare cosmic event of exceptional magnitude. Initially revealed through the discovery of carbon isotopes measured in ancient tree ring data, the event produced a roughly two percent increase in atmospheric Carbon-14 (14C), making it one of the strongest events of its kind known to scientists...The breakthrough relied on the combination of annual growth ring measurements with the measurable spike in cosmogenic radiocarbon that occurred during the 5259 BC event. This allowed them to establish a chronological reference point for producing accurate dates for...

The analysis of fat traces in over one hundred pottery vessels reveals deep changes in food consumption and preparation by communities living in central Germany between the Early Neolithic and the Late Bronze Age, as well as in their relation with innovations in pottery styles and decorations.In a groundbreaking study, researchers from the UAB and the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology of Saxony-Anhalt identified a generalised inclusion of dairy products in prehistoric diets, a preference in consuming pork with the arrival of communities from the Eurasian Steppe, and the importance of dairy products in funeral rites.Central Germany was...

An archaeological discovery in France has revealed the Stone Age remains of two women thought to have been tortured and sacrificed in a form of murder associated with the Italian Mafia. Though the remains were discovered in 1985, a study published last week in the journal Science Advances reveals the "atypical" positioning of the bodies. The paper's authors believe the women could have died by "self-strangulation" using a ligature that bound their ankles to their necks. The torture is known as "incaprettamento," a homicide ritual of the Italian Mafia, sometimes used to punish people thought to be traitors. A third...

An analysis of over 4,000 stone artifacts discovered on an island off northwestern Australia provides a snapshot of Aboriginal life tens of thousands of years ago...The diverse artifacts found on the island also reveal intriguing insights about the movement of people between Australia's mainland and the island, especially during the peak of the last ice age, between 29,000 and 19,000 years ago, according to the study, which was published April 1 in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.At that time, sea levels were low enough to expose the continental shelf between Australia and what is now Barrow Island, a 78-square-mile (202...

...Located in Marliens, a commune in eastern France, the site has a large bowtie-shaped structure, whose middle sports a circular construction measuring 36 feet (11 meters) in diameter. This center circlet is interconnected by a 26-foot-long (8 m) horseshoe-shaped structure on one side and a jug-handle-shaped feature on the other, according to a translated statement from the French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP), which carried out the excavations...Based on the plethora of artifacts found there — including a bundle containing seven flint arrowheads, two protective armbands worn by archers, a flint lighter and a copper-alloy dagger — archaeologists...

Unearthed, the prince of Stonehenge By Roger Highfield (Filed: 21/08/2002) A prehistoric prince with gold ear-rings has been found near Stonehenge a few yards away from the richest early Bronze Age burial in Britain. Earlier this year, archaeologists found an aristocratic warrior, also with gold ear-rings, on Salisbury Plain and speculated that he may have been an ancient king of Stonehenge. The body was laid to rest 4,300 years ago during the construction of the monument, along with stone arrow heads and slate wristguards that protected the arm from the recoil of the bow. Archaeologists named him the Amesbury Archer....

Mounted Archers Training in a Mongol plateau Some S. Koreans dug up old military training manuals from 18th century and are trying to restore the art of ancient warriors.Here, they are practicing once-lost art of mounted archery. They went to Mongol steppe to do their summer training.It was done this August on Arkhangel Aimac, a plateau which is 1,000 km from its capital Ulan Bator and 1,700 m (5660 feet) above sea-level .The uniform they are wearing is from Chosun(1392~1910) era.A trainee practicing so-called 'Parthian Parting Shot'This is a favorite technique of Northen steppe warriors in the past. Koreans also used to use it....

  For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces.     Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today!   ANCIENT WARFAREPart III: Ancient Greek Military:  Mercenaries Struggle for Hegemony MercenariesMercenaries were very important in the ancient history. The Greek armies did not need them at first, but later on they were even used in Hellas. Mercenaries were normally used because they were capable of doing something which the army could not do. That is why the Greeks hired Scythic archers, why the Persians used Greek...