Posted on 11/17/2011 4:51:06 PM PST by SunkenCiv
The site of what is now Rotterdam's Yangtzehaven was inhabited by humans in the Middle Stone Age. At a depth of 20 metres, in the sea bed, unique underwater archaeological investigation found traces of bone, flint and charcoal from around 7000 BC. These finds are the very first scientific proof that humans lived at this spot in the Early and Middle Stone Age. Up to now, very little was known about this period in particular, the Early and Middle Mesolithic, so far to the west of the Netherlands...
Some 9000 years ago, the area where the North Sea and the port of Rotterdam can now be found was a river landscape created by the Rhine and the Maas. Due to the rich flora and fauna, this was an attractive place for hunters and gatherers. We know from the Middle Stone Age period that the hunter-gatherers lived in small family groups of about 10 people. They wandered around the area, showing a particular preference for river dunes, which provided safety when the rivers flooded. The river dune on which they lived at the time now lies 20 metres below the New Amsterdam Water Level...
The bone remains found up to now are small fragments (smaller than 1 cm) of burnt and unburnt animal bone. The unburnt bone points to the presence of animals at and in the vicinity of this spot. The burnt bone is burnt in such a way that it must be the result of human action. This burnt bone and the charcoal also found are indications of food preparation such as the grilling of meat. The fragments of flint and the minuscule flakes of flint prove that flint was worked on site to make all kinds of implements, such as arrowheads, knives and scrapers to clean hides.
(Excerpt) Read more at dredgingtoday.com ...
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| GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach | |
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Below the Polder. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. |
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The ubiquity of human presence over the past thousands of years amazes me.
C’mon Joe, you slipped a recent photo of Occupy Wall Street on us:)
"Ah, well, there ya go. Ya see once you got that "rich flora and fauna" thing going, you're bound to get habitation. It just follows...ya see what I'm tawkin about?"...C. Clavin on Habitation.
LOL!
The skinny dipping is what did it.
How did the Yangtze find haven in Holland?
There must be sooo many sites under what is now the North Sea.
/bingo
That is hard to explain.
Thanx for the post. I continue to be impressed by the variety of topics posted on the FR.
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