World's oldest boomerang older than thought, but not Australian
The mammoth ivory boomerang was unearthed in Oblazowa Cave in southern Poland. It was originally thought to be about 30,000 years old. But new, more reliable radiocarbon dating of human and animal bones found at the site puts the age at between 39,000 and 42,000 years old."It's the oldest boomerang in the world, and the only one in the world made of this shape and this long to be found in Poland," said Dr Sahra Talamo of the University of Bologna, Italy.It gives a "remarkable insight" into human behaviour, she said, particularly how Homo sapiens living as long as 42,000 years ago could shape "such a perfect object" with the knowledge it could be used to hunt animals.The boomerang is exceptionally well preserved, with score marks suggesting it had been polished and carved for use by a right-handed individual.
Boomerangs are generally associated with Aboriginal culture in Australia.However, rare finds in the historical record outside Australia suggest they were used across different continents.The oldest known boomerang from Australia dates to about 10,500 years ago, made from wood. But the oldest images of boomerangs in Australia are rock art paintings 20,000 years old, according to National Museum Australia. A wooden boomerang dating back 7,000 years has been found in Jutland, a peninsula between Denmark and Germany, while fragments of a 2,000-year-old oak boomerang – which does come back – has been found in The Netherlands.The research by a team of scientists from Poland, Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland and the UK is published in the journal PLOS One.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
New research reveals a secret ingredient in the Neanderthal diet
Scientists long thought that Neanderthals were avid meat eaters. Based on chemical analysis of Neanderthal remains, it seemed like they'd been feasting on as much meat as apex predators such as lions and hyenas. But as a group, hominins – that's Neanderthals, our species and other extinct close relatives – aren't specialized flesh eaters. Rather, they're more omnivorous, eating plenty of plant foods, too. It is possible for humans to subsist on a very carnivorous diet. In fact, many traditional northern hunter–gatherers such as the Inuit subsisted mostly on animal foods. But hominins simply cannot tolerate consuming the high levels of protein that large predators can. If humans eat as much protein as hypercarnivores do over long periods without consuming enough other nutrients, it can lead to protein poisoning – a debilitating, even lethal condition historically known as 'rabbit starvation.' So, what could explain the chemical signatures found in Neanderthal bones that seem to suggest they were healthily eating tons of meat? I am an anthropologist who uses elements such as nitrogen to study the diets of our very ancient ancestors. New research my colleagues and I conducted suggests a secret ingredient in the Neanderthal diet that might explain what was going on: maggots. Isotope ratios reveal what an animal ate The ratios of various elements in the bones of animals can provide insights into what they ate while alive. Isotopes are alternate forms of the same element that have slightly different masses. Nitrogen has two stable isotopes: nitrogen-14, the more abundant form, and nitrogen-15, the heavier, less common form. Scientists denote the ratio of nitrogen-15 to nitrogen-14 as δ¹⁵N and measure it in a unit called permil. As you go higher up the food chain, organisms have relatively more of the isotope nitrogen-15. Grass, for example, has a very low δ¹⁵N value. An herbivore accumulates the nitrogen-15 that it consumes by eating grass, so its own body has a slightly higher δ¹⁵N value. Meat-eating animals have the highest nitrogen ratio in a food web; the nitrogen-15 from their prey concentrates in their bodies. By analyzing stable nitrogen isotope ratios, we can reconstruct the diets of Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens during the late Pleistocene, which ran from 11,700 to 129,000 years ago. Fossils from various sites tell the same story – these hominins have high δ¹⁵N values. High δ¹⁵N values would typically place them at the top of the food web, together with hypercarnivores such as cave lions and hyenas, whose diet is more than 70% meat. But maybe something else about their diet was inflating Neanderthals' δ¹⁵N values. Uncovering the Neanderthal menu We suspected that maggots could have been a different potential source of enriched nitrogen-15 in the Neanderthal diet. Maggots, which are fly larvae, can be a fat-rich source of food. They are unavoidable after you kill another animal, easily collectible in large numbers and nutritionally beneficial. To investigate this possibility, we used a dataset that was originally created for a very different purpose: a forensic anthropology project focused on how nitrogen might help estimate time since death. I had originally collected modern muscle tissue samples and associated maggots at the Forensic Anthropology Center at University of Tennessee, Knoxville, to understand how nitrogen values change during decomposition after death. While the data can assist modern forensic death investigations, in our current study we repurposed it to test a very different hypothesis. We found that stable nitrogen isotope values increase modestly as muscle tissue decomposes, ranging from -0.6 permil to 7.7 permil. This increase is more dramatic in maggots feeding on decomposing tissue: from 5.4 permil to 43.2 permil. To put the maggot values in perspective, scientists estimate δ¹⁵N values for Pleistocene herbivores to range between 0.9 permil to 11.2 permil. Maggots are measuring up to almost four times higher. Our research suggests that the high δ¹⁵N values observed in Late Pleistocene hominins may be inflated by year-round consumption of ¹⁵N-enriched maggots found in dried, frozen or cached animal foods. Cultural practices shape diet In 2017, my collaborator John Speth proposed that the high δ¹⁵N values in Neanderthals were due to the consumption of putrid or rotting meat, based on historical and cultural evidence of diets in northern Arctic foragers. Traditionally, Indigenous peoples almost universally viewed thoroughly putrefied, maggot-infested animal foods as highly desirable fare, not starvation rations. In fact, many such people routinely and often intentionally allowed animal foods to decompose to the point where they were crawling with maggots, in some cases even beginning to liquefy. This rotting food would inevitably emit a stench so overpowering that early European explorers, fur trappers and missionaries were sickened by it. Yet Indigenous peoples viewed such foods as good to eat, even a delicacy. When asked how they could tolerate the nauseating stench, they simply responded, 'We don't eat the smell.' Neanderthals' cultural practices, similar to those of Indigenous peoples, might be the answer to the mystery of their high δ¹⁵N values. Ancient hominins were butchering, storing, preserving, cooking and cultivating a variety of items. All these practices enriched their paleo menu with foods in forms that nonhominin carnivores do not consume. Research shows that δ¹⁵N values are higher for cooked foods, putrid muscle tissue from terrestrial and aquatic species, and, with our study, for fly larvae feeding on decaying tissue. The high δ¹⁵N values of maggots associated with putrid animal foods help explain how Neanderthals could have included plenty of other nutritious foods beyond only meat while still registering δ¹⁵N values we're used to seeing in hypercarnivores. We suspect the high δ¹⁵N values seen in Neanderthals reflect routine consumption of fatty animal tissues and fermented stomach contents, much of it in a semi-putrid or putrid state, together with the inevitable bonus of both living and dead ¹⁵N-enriched maggots. What still isn't known Fly larvae are a fat-rich, nutrient-dense, ubiquitous and easily procured insect resource, and both Neanderthals and early Homo sapiens, much like recent foragers, would have benefited from taking full advantage of them. But we cannot say that maggots alone explain why Neanderthals have such high δ¹⁵N values in their remains. Several questions about this ancient diet remain unanswered. How many maggots would someone need to consume to account for an increase in δ¹⁵N values above the expected values due to meat-eating alone? How do the nutritional benefits of consuming maggots change the longer a food item is stored? More experimental studies on changes in δ¹⁵N values of foods processed, stored and cooked following Indigenous traditional practices can help us better understand the dietary practices of our ancient relatives.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
The life of microplastic: how fragments move through plants, insects, animals
The story starts with a single thread of polyester, dislodged from the weave of a cheap, pink acrylic jumper as it spins around a washing machine. This load of washing will shed hundreds of thousands of tiny plastic fragments and threads – up to 700,000 in this one washing machine cycle. Along with billions of other microscopic, synthetic fibres, our thread travels through household wastewater pipes. Often, it ends up as sewage sludge, being spread on a farmer's field to help crops grow. Sludge is used as organic fertiliser across the US and Europe, inadvertently turning the soil into a huge global reservoir of microplastics. One wastewater treatment plant in Wales found 1% of the weight of sewage sludge was plastic. From here, it works its way up the food chain through insects, birds, mammals and even humans. Perhaps our jumper's life as a garment will end soon, lasting only a few outings before it emerges from the wash shrunken and bobbling, to be discarded. But our thread's life will be long. It might have only been part of a jumper for a few weeks, but it could voyage around the natural world for centuries. Spread on the fields as water or sludge, our tiny fibre weaves its way into the fabric of soil ecosystems. A worm living under a wheat field burrows its way through the soil, mistaking the thread for a bit of old leaf or root. The worm consumes it – but cannot process it like ordinary organic matter. The worm joins nearly one in three earthworms that contain plastic, according to a study published in April, as well as a quarter of slugs and snails that ingest plastic as they graze across soil. Caterpillars of peacock, powder blue and red admiral butterflies all contain plastic too, perhaps from feeding on leaves contaminated with it, research shows. With the plastic in its gut, the burrowing earthworm will find it more difficult to digest nutrients, and is likely to start shedding weight. The damage might not be visible but for insects, eating plastic has been linked to stunted growth, reduced fertility and problems with the liver, kidney and stomach. Even some of the tiniest lifeforms in our soil, such as mites and nematodes – which help maintain the fertility of land – are negatively affected by plastic. Plastic pollution in the marine environment has been widely documented, but a UN report found soil contains more microplastic pollution than the oceans. This matters not only for the health of soils, but because creepy crawlies such as beetles, slugs and snails form the building blocks of food chains. Our worm is now enabling this plastic fibre to become an international traveller. In a suburban garden, a hedgehog snuffles through a dozen invertebrates in a night, consuming plastic fibres within them as it goes. One of them is our worm. A study that looked at the faeces of seven hedgehogs, found four of them contained plastics, one of which contained 12 fibres of polyester, some of which were pink. If hedgehogs don't live in your country, substitute another small, scurrying mammal or bird: the same study found mice, voles and rats were also eating plastic, either directly or via contaminated prey. Birds that eat insects such as swifts, thrushes and blackbirds are also ingesting plastic via their prey. A study earlier this year found for the first time that birds have microplastics in their lungs because they are inhaling them too. 'Microplastics are now ubiquitous at every level of the food web,' says Prof Fiona Mathews, environmental biologist at the University of Sussex. The meat, milk and blood of farm animals also contain microplastics. At the top of the food chain, humans consume at least 50,000 microplastic particles a year. They are in our food, water, and the air we breathe. Fragments of plastic have been found in blood, semen, lungs, breast milk, bone marrow, placenta, testicles and the brain. Even as it makes its way up the animal food chain, our polyester fibre has not been broken down. At some point, the thread returns to the dirt when the creature that consumed its host dies, and a new adventure starts. The body will decay, but the polyester fibre will endure. Once in the soil, it is ploughed in by the farmer before crops are sown. But it may not stay there for long – strong winds blow the dry, degraded soil into the air, taking with it a pink fragment of plastic. In heavy rain, the fibre could be swept into a river flowing to the sea: a major source of marine contamination is run-off from land. This process of moving through natural systems over years has been called 'plastic spiralling'. Scientists have found that microplastics equivalent to 300m plastic water bottles have rained down on the Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree and other US national parks. Even the most remote places are contaminated. One scientist found 12,000 microplastic particles a litre in samples of Arctic sea ice, swept there by ocean currents and blown in by the wind. With the passage of time, our plastic thread has still not rotted, but has broken into fragments, leaving tiny pieces of itself in the air, water and soil. Over the course of years, it could become so small that it infiltrates the root cell wall of a plant as it sucks up nutrients from the soil. Nanoplastics have been found in the leaves and fruits of plants and, once inside, they can affect the plant's ability to photosynthesise, research suggests. Here, inside the microscopic systems of the plant, the bits of our pink fibre cause all kinds of havoc – blocking nutrient and water channels, harming cells and releasing toxic chemicals. Staples such as wheat, rice and lettuce have been shown to contain plastic, which is one way they enter the human food chain. From its humble beginnings, our fibre may have journeyed around the world, shedding bits of itself along the way, and working its way into almost every layer of different ecosystems and the far reaches of the natural world. Extracting it once it begins that journey is extremely difficult. The best way to prevent its spread is to stop it at the outset – before the worm, before the soil, before the washing machine, even before the jumper is made. Since the 1950s, humans have produced in excess of 8.3bn tonnes of plastic – equivalent to the weight of one billion elephants. It finds its way into packaging, textiles, agricultural materials and consumer goods. Opting to live without it is almost impossible. Fast fashion companies, drinks giants, supermarket chains and big agricultural companies have failed to take responsibility for the damage this has caused, says Emily Thrift, who researches plastic in the environment at the University of Sussex. She says individual consumers can reduce their consumption but should not feel that this is entirely their responsibility. 'If you do make this level of waste, there needs to be some form of penalisation for doing it,' she says. 'I truly believe until there is policy and ways to hold big corporations accountable, I don't see it changing much.'
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Intense grief after the loss of a loved one doubles the risk of dying within 10 years, warn experts
PEOPLE intensely grieving a loved one are nearly twice as likely to die within a decade of their loss, say scientists. While grief for the loss of a relative is a natural response, in a minority of the bereaved, grief is so overwhelming it can lead to physical and mental illness - even if it doesn't qualify for a diagnosis. 1 Previous studies have shown people who recently lost a loved one use healthcare services more often and have an increased mortality rate, over the short term. But now, researchers in Denmark demonstrated bereaved people with persistent high levels of intense grief used more healthcare services and were more likely to die within 10 years. Study corresponding author Dr Mette Kjærgaard Nielsen, a postdoctoral researcher at the Research Unit for General Practice in Aarhus, said: "This is the first study to investigate the long-term use of healthcare and patterns of mortality over a decade after bereavement in a large-scale cohort." Starting in 2012, Dr Nielsen and her colleagues followed a group of 1,735 bereaved women and men living in Denmark with an average age of 62 on enrolment. Of the participants, 66 per cent had recently lost their partner, 27 per cent a parent, and 7 per cent another kind of loved relation. Through the national register of drug prescriptions, the researchers knew which patients had recently been prescribed treatment for a terminal condition. They were able to contact those dying patients to invite them and their loved ones to participate in the study. Previously, Dr Nielsen and her colleagues. had identified five common "trajectories" among the group, based on changes in the intensity of grief symptoms over the first three years after losing a loved one. Those on the "low" trajectory (38 per cent) displayed persistently low levels of grief symptoms, while 6 per cent followed a "high" trajectory with persistently elevated levels. Three other categories lay between those extremes: 18 per cent and 29 percent followed a "high but decreasing" and a "moderate but decreasing" trajectory, respectively, with 9 per cent on a "late onset" trajectory with a peak of symptoms around six month after bereavement. There are many treatments available on the NHS to help with low mood and depression The research team extended their follow-up of the participants for a total of 10 years until 2022, except for those who died or emigrated earlier. They used data from the Danish National Health Service Register to assess how often each participant received " talk therapy" from a GP or specialist, or were prescribed any psychotropic medication. The results revealed for participants on the "high" trajectory, the hazard rate of dying within 10 years was 88 per cent higher than for participants on a "low" trajectory. The findings, published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, also showed participants on the "high" trajectory were most likely to receive additional health care services beyond three years after bereavement. For example, they had 186 per cent higher odds of receiving talk therapy or other mental health services, 463 per cent higher odds of being prescribed antidepressants, and 160 per cent higher odds of being prescribed sedatives or anxiety drugs. Differences in the frequency of use of healthcare services between the five trajectories were no longer significant after the first eight years, but the excess mortality of participants on the "high" trajectory remained pronounced over the full 10 years of follow-up. Dr Nielsen said: "We have previously found a connection between high grief symptom levels and higher rates of cardiovascular disease, mental health problems, and even suicide. "But the association with mortality should be further investigated." She says people at risk for a "high" grief trajectory may be recognisable for intervention early, since the data showed that those patients were prescribed psychotropic medication more often even before their loss. Dr Nielsen added: "The 'high grief' group had lower education on average, and their more frequent use of medication before bereavement suggested that they had signs of mental vulnerability, which may cause greater distress on bereavement. "A GP could look for previous signs of depression and other severe mental health conditions. "They can then offer these patients tailored follow-up in general practice, or refer them to a private-practice psychologist or secondary care. "The GP may also suggest a bereavement follow-up appointment focusing on mental health." Where to seek grief support Need professional help with grief? Child Bereavement UK Cruse Bereavement Relate The Good Grief Trust You can also always speak to your GP if you're struggling. You're Not Alone Check out these books, podcasts and apps that all expertly navigate grief… Griefcast: Cariad Lloyd interviews comedians on this award-winning podcast. The Madness Of Grief by Rev Richard Coles (£9.99, W&N): The Strictly fave writes movingly on losing his husband David to alcoholism. Terrible, Thanks For Asking: Podcast host Nora McInerny encourages non-celebs to share how they're really feeling. Good Mourning by Sally Douglas and Imogen Carn (£14.99, Murdoch Books): A guide for people who've suffered sudden loss, like the authors who both lost their mums. Grief Works: Download this for daily meditations and expert tips. How To Grieve Like A Champ by Lianna Champ (£3.99, Red Door Press): A book for improving your relationship with death.
