Latest news with #UpperPaleolithic
Time of India
5 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Meet this 5,00,000 years old predator: The real king of the Ice Age before the modern lions ruled
Present-day Lions are called the king of the jungle with proud tan-yellow fur and a huge mane that rules over the animal kingdom, but could one ever imagine who used to rule over the animal kingdom during the ice age, when the world was covered under the ice thousands of years ago? Long before kings wore crowns and lions roared across African savannas, another ruler walked the frozen plains of Ice Age Europe. Lions, too, had a predecessor. A massive, silent, and powerful king known as the cave lion and it was a true monarch of the mammoth steppe. These were larger than today's African lion variety, built to survive glacial winds and snow-covered landscapes, and this is not science fiction; some real proof of these ice age beasts has been found in the ancient caves of the icy landscapes of the Earth. A relic- fossil is kept in this museum During the ice age, the cave lion ruled over the mammoth steppes as the apex predator; genetic studies confirm it was a distinct species, different from today's African lion, and existed around 5,00,000 years ago. And a beautifully preserved skull displayed at France's Muséum de Toulouse, a skull from Montmaurin's Grotte de Coupe-Gorge, part of a nearly complete skeleton found in clay bed 3S. The Toulouse time capsule Digitally scanned in 2015, the skull was transformed into a 3D reconstruction, letting visitors virtually see the extinct lion in interactive museum exhibits, according to reports by ima-solutions. A Beast of Epic Proportions Standing up to 1.2 m at the shoulder and measuring over 2 m in body length, cave lions were larger than most modern lions, though slightly smaller than the earlier Panthera fossilis. Fossils show they had yellowish-grey coats, thick underfur for icy climates, and crucially, lacked manes, as confirmed by cave art in Lascaux and Chauvet. These formidable felines hunted giant Ice Age herbivores such as reindeer, bison, and even young mammoths. They often clashed with other carnivores like cave hyenas, wolves, and cave bears, who were all vying for limited resources. Multiple cave paintings also suggest that these predators interacted with humans, dating back thousands of years. Neanderthals and later Upper Paleolithic humans hunted them for meat and pelts, as shown by prehistoric skinning marks and cave paintings Carvings and paintings found in ancient caves Ancient carvings and cave paintings of cave lions have been found in the famous Lascaux and Chauvet Caves in France, dating back roughly 15,000 to 17,000 years. One particularly interesting drawing in the Chauvet cave shows two lions walking side by side. The larger one in the background appears to be male as it is drawn with a visible scrotum but no mane. This kind of detail has led researchers to believe that male cave lions likely didn't have manes at all, or if they did, they were very small, nothing like the thick manes we see on modern African lions. Mystery of Disappearance Cave lions vanished around 13,000 to 14,000 years ago. Theories suggest a combination of a warming climate, shrinking open habitats, diminishing prey, increasing competition with wolves, and human hunting pressure. Genetic studies even show a population bottleneck between 47,000–18,000 years ago. Their disappearance is also an indication of the collapse of the mammoth steppe ecosystem. Photos: Wikimedia commons
Gizmodo
25-06-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
Researchers Pit Stone Age Seafaring Skills Against One of Earth's Fiercest Currents
Archaeologists estimate that humans first arrived on the Ryukyu Islands off the southwestern coast of Japan sometime between 35,000 and 27,500 years ago. How they did so, however, remains a mystery, especially since they would have had to cross one of the planet's strongest ocean currents. To address this enduring question, scientists decided to attempt the Paleolithic voyage themselves. Using replicas of tools that existed in the Japanese Archipelago during the Upper Paleolithic (around 50,000 to 10,000 years ago), researchers in Japan built a dugout canoe and used it to traverse the 68.4-mile-wide (110-kilometer) strait between Taiwan and Yonaguni Island, including the powerful Kuroshio current, in around 45 hours. The successful voyage represents a possible way people in present-day Taiwan may have traveled to the islands tens of thousands of years ago. 'Our 7.5-meter-long dugout, manufactured with edge-ground stone axes, was speedy and durable enough to cross this strait,' the researchers wrote in the study, published today in Science Advances. 'This supports the early development of functional boats, such as dugouts, while our experiment also highlighted that this type of sea travel was possible only for experienced paddlers with advanced navigational skills.' One of the greatest challenges to studying prehistoric seafaring is the fact that such ancient water vessels made of organic material, such as wood, have long since disintegrated. Without direct archaeological evidence, the next best way to shed light on how ancient people did things is through experimental archaeology—identifying possible approaches to bygone endeavors by physically replicating them in a simulated historical context. University of Tokyo anthropologist Yousuke Kaifu and his co-authors have been attempting to reach the Ryukyu Islands à-la Paleolithic—without modern navigation technologies like GPS or compasses—since 2013. Before their successful voyage in 2019, they had experimented with reed-bundle rafts and bamboo rafts, neither of which were successful in crossing the Kuroshio Current. The winning design was a canoe made from a hollowed-out and polished Japanese cedar tree with a fire-charred interior, which carried five crew members. 'Given the absence of archaeological remains of Pleistocene watercraft, we narrowed down the possible Paleolithic seagoing craft by referencing the Holocene archeological and ethnographic records and considering the material availability, technological limitations of the time, and the voyaging capabilities of each craft,' the researchers explained. The Holocene, which began some 11,700 years ago, is the current time period. 'We also aimed to investigate travel time, amount of efforts required, and other realities of Paleolithic ocean crossing for the first South Ryukyu islanders.' In this spirit, the team developed computer models to simulate what such a crossing may have been like with Late Pleistocene oceanic conditions. According to the simulations—which also integrated data collected during the experimental voyage—the prehistoric journey's success would have been determined by the starting point (ideally, calm bays), directional strategy (first paddle east-southeast, then northeast), and navigational skills (using the stars and Sun). Furthermore, 'our separate numerical simulation study suggests that this type of boat could also travel to Yonaguni Island from a different northern departure point in Taiwan (Taroko) across both the modern and Late Pleistocene oceans,' they added. 'Paleolithic people are often regarded as 'inferior' among the general public, primarily due to their 'primitive' culture and technology. In sharp contrast, our [work] highlighted that they accomplished something extraordinary with the rudimentary technology available to them at the time.' While such experimental projects can't replace direct archaeological evidence, the study joins a host of recent hands-on approaches offering creative theories in the absence of direct material evidence.
Daily Record
03-06-2025
- Science
- Daily Record
World's oldest human structure built 23,000 years before Pyramids discovered
Archaeologists have been left reeling after uncovering a cave that pre-dates the Great Pyramid by 16,000 years The world's oldest human structure, built 23,000 years before the Great Pyramid of Giza, has been discovered - and has single-handedly re-written everything we thought we knew about the history of ancient structures. Teopetra cave in Greece, is the oldest known structure built by man - older than the largest of the three pyramids at the Giza Necropolis complex in Egypt, the last remaining wonder of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The stone wall of Theopetra in Thessaly was built during the Upper Paleolithic, a whopping 130,000 years ago, when humanity was just beginning to develop more complex tools and survival strategies. The wall partially closed off the entrance of the cave and its most likely purpose was to protect against the harsh glacial climate that dominated the region at that time, as per Unión Rayo. Its construction has been placed around 16,000 years before the Pyramids of Egypt, and shows that the cave's inhabitants - nomadic gatherers - knew about architecture or, at least, adapting to their environment. The cave was inhabited for more than 130,000 years, from the Middle Paleolithic to the Neolithic, and boasts "an almost continuous human presence". Stone tools, remnants of hearths, and even children's footprints have been found inside - contextualising the lives of those who lived in the chamber for such a consistent period of time. In fact, human footprints in the cave are among the oldest in Europe, dated to approximately 135,000 years ago. This remarkable find consists of four footprints in a row, believed to have been made by children aged two to seven. The children likely walked on the remnants of a fire, which later petrified, allowing the footprints to be preserved today. Neolithic pottery, bone and shell artefacts, skeletons dating from 9000 and 8000 BC, and traces of plants and seeds giving a look into the dietary habits of the time have been stumbled upon during excavation efforts. Specimens such as coal and human bones also prove that the cave was occupied from about 135,000 BC to 4000 BC and that temporary use continued during the Bronze Age and historic times up to 1955. Even after that, the shepherds used the cave occasionally to shelter their herds until the excavations began. The latest cave findings published in 2012 have raised the time records of the cave's dwelling to 135.000 BC. What's more, the site showcases the records of two significant cultural transitions within a single location - the replacement of Neanderthals by modern humans and the shift from hunter-gathering to farming after the end of the last Ice Age. In a similar way, in Scotland, the islands of Orkney also hold proof of a remarkable ancient past. This area was home to developed Neolithic communities thousands of years ago, creating settlements and monuments that were built even before world-famous sites like Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza existed. Orkney is home to a collection of Stone Age sites that are recognised internationally. Together, these form a UNESCO World Heritage site called the "Heart of Neolithic Orkney." Back on mainland Europe, for history buffs or those taken with this remarkable finding, you can visit Theopetra, located 5 km from Meteora, because after eight years, Theopetra Cave finally reopened to the public this year. A museum located on the incredible site housing the remains found inside the cave. The Theopetra Cave and the museum remain open every day except Tuesdays, from 8.30am-3.30pm. The entrance fee/ticket is five euros per person with special rates for children/students/elderly. With the same ticket you can access both the museum and the cave. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ice Age Humans Were Experts at Wielding Fire, Study Finds
Learning to control fire was a game-changer for ancient humans, who could use it to cook food, see at night, and endure cold weather, among other things. This skill dates back at least a million years, and while fire has proven pivotal throughout human history, it can be especially valuable at certain times. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), for example, was the iciest part of the most recent glacial period in Earth's current ice age – and presumably a great time to cozy up by a fire. Yet despite the era's extreme cold, there is scant evidence of humans using fire during the LGM, which lasted from about 26,500 to 19,000 years ago. In a new study, researchers sought answers to this mystery by analyzing the remains of three ancient fireplaces found at an archaeological site in modern-day Ukraine, all of which are associated with human occupations at the site during the LGM. These hearths reveal new details about pyrotechnology in the late Upper Paleolithic – a span of several frigid millennia when fireplaces seem inexplicably rare in the archaeological record. "We know that fire was widespread before and after this period, but there is little evidence from the height of the Ice Age," says co-author William Murphree, a geoarchaeologist at the University of Algarve in Portugal. Previous research suggests fire loomed large in the lives of Upper Paleolithic people, enabling vital activities that would be difficult or impossible without it. "Fire was not just about keeping warm; it was also essential for cooking, making tools, and for social gatherings," says co-author Philip Nigst, an archaeologist at the University of Vienna in Austria. The LGM brought "rapid climatic deterioration" to Europe, the researchers note, with extremely cold, arid conditions that led to habitat loss and geographic isolation. In that context, it seems unlikely people would choose to build fewer fires. Maybe the cold hindered tree growth in steppes and grasslands, limiting the supply of firewood. Or maybe people built as many fires as ever, but harsh conditions during and after the LGM destroyed most of the evidence. This prehistoric trend may also be an illusion, reflecting a modern publication bias more than an actual decline. Given this uncertainty, the discovery of multiple hearths from the LGM could be revelatory. In addition to insights about ancient fire traditions, it might offer clues about the apparent dearth of hearths from this era. Researchers investigated three hearths previously uncovered at Korman' 9, a site on the Dniester River in Ukraine. They analyzed each with a series of geoarchaeological techniques, seeking long-lost details about fires built tens of thousands of years ago. Using microstratigraphic, micromorphological, and colorimetric analyses, they found the remains came from flat, open fireplaces, and that people mostly burned wood in them. Despite their simplicity, these fires could have heated the ground to 600 degrees Celsius, which could indicate a fire burning well over that temperature, suggesting impressive pyrotechnic sophistication, especially amid such climatic upheaval. The lack of big charcoal fragments made it hard to identify the main fuel source, but analysis of available charcoal revealed a predominance of spruce wood. The hearths also contained traces of bone, but it's unclear why, explains co-author Marjolein Bosch, a zooarchaeologist at the University of Vienna, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and the Natural History Museum Vienna. "Some of the animal bones found at the site were burnt in a fire with a temperature of over 650 degrees Celsius. We are currently investigating whether they were used as fuel or just accidentally burned," Bosch says. Differences among the three hearths could point to separate occupations of the site, possibly weeks or centuries apart, or these could be specialized hearths used by people within one occupation for various purposes or seasons. "People perfectly controlled the fire and knew how to use it in different ways, depending on the purpose of the fire," Nigst says. "But our results also show that these hunter-gatherers used the same place at different times of the year during their annual migrations." While at least some people apparently retained their pyrotechnic skills during the LGM, more research is still needed to explain why we find so few hearths like these at contemporary sites. "Was most of the evidence destroyed by the ice-age-typical, alternating freezing and thawing of the soil?" Murphree says. "Or did people not find enough fuel during the Last Glacial Maximum?" Nigst adds. "Did they not use fire, but instead relied on other technological solutions?" The study was published in Geoarchaeology. Why Aren't Humans as Hairy as Other Mammals? Here's The Science. Ancient Body Paint May Have Been Prehistoric Sunscreen, Study Says Scientists Discover First Probable Evidence of a Roman Fighter Mauled by a Lion
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ice age humans built sophisticated fireplaces
To make it out of the last ice age alive, our ancestors needed a special set of skills. One of which was harnessing the power of fire. However, not many well-preserved fireplaces dating back to the coldest part of the ice age (between 26,500 and 19,000 years ago) remain in Europe. Evidence from a prehistoric site at the shore of the Dnister river in modern-day Ukraine shows that people living during the most recent ice age built different types of hearths. Wood served as their primary source of fuel, but they may have used fat and bones as well. The findings were published April 1 in the journal Geoarchaeology. Archaeologists believe that Homo sapiens in Europe during the Upper Paleolithic period (between 45,000 and 10,000 years ago) used fire in several different ways. 'Fire was not just about keeping warm; it was also essential for cooking, making tools and for social gatherings,' Philip R. Nigst, a study co-author and archaeologist at the University of Vienna in Austria, said in a statement. [ Related: Ancient rocks tie Roman Empire's collapse to a mini ice age. ] Fire was likely a key part of survival for ice age hunter-gatherers in what is now Europe. Yet a lack of evidence from the coldest part of the ice age has prevented scientists from saying how. 'We know that fire was widespread before and after this period, but there is little evidence from the height of the Ice Age,' William Murphree, a study co-author and geoarchaeologist at the University of Algarve in Portugal, said in a statement. In the new study, the team analyzed three hearths unearthed at a prehistoric site in Ukraine. Through microstratigraphic analysis, micromorphology and colorimetric analysis, the scientists identified three simple, flat, wood-fired hearths. Interestingly, the analysis shows that one of these fires reached over 1,112 degrees Fahrenheit (600 degrees Celsius). According to the team, this proves that whoever made these fires had a more sophisticated mastery of pyrotechnics, despite the harsh environments they lived in. Humans used wood as their main fuel source during the peak of the ice age. The charcoal analysis indicates that it was specifically spruce wood. However, animal bones or fat may have also been used to keep fires burning. 'Some of the animal bones found at the site were burnt in a fire with a temperature of over 650 degrees Celsius [1,202 degrees Fahrenheit]. We are currently investigating whether they were used as fuel or just accidentally burned,' study co-author and University of Vienna zooarcheologist Marjolein D. Bosch said in a statement. [ Related: Ice Age hunter-gatherers may have had cheek piercings, even as children. ] All three fireplaces are open and flat. The team's analysis suggests that their use of fire was sophisticated, because the fireplaces were likely to have been constructed and used differently depending on the season. One fireplace is larger and thicker, suggesting that it could reach higher temperatures. 'People perfectly controlled the fire and knew how to use it in different ways, depending on the purpose of the fire. But our results also show that these hunter-gatherers used the same place at different times of the year during their annual migrations,' said Nigst. Even with these new findings, numerous questions remain, particularly about why there is such scant evidence of fireplaces dating back to the last ice age. 'Was most of the evidence destroyed by the ice-age-typical, alternating freezing and thawing of the soil?' asks Murphree. 'Or did people not find enough fuel during the Last Glacial Maximum? Did they not use fire, but instead relied on other technological solutions?' adds Nigst. The team hopes that understanding more about the role fire plays in human evolution will reveal how it helped our species become dominant.
