🧐 ROTA #8: Prehistoric firelight, neanderthal camps, and climate migration
Hi folks, welcome to issue #8 of Rhythm of the Ancients! As always, thank you so much for joining me. Now, let’s get into this week’s ancient news.
🗞 Ancient Beat
Prehistoric people created art by firelight — Researchers studying plaquettes thought to be made by Magdalenian hunter-gatherers 15,000 years ago found something interesting about the heat damage on some of the stones. The damage is consistent with being intentionally positioned near a fire, as opposed to being accidentally burnt. The researchers suggest that this means the stones were carved by the light of a campfire. And they go on to say that this may have even, “activated an evolutionary capacity designed to protect us from predators called ‘Pareidolia’.”
Archaeologists uncover 120,000 year-old neanderthal camp site in Spain’s Alicante area — Researchers have located an open-air campsite where Neanderthals may have met to trade, make tools, and prepare animals for consumption. Most Neanderthal campsites are found in caves so this is a relatively rare find.
Bracteate treasure hoard found near Wałbrzych — Bracteate (i.e. thin, flat, one-sided) coins from the 13th century CE were uncovered by a dog walker in Poland. The coins depict zoomorphic and human-like figures. This is thought to be one of the most significant finds in the region.
Anglo-Saxon kings were mostly veggie but peasants treated them to huge barbecues, new study argues — Researchers suggest that there is actually no correlation between social status and high-protein diets in medieval England. In other words, outside of feasts, little meat was eaten — by anyone. The article goes on to say that peasants would sometimes feed kings with great feasts as a form of food-rent.
Ancient Roman pottery workshop discovered in Egypt — A pottery workshop, along with rounded vessels, coins, figurines, and more, has been found in Egypt. It dates back to early Roman Egypt, which started in 30 BCE. After being defeated by the Romans, Egypt became a prosperous province excelling in craft-based products like pottery.
As Earth's climate got wetter, ancient humans were able to migrate more widely, a new scientific model suggests — The longest comprehensive climate model simulation to date suggests that where ancient people lived was influenced by climate. Essentially, these people traveled to new territories to seek wetter climates. "Even though different groups of archaic humans preferred different climatic environments, their habitats all responded to climate shifts caused by astronomical changes in Earth's axis wobble, tilt, and orbital eccentricity with timescales ranging from 21,000 to 400,000 years," said Axel Timmermann. The link between climate and human evolution remains a hotly debated topic.
❤️ Recommended Content
This video is right up the alley of ROTA subscribers — it’s a 1-hour look at 12 recent prehistoric discoveries. I’ve already covered many of the discoveries in this newsletter, but these gents go a little deeper. It includes evidence that pushes back the practice of mummification, female warriors in Armenia, and a 4,000 year old board game.
This video is a walkthrough of an exhibit called The World of Stonehenge at the British Museum. It shows some fascinating artifacts, including the Folkton drums, Nebra Sky Disc, Star Carr headdress, and the posts from Seahenge.
This video explores the megaliths and the building methods of the fascinating Osaka Castle in Japan.
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Until next time, thanks for joining me.
-James
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