Human Prehistory (3.3 million years BC – 3500 BC)

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weatheriscool
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Re: Human Prehistory (3.3 million years BC – 3500 BC)

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Khufu branch of Nile River once flowed close enough to Giza to carry the stones needed to build the pyramids
https://phys.org/news/2022-08-khufu-nil ... tones.html
by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in France, working with a colleague from China and another two from Egypt, has found evidence that shows the Khufu branch of the Nile River once ran so close to Giza that it could have been used to carry the stones that were used to build the famous pyramids. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their study of fossilized pollen grains found in the sediments around Giza and what it showed them about the history of the Khufu branch.

In their work, the researchers obtained core sediment samples that have been collected from several sites in and around Giza over the years and then took a close look at the fossilized pollen grains trapped in them for thousands of years.

By combining results from prior studies that involved studying the rock layers surrounding the pyramids, they found that they were able to reconstruct the history of the Khufu branch as it flowed and ebbed in the area over the prior 8,000 years. Then, looking at the timeline and flow of the branch, they found its levels were high enough that it reached nearly all the way to Giza—7 kilometers from the Nile—during the times when three of the major pyramids (Menkaure, Khafre and Khufu) were built—approximately 4,000 years ago.
weatheriscool
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Re: Human Prehistory (3.3 million years BC – 3500 BC)

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Archaeologists discover monumental evidence of prehistoric hunting across Arabian desert
https://phys.org/news/2022-09-archaeolo ... abian.html
by University of Oxford
Archaeologists at the University of Oxford's School of Archaeology have used satellite imagery to identify and map more than 350 monumental hunting structures known as "kites" across northern Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq—most of which had never been previously documented.

Led by Dr. Michael Fradley, a team of researchers in the Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA) project used a range of open-source satellite imagery to carefully study the region around the eastern Nafud desert, an area little studied in the past. The surprising results, published in the journal The Holocene, have the potential to change our understanding of prehistoric connections and climate change across the Middle East.

Termed kites by early aircraft pilots, these structures consist of low stone walls making up a head enclosure and a number of guiding walls, sometimes kilometers long. They are believed to have been used to guide game such as gazelles into an area where they could be captured or killed. There is evidence that these structures may date back as far as 8,000 BCE in the Neolithic period.

Kites cannot be observed easily from the ground, however the advent of commercial satellite imagery and platforms such as Google Earth have enabled recent discoveries of new distributions. While these structures were already well-known from eastern Jordan and adjoining areas in southern Syria, these latest results take the known distribution over 400km further east across northern Saudi Arabia, with some also identified in southern Iraq for the first time.
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caltrek
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Re: Human Prehistory (3.3 million years BC – 3500 BC)

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Archaeological Excavations in Romania Show Life of Earliest Modern Humans in Europe
September 13, 2022

Introduction:
(EurekAlert) A new article provides insights in the life and craftsmanship of the earliest modern humans in Europe around 40 thousand years ago, allowing an important glimpse into how early Homo sapiens adapted to their environment on the newly populated continent. The study, which was published in Nature: Scientific Reports’, reports on recent excavations in western Romania at Româneşti, one of the most important sites in southeastern Europe associated with the earliest Homo sapiens. The excavation was led by archaeologist Dr Wei Chu from the University of Cologne (Germany) and Leiden University (Netherlands) with contributions by Dr Jacopo Gennai from the University of Cologne (Germany) and University of Pisa (Italy).

Many early Homo sapiens fossils have been found in southeastern Europe, presumably because they first entered the continent through the Balkan Peninsula. Still, few Homo sapiens fossils have been found in association with cultural remains. Româneşti, however, offers numerous artefacts and is therefore an important window into observing how the first European Homo sapiens coped with their new environments.

The researchers found that artefacts at Româneşti were geared towards producing highly standardized chipped stone bladelets that could have been used as inserts for arrows or spears. Also, particular grindstones might have been used to straighten wooden shafts, suggesting that Româneşti was a kind of a projectile workshop. This is further corroborated by microscopic analyses of the artefact surfaces, which demonstrate that most of them were not used. This suggests that the site may have been used as a place for manufacturing tools that were later transported offsite.

Thousands of artefacts, some of which must have been carried to the site from over 300 km away based on geochemical evidence, combined with evidence for onsite fire use demonstrate that Româneşti was an important place in the landscape. Apparently, the early Homo sapiens of the area repeatedly returned to it.
Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/964530
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caltrek
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Re: Human Prehistory (3.3 million years BC – 3500 BC)

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Ancient Poop Suggests Humans Tended Animals 2,000 Years Earlier Than We Thought
by Tessa Koumoundouros
September 15, 2022

Introduction:
(Science Alert) Clues within ancient animal poop challenge the current prevailing theory that humans tamed plants before beasts.

Researchers found the preserved dung in question alongside buried remains of ancient hunter-gatherer dwellings in Syria that date back to around 13,000 years ago.

"We were surprised when we realized that hunter-gatherers were bringing live animals to Abu Hureyra between 12,800 and 12,300 years ago and keeping them outside of their hut," the researchers explain in a statement.

"This is almost 2,000 years earlier than what we have seen elsewhere, although it is in line with what we might expect for the Euphrates Valley."
Back in the early 1970s, excavations Abu Hureyra in what's now Syria revealed one of the longest known sequences of humanity's transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers.
Read more here: https://www.sciencealert.com/ancient-p ... e-thought
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caltrek
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Re: Human Prehistory (3.3 million years BC – 3500 BC)

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Donkey Genome Reveals Journey to Domestication
by Tory Moore
September 15, 2022

Introduction:
(Futurity) Sometimes overlooked, donkeys have their own unique and significant history, which tells how they evolved right alongside humans. The new research clarifies the key role they played in daily human life dating back thousands of years.

Researchers sequenced the genome of donkeys from regions around the world. To tell the story of the donkey, researchers analyzed the genome of existing populations as well as DNA from donkey fossils.

The donkey’s domestication story differs greatly from that of the horse. Horses were domesticated twice, and the first attempt failed. Donkeys were domesticated once and spread rapidly.

Among the populations scientists sampled, the animals originated from Africa roughly 7,000 years ago and spread quickly into Asia and Europe. Also, unlike horses, donkeys appear to have equal genetic representation for both males and females.

Before this study, it was unclear where and when donkeys were domesticated.
Read more here: https://www.futurity.org/donkey-domest ... -2800322/
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weatheriscool
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Re: Human Prehistory (3.3 million years BC – 3500 BC)

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'Extremely rare' Rameses II-era burial cave found in Israel

https://phys.org/news/2022-09-extremely ... urial.html
The cave was uncovered on a beach when a mechanical digger hit its roof, with archaeologists using a ladder to descend into the spacious, man-made square cave.

Israeli archaeologists on Sunday announced the "once-in-a-lifetime" discovery of a burial cave from the time of ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Rameses II, filled with dozens of pottery pieces and bronze artifacts.

The cave was uncovered on a beach Tuesday, when a mechanical digger working at the Palmahim national park hit its roof, with archaeologists using a ladder to descend into the spacious, man-made square cave.

In a video released by the Israel Antiquities Authority, gobsmacked archaeologists shine flashlights on dozens of pottery vessels in a variety of forms and sizes, dating back to the reign of the ancient Egyptian king who died in 1213 BC.

Bowls—some of them painted red, some containing bones—chalices, cooking pots, storage jars, lamps and bronze arrowheads or spearheads could be seen in the cave.

The objects were burial offerings to accompany the deceased on their last journey to the afterlife, found untouched since being placed there about 3,300 years ago.
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Re: Human Prehistory (3.3 million years BC – 3500 BC)

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Swedish geneticist wins Nobel prize for Neanderthal research

Mon 3 Oct 2022 13.25 BST

A Swedish geneticist has been awarded the 2022 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine.

Svante Pääbo won the 10m Swedish kronor (£867,000) prize announced on Monday by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm.

Pääbo won for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins including Neanderthals and human evolution, according to the formal citation from the Nobel committee.

His discoveries also have implications for modern medicine. Chunks of Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA are peppered throughout the human genome and their analysis is beginning to shed light on what makes our physiology unique, or similar, to that of our ancestors.

For instance, a Denisovan version of the gene EPAS1 has been found to help people survive at high altitudes and is common among modern-day Tibetans. Neanderthal genes have also been identified that affect our immune responses to different types of infections, including the risk of severe Covid-19.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/202 ... ante-paabo
weatheriscool
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Re: Human Prehistory (3.3 million years BC – 3500 BC)

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Hominid prenatal growth rates found to have increased after lineage split from chimps
https://phys.org/news/2022-10-hominid-p ... himps.html
by Bob Yirka , Phys.org
A combined team of researchers from Western Washington University and the University of California, Berkeley, has found evidence indicating that the human linage that split from chimps underwent an increase in prenatal growth rate soon after the split. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their study of prenatal growth rates in modern primates and models showing such rates in ancient primates.

Prior research has shown that the prenatal growth rate for humans is faster than for all of the other primates—a human fetus, for example, grows by approximately 11.6 grams a day, while gorillas grow by just 8.2 grams per day. It has been suggested by some researchers that the faster prenatal growth rate led to the relatively speedy evolution of a larger brain. In this new effort, the researchers wondered when the increased growth rate began in the human linage.

The researchers began their work by studying prenatal growth rates in multiple types of modern primates—they found that measurement of the first and third molar provided a good correlation ratio. They then created a model for calculating prenatal growth rate in ancient primates based on their fossilized teeth and used it to calculate the prenatal growth rate for 13 hominid species.
weatheriscool
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Re: Human Prehistory (3.3 million years BC – 3500 BC)

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6,000-year-old skull found in cave in Taiwan possibly confirms legend of Indigenous tribe
https://phys.org/news/2022-10-year-old- ... sibly.html
by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

A team of researchers with members from Australia, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam found a 6,000-year-old skull and femur bones in a cave in a mountainous part of Taiwan that might prove the existence of an ancient Indigenous tribe. In their paper published in the journal World Archaeology, the group describes the skull, where it was found and what it might represent.

In Taiwan, there have been stories passed down through the generations about a tribe of short, dark-skinned people that once lived in mountainous parts of the island. But until now, there has been no physical evidence of them. In this new effort, the researchers found a skull and leg bones in a cave that have been dated back to approximately 6,000 years ago—a time before the ancestors of people alive on the island arrived.

In studying DNA from the skull, the researchers found it close to African samples from around the same time period. But they also found that its size and shape resemble that of Negritos, who lived in parts of what is now South Africa and in the Philippines. Study of bones left behind in those areas showed them to be quite short with a small body size. Femur bones found near the skull were from the same person as the skull, a young woman. The researchers estimate she stood approximately 1.3 meters tall.

The researchers suggest their findings confirm the existence of the ancient people on Taiwan but they do not explain what might have happened to them. They were apparently gone by the time other early Austronesian groups of people began arriving. The researchers also note that mention of small, dark-skinned people was made in documents from the Quin Dynasty, and all but one of the 16 Austronesian groups living in Taiwan today have stories that describe small, dark-skinned people who once lived in the mountains. Such tales differ, however, between groups, the researchers note, with some believing that the earlier people were ancestors of theirs. Others see them as former enemies. One group claims to have killed off the last of the ancient people 1,000 years ago.
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Re: Human Prehistory (3.3 million years BC – 3500 BC)

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weatheriscool wrote: Tue Oct 11, 2022 12:42 am [...] from the Quin Dynasty,
https://phys.org/news/2022-10-year-old- ... :text=quin
Fail.
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