We are not going to commen ton these as absurd as some of them are. They are here so you know about them
35,000-year-old Neanderthal cave reveals secrets of ancient human rituals
Researchers have unearthed new information about the ritualistic practices of prehistoric humans in the Levant, offering evidence that Manot Cave was more than just a shelter—it was a site for communal gatherings and possibly spiritual ceremonies 35,000 years ago.
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University, alongside archaeologists, have unearthed compelling details about how the cave’s deepest chamber served as a focal point for prehistoric rituals.
The study reveals a stark division between the living quarters near the cave’s entrance and a cavernous chamber eight stories below. The latter, isolated in darkness, features a distinctive carved boulder shaped like a tortoise or turtle.
Positioned in a niche, this rock is believed to have served as a totem or spiritual artifact. “Its special location, far from the daily activities near the cave entrance, suggests that it was an object of worship,” explains Omry Barzilai, the lead archaeologist.
A chamber of fire and soundThe cavern’s natural acoustics and the presence of wood ash on stalagmites point to the use of torches to illuminate the space, indicating deliberate preparation for gatherings. A particular stalagmite revealed soot residue dating back 36,000 years, suggesting the use of fire to create temporary light sources for these rituals.
Unlike typical hearths, there were no signs of long-term fire usage in the chamber, reinforcing the theory that fire was purposefully brought in for ceremonial events.
Manot Cave has a rich history of archaeological significance. Discovered accidentally in 2008, it has yielded insights into both Neanderthal and modern human life. In 2015, researchers from Case Western Reserve identified a 55,000-year-old skull in the cave, providing tangible evidence of interbreeding between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
Discovery #4
Stone Age ‘CSI’: Archaeologists identify a family killed in a house fire nearly 6 millennia ago
Burnt and battered human bones from 5,700 years ago hint at a brutal end for a group of Stone Age people who likely died in a house fire in what is now Ukraine, a new study finds.
But why two of the people had violent head injuries and why one died a century later than everyone else remain unsolved mysteries.
“We can only speculate whether there was a connection between the fire and the act of deadly violence, i.e. killing the people in the house, leaving their corpses, and setting the house on fire,” Katharina Fuchs, a biological anthropologist at Kiel University in Germany, and colleagues wrote in a study published Wednesday (Dec. 11) in the journal PLOS One.
In 2004, archaeologists discovered nearly 100 pieces of human bone in a prehistoric house at Kosenivka, an archaeological site about 115 miles (185 kilometers) south of Kyiv. Kosenivka preserves the remains of a prehistoric “mega-settlement” created by the agrarian Cucuteni-Trypillia societies (CTS), who lived throughout what is now modern-day Romania, Moldova and Ukraine from 4800 to 3000 B.C. These settlements consisted of public buildings and family houses, many of which were deliberately burned down when people left.
But the discovery of human bones within one of the burned houses at Kosenivka surprised archaeologists, who undertook the new detailed study to figure out what happened.
Discovery #5
Archaeologists Found the Tomb of an Actual Roman Soldier From Year Zero
During an ADC ArcheoProjecten excavation near the town’s Raadhuisplein—translated as Town Hall Square—a team of archaeologists found what initially looked to be a cellar. But after further exploration, they found it was rife with bronze pieces, pottery, terra sigillata bowls and plates, and, most significantly, cremated remains—not exactly something you store in a cellar.
They realized they had stumbled upon an ancient tomb, and it didn’t take long to figure out whose.
The clay bowls held a key clue, as the abbreviation “FLAC” was engraved onto their sides, according to a statement from the town of Heerlen. The abbreviation serves as a nickname for Flaccus. Along with the bowl, the archaeologists found a personal bronze skin scraper and four different plates. The pottery, which comes from Italy, confirmed that Flaccus was a Roman soldier. “It is a unique find because it is not only the oldest Roman grave in Heerlen, but also because no name was known there before,” the statement reads.
The find was dated to the year 0 and is the “most unique evidence of Roman habitation at this location.” Researchers had not previously found a Roman grave for this period accompanied by a name in the region.
The tomb and its personal artifacts are some of the first true pieces of evidence of an early Roman presence in the area. The settlement, likely the area’s first from the Roman expansion, was known as Coriovallum, and the deceased Flaccus is now the oldest known name of an individual in the city’s history.
The Raadhuisplein, located near the historical roads Via Belgica and Via Traina, was likely also an important location in the middle of Coriovallum, which became Heerlen centuries later. It served as a connection between Germany and France, a crossroads that contained a Roman military presence. It later grew into a more civilian-focused town and public baths built between 50 and 70 A.D., discovered in Heerlen in 1940, are still the largest visible Roman ruins in the Netherlands, according to Archaeology Magazine.
Discovery #5
Archaeologists Entered an Ancient Building—and Found 15 Abandoned Skulls Under the Floor
Discovering one skullc is spooky. Discovering two skulls is scary. Discovering 15 skulls? That downright, dare we say, bone-chilling.
So keep in your thoughts the group of archaeologists who discovered a heap of broken skulls and jaw bones from about 15 individuals at the site of the Neolithic village Masseria Candelaro, located in what is now Puglia, Italy. In a study published in the European Journal of Archaeology, the team wrote they believe the skulls were likely collected over the course of close to three centuries and used in some sort of ancestral ritualistic practice.
At an excavation site, the bones were found inside a prehistoric building dubbed Structure Q. Thanks to other layers of artifacts found alongside the bones, the experts dated the location to between 5500 and 5400 B.C., although dating the roughly 400 bone fragments themselves showed they ranged from 5618 B.C. to 5335 B.C., suggesting the bones had been accrued over three centuries of deaths and represented up to eight generations of ancestors.
The finding of the skulls inside a building and not a cemetery was a unique discovery, Jess Thompson, an archaeologist at the University of Cambridge, told Live Science. Furthermore, they were found under a only a top layer of soil, hinting that they were abandoned and not buried. The researchers concluded that “Structure Q was thus probably a multi-functional space later repurposed for ritual activities.”
The lengthy span of time that the cranial cache represents shows, according to the study, “a collection that was constantly changing” and one that endured a tradition of use. That may help provide answers to the “motivations for the curation of cranial bone” and just how the interaction with bones may have played a key role in how people related to their ancestors.
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