For Those Interested in Archaeology

Yeah, me too. Keep meaning to get hold of an academic tome on the subject and educate meself.

 

Yep. Was thinking more specifically humans though. Recently rewatched the old The ascent of man series from the '70s. Still good, but showing its age.
A few good ones in here-
Recommended Books

 

This it? Don't remember hearing, but probably in this thread somewhere.
Amazon.com

 

And the wonders keep on coming.
"The discovery of ancient wooden logs in the banks of a river in Zambia has changed archaeologists' understanding of ancient human life.
Researchers found evidence the wood had been used to build a structure almost half a million years ago.
The findings, published in the journal Nature, suggest stone-age people built what may have been shelters.
"This find has changed how I think about our early ancestors," archaeologist Prof Larry Barham said.
The University of Liverpool scientist leads the Deep Roots of Humanity research project, which excavated and analysed the ancient timber."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-66846772

 

A bumper crop, mes braves.
While we're on the subject of new languages.
"An excavation in Turkey has brought to light an unknown Indo-European language. Professor Daniel Schwemer, an expert for the ancient Near East, is involved in investigating the discovery.
The new language was discovered in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Boğazköy-Hattusha in north-central Turkey. This was once the capital of the Hittite Empire, one of the great powers of Western Asia during the Late Bronze Age (1650 to 1200 BC)."
https://phys.org/news/2023-09-indo-european-language-excavation-turkey.html

"A number of ancient human skeletons have been unearthed by archaeologists from a cave in Spain, including one modified as a cranial “skull cup”.
Some of the skeletons found were modified into tools, including the cup.
The intentional post-mortem modifications of the bones found in the cave date back to about 5th to the 2nd millennium BCE, according to the researchers, including those from Spain and Switzerland."
www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/ancient-human-skull-cup-spain-b2415720.html

"There’s a recurring mystery surrounding early human migration: Exactly when did Homo sapiens make their way from Africa into Europe and Asia? It’s possible that a period of warmer temperatures could have contributed to this flow of people into Eurasia, according to a study published Se[ptember 22 in the journal Science Advances. Warmer temperatures and more humidity may have helped the forests in the region grow and expand north into present-day Siberia. The theory hinges on the presence of pollen in the region’s sediment record. The scourge of modern day spring allergy sufferers could have laid the groundwork for our very distant ancestors’ migration into Eurasia."
www.popsci.com/science/pollen-human-migration/

 

Try and see this on my next visit.
"New images have been made of one of Scotland's most significant prehistoric burial sites.
Carn Glas, near Inverness, is thought to date to the Neolithic period and be about 5,000 years old.
It is Scotland's longest chambered cairn, measuring 116m (380ft) in length.
Bones were removed from the site on Essich Moor by antiquarians in 1918, according to Historic Environment Scotland (HES).
The new photographs include images in false colours that clearly show the shape of Carn Glas.
The images by Andy Hickie have been published by North of Scotland Archaeological Society (NOSAS), which has an interest in conserving the site.
The society has been clearing away gorse that had obscured the protected monument."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3gr38e61qlo

 

"While people today tend to bury or cremate their dead, it looks like our ancient ancestors did things a little differently.
Researchers say the Magdalenians – an early hunter-gatherer culture widespread around Europe – ate their loved ones, simply to dispose of their bodies.
The experts analysed bones that were uncovered from nearly 60 sites across Europe, including Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset.
The presence of human bite marks reveal cannibalism was 'a customary funerary practice' – so it wasn't because they needed the meat to survive.
Gough's Cave is famous as the location of Britain's oldest complete skeleton, dating to about 10,000 years ago, dubbed the 'Cheddar Man'.
The study was led by experts at Natural History Museum in London, who believe that the Magdalenians were not eating human flesh to survive, but for ritualistic reasons as it was just part of their culture."
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-12596541/Human-bones-covered-bite-marks-discovered-cave-Cheddar-Gorge-suggesting-Stone-Age-people-practiced-CANNIBALISM-funeral-rituals.html

 

"Stone tools have been found in a dry river channel in Jordan that may mark the beginnings of humanity’s great migration out of Africa. The tools have been dated to 84,000 years ago, and coincide with a time when these channels would have been filled with water. The findings suggest people left Africa through the Sinai Desert and what is now Israel and Jordan, rather than Saudi Arabia.
Homo sapiens had been living in Africa for almost 200,000 years before the migration that led to settling the planet. In an effort to understand what changed to allow the migration to happen, archaeologists have found evidence that areas that are now desert were lush and inviting at the time. As a result, the path out of Africa, while narrow, was far from difficult. By the time conditions changed, humans were well entrenched in Arabia and possibly further afield."
www.iflscience.com/first-modern-humans-out-of-africa-didnt-have-to-swim-or-float-70988

 

A great point OP…something I thought also…but if you are moving, how far do you move (from the group/area) you left? There could be areas in between that are arid, lacking sufficient food or water…or human/Neanderthals in their way…easy to stop where it’s good and go no further until it becomes necessary…I can see a scenario where only generations down the line push a little further and a little further…making it hundreds or thousands of years to push all the way through…push too far and you isolate yourself and may never be heard of again…I’m sure many ventures further failed for one reason or another, by definition nobody knows what happened to them…