Category Archives: ASIA

ASIA, INDIA, WORLD

Stone Age tools, cave paintings discovered in India could be clues to ‘prehistoric factory’

Stone Age tools, cave paintings discovered in India could be clues to ‘prehistoric factory’

Mangar, Haryana: Prehistoric cave paintings belonging to the Paleolithic era, and rock shelters as well as tools and tool-making equipment, presumably dating back to the lower or early Paleolithic era have been found hiding in plain sight in the Aravallis.

A specimen of recently discovered palaeolithic cave paintings in the Aravalli Range in Haryana, India.

The palaeolithic era, or the Old Stone Age, dates back to 10,000 BC when humans still lived as hunters and gatherers. Tools belonging to the Stone Age have been found in rock shelters as well as in open-air sites, spread across nearly 5,000 hectares, Banani Bhattacharya, Deputy Director, Haryana Department of Archaeology and Museums, told ThePrint.

Located in the Aravalli hills near Mangar Bani forest along the Gurugram-Faridabad stretch in Delhi-NCR, the discovery is monumental as it changes the understanding of Haryana’s history, pushing it back further by several thousand years than we currently know.

“Haryana is known as the cradle of Indian civilisation. Earlier, 28 sites dating back to the Harappan and pre-Harappan era had been discovered in the state. However, cave paintings and rock art sprawling in such a large area have been discovered for the first time. This discovery suggests that the history here could be 1 lakh years old,” Bhattacharya said.

While the Aravalli range is known for housing pre-historic remains, the latest discovery is the first time rock paintings have been found here. While the rock art and tools are estimated to be about 1 lakh years old, the paintings might not be older than 20,000-40,000 years, according to Bhattacharya.

The estimates, though, are preliminary and need further research, documentation and carbon dating to accurately determine the exact time period this site belongs to.

Based on initial observations, Bhattacharya said, it appeared humans had settled in this area for quite some time as the archaeologists noticed that the pattern of drawing had evolved. This gives them a chance to trace how early humans developed their tool-making skills.

A specimen of the palaeolithic paintings found in the Aravallis

“Some are line drawings, which are the oldest when humans hadn’t really figured out how to draw complex patterns. Then we can see drawings of different geometric shapes, foliage, animals and human figures. We’ve found some symbols that look like cup marks, which had presumably been kept for some special purpose,” Bhattacharya said. “While most are ochre, some are white as well. Which means those particular drawings belong to the historic era.”

Bhattacharya also said this could be the biggest Paleolithic site found in the subcontinent. She said this could well be the ‘factory’ of our ancestors, where tools were made.

YouTube video leads to discovery

A YouTube video, posted in May by residents of the area, tipped the Haryana archaeological department to the site, which was discovered later in July.

“We were planning to carry out a survey in the Aravallis here. In May, a video surfaced on YouTube about these caves that villagers have been aware of. However, they never understood the value of these rock carvings and paintings, so we were never alerted earlier,” Bhattacharya said.

No elaborate archaeological survey of the Aravallis has been carried out in this area yet, which, Bhattacharya said, will be done soon. “We’re planning to map the entire Aravalli stretch.”

Another reason the paintings weren’t officially discovered so far was that it takes hiking on undefined trails to reach some of the sites. Over time, the paintings also eroded, thus escaping most untrained eyes. At some sites, dense vegetation covers up the palaeolithic art.

Bhattacharya and her team carried out a three-day survey in the last week of June, identifying several sites. With final documentation and more elaborate research pending, Bhattacharya is yet to have a final count of the number of sites discovered so far.

Wildlife researcher and conservationist Sunil Harsana, who claims he had first posted the video to YouTube, said he has been aware of the caves since his childhood but didn’t understand the significance of the paintings and didn’t know who to talk to about them.

“We had a keypad, basic phones with the bad camera till as late as 2016… so even if I had clicked a picture on them, nobody would’ve understood what I was talking about. And we didn’t know who to tell. Now, once they were put on the internet, they got the attention they deserved,” he said.

Protecting the history

Currently, the sites are exposed and vulnerable — along with what remains of the Stone Age. The trash from the current millennium — such as empty cans and bottles of beer and cola, cigarette butts, empty wrappers of snacks — can also be found here.

Harsana is wary that as more people find out about the discovery, more will come to visit these rock shelters, speeding up the deterioration.

“The site needs urgent protection. You never know who will visit the site and carve their name or ‘hearts’ alongside the prehistoric carvings, just for the fun of it,” he said. Instead, through heritage and eco-tourism, residents of the area could find employment opportunities and be able to earn some.

Both Bhattacharya and Harsana are also of the opinion that Mangar Bani and its surrounding forests on the Gurgaon-Faridabad Aravalli stretch should be declared a heritage-eco zone. This will guarantee the area is protected from illegal mining and encroachment.

“We don’t even know how many of these sites must have been destroyed because of mining and exploitation of the Aravallis. They need urgent protection. As the oldest mountain range in the world, they carry important clues to help us understand our origins and have a lot of stories to tell about the Indian subcontinent,” Bhattacharya said.

Ashok Khemka, Principal Secretary to Haryana government, told Hindustan Times earlier this month the department will be issuing orders to protect Mangar Bani under Section 4 of the Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1964, and that experts in palaeolithic cave paintings will be carrying out an extensive survey of the area.

ASIA, EUROPE, RUSSIA, WORLD

Arkaim: Stonehenge of Russia and its Unspeakable Secrets

Arkaim: Stonehenge of Russia and its Unspeakable Secrets

Who in his life had never heard of Stonehenge? An enigmatic prehistoric monument north of the city of Salisbury, England, for more than 5,000 years, today it is a place that continues to develop speculation and theories beyond rationality.

At ground level, the Stonehenge ruins look a bit casual and chaotic, but the aerial view reveals the ring’s order. The place began modestly around 3100 AD. Pr. Kr. Like a wide ring of wooden poles surrounded by a ditch and a bank. In about 1,500 years, famous giant rock slabs, some brought from hundreds of miles away, have been placed in the interior.

The terrain was excavated, radiographed, measured and examined. Despite everything that has been learned about its age and construction, its purpose remains one of the world’s greatest mysteries.

It’s no secret, though, that Stonehenge isn’t the only megalithic circle of stones in the world. Some exist as collections of circles, such as the Senegambian circles in the Gambia, Senegal, which are considered a single circle on the world list but are actually made up of more than 1,000 to 15,000 individual monuments spread over a territory of 100 km wide and 350 km in length

There are many of these Neolithic sites in Britain, but they do not have a monopoly on the Henges. Some of the most interesting Neolithic monuments stand out within the borders of the former Soviet Union. Arkaim is one of those forgotten places, but they are an important part of the mysterious constructions.

Arkaim, beyond the history books

Arkaim: Stonehenge of Russia and its Unspeakable Secrets
Reconstruction of Arkaim archaeological site in Russia.

Some consider the Archaic to be the most important and enigmatic archaeological site in Northern Europe. This site is embroiled in controversy and is sometimes called Stonehenge, Russia. It is located on the outskirts of the Chelyabinsk region, south of the Urals, slightly north of the border with Kazakhstan.

According to experts, Arkaim is a remnant of an ancient settlement, which is essentially a village fortified by two large round stone walls. The enigmatic site covers an area of ​​about 20,000 square meters and consists of two house wheels separated by a street with a central square. 

Discovered by a team of Russian archaeologists, causing a wave of excitement throughout the archaeological community. The site and its artefacts dating back to the 17th century. Pr. AD, and it is thought to have been built 4,000-5,000 years ago, which is interesting to attribute to the same age group as Stonehenge.

Arkaim aerial view.

Arkaim has another name, it is called swastika in the city or, alternatively, the city of Mandala. It has this name for several reasons: first, if you use fantasy, the layout of the homes around the central square almost looks like a swastika. As we all know, the swastika is a sign of appropriation of the Nazi and so-called Aryan races and was adopted by modern groups of white chiefs. 

The second reason is that they originated from the Sintashta culture, which is an Indian and Iranian race from the ancient Eurasian steppes or, more generally, an Aryan race. So there are those who argue that Archim is actually the birthplace of the higher white race. While few in basic science see any value in this reasoning, there are changes.

Secrets of arching

Comparison of Stonehenge and Arkaim.

There are more interesting secrets on the site, such as linking it to a politically incorrect aspect of our culture. This was of great interest to archaeoastronomical, hence the reason for his connection with Stonehenge. Some experts said Stonehenge was built for astronomical observations. In fact, it is technically known as an observatory. This is because Stonehenge has allowed and may still allow the observation of 10 astronomical phenomena using 22 elements, and some argue that Archim allows the observation of 18 phenomena using 30 elements.

This basically means that certain events in the sky could be observed and followed by the area in certain ways and from different situations and that Arkaim offers more observable events than Stonehenge itself. In other words, it would seem that Arkaim is an even better astronomical observatory than its namesake. According to Russian archaeologist KK Bystrushkin, Stonehenge offers a 10-degree arc observation accuracy of one degree, and Arkaim offers a 1-minute arc accuracy. This precision is unheard of in the time allowed, descending from the ancient Greek Almagest, built 2,000 years later.

So it may seem obvious to some, but the fact that these places were built apparently deliberately to function as astronomical observatories and even as certain calendars until the same experience was achieved in the great founding empires like the Egyptians. and the Greeks are apparently strong evidence for attributing the further development and sophistication of these prehistoric cultures.

But apart from their history, it is interesting that Stonehenge and Archim are in the same latitude. However, “Arkaim” has also become a reference point for the UFO community, it is already customary to observe many UFOs, strange flashes of light in the sky or even some mysterious fog moving like an intellectual object.

But in addition to the well-known area, Archim also has a much more mysterious area where excavations are still taking place and visitors are not allowed. Even conspiracy theorists warn that not even the locals themselves fall into the mysterious area. Experts believe this theory is due to the energy flowing throughout the area, with unimaginable power that can make anyone lose their head.

There was a case where an archaeology student claimed to have heard a voice calling her from the centre of the building. She approached what happened next, only she knows. Over time, he said, he accepted the ghosts of the former inhabitants of Archim. Apparently, she reached another dimension and couldn’t stand it, she had to be admitted to a psychiatric centre. On closer analysis, curiously similar incidents occurred after the discovery of the Egyptian pyramids.

Because of all these mysterious phenomena over the centuries, the locals have always believed that it is a sacred place. An example can be found in the fact that pilgrims travel all year round to get healing water from the nearby river Bolshaya, and also used clay in the summer to treat various diseases.

Is our true origin hidden from us?

Mysterious structures such as Arkaim offer clues to the existence of an unknown or lost civilization in our distant past. Arkaim is just one example of rich archaeological gifts hidden deep in Russia. The country’s industrial progress has lost similar places, such as Sarkel, a limestone and brick fortress built by the Khazar culture in the 830s or 840s and flooded by the Russian government in 1952 due to the construction of the Tsimlyansk depository.

A similar aspect could be seen all over the world, but due to secrecy and the lack of cooperation between governments, or even to eradicate our origins, they have not yet been researched, analyzed, let alone discovered places that could decipher our true origins.

ASIA, SAUDI ARABIA, WORLD

Inscription With Image of Babylonian King Found in Saudi Arabia

Inscription With Image of Babylonian King Found in Saudi Arabia

A 2,550-year-old inscription, written in the name of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon, has been discovered carved on basalt stone in northern Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage recently announced. 

An engraving at the top of the inscription shows King Nabonidus holding a scepter alongside four other images that include a snake, a flower and a depiction of the moon, the commission said in a statement, noting that these symbols likely have a religious meaning. 

These engravings are followed beneath by about 26 lines of cuneiform text that experts with the commission are currently deciphering. This is the longest cuneiform inscription ever found in Saudi Arabia, the commission said in the statement. 

Inscription With Image of Babylonian King Found in Saudi Arabia
The top of the inscription from the last king of Babylon shows engravings showing Nabonidus and four symbols.

The inscription was found in Al Hait in the Hail Region of northern Saudi Arabia. Known as Fadak in ancient times, Al Hait holds numerous ancient sites, including the remains of fortresses, rock art and water installations, the commission said. “[It] has great historical significance from the first millennium [B.C.] until the early Islamic era.” 

King Nabonidus

It remains to be seen what new information this inscription will provide on King Nabonidus (reign 555–539 B.C.).

The Babylonian Empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea, and at the start of Nabonidus’ reign, he conquered part of what is now Saudi Arabia and ultimately chose to live at Tayma, a city in what is now Saudi Arabia, until around 543 B.C. 

Why Nabonidus chose to live in what is now Saudi Arabia for an extended period of time is a matter of debate among historians, with some experts saying that conflicts between Nabonidus and Babylon’s priests and officials are a likely reason.

At the end of Nabonidus’ reign, the Babylonian Empire came under attack by the Persian Empire, which was led by King Cyrus the Great;

Babylon itself was captured by the Persians in 539 B.C. and the Babylonian empire collapsed. The fate of Nabonidus after the collapse is unclear. 

ASIA, JORDAN, WORLD

12,000-Year-Old Natufian Village Unearthed in Jordan Valley

12,000-Year-Old Natufian Village Unearthed in Jordan Valley

12,000-Year-Old Natufian Village Unearthed in Jordan Valley
Remains of a Natufian building at NEG II: the wall of this structure is 90 cm high and is the best-preserved wall excavated thus far; it is composed of 5 courses of limestone and basalt stones; the wall tilts slightly away from the structure to the northwest and two large stones mark its base at the top of the Natufian occupation level; only the western side of the structure survived, yet the contour of the curve suggests a diameter of at least 5 m.

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a prehistoric village in the Jordan Valley dating from around 12,000 years ago, The Hebrew University revealed on Wednesday.

The site, named NEG II, is located in Wadi Ein-Gev, west of the Sea of Galilee and south of the Golan Heights town of Katzrin, and is estimated to cover an area of roughly 1,200 square meters (three acres).

In a series of excavations, archaeologists found numerous artefacts pointing to a vast human settlement including burial remains, flint tools, art manifestations, faunal assemblage and stone and bone tools.

The NEG II site in the Jordan Valley where archaeologists from The Hebrew University have discovered the remains of a 12,000-year-old settlement.

While other sites from the same period have been unearthed in the area, the Institute of Archaeology at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem said that NEG II was unique in that it contains cultural characteristics typical of both the Old Stone Age — known as the Paleolithic period — and the New Stone Age, known as the Neolithic period.

“Although attributes of the stone tool kit found at NEG II place the site chronologically in the Paleolithic period, other characteristics – such as its artistic tradition, size, the thickness of archaeological deposits and investment in architecture – are more typical of early agricultural communities in the Neolithic period,” said chief excavator Dr. Leore Grosman.

“Characterizing this important period of potential overlap in the Jordan Valley is crucial for the understanding of the socioeconomic processes that marked the shift from Paleolithic mobile societies of hunter-gatherers to Neolithic agricultural communities,” she added.

The Paleolithic period is considered the earliest period in the history of mankind.

The end of that era is marked by the transition to agricultural societies with the emergence of settled villages and the domestication of plants and animals.

Artefacts from NEG II: 1 – perforated piece; 2-5 – decorated objects; 6 – greenstone spacers; 7 – shell bead; 8-10 – disc beads; 10, 12-14 – disc beads pre-forms.

According to Grosman, NEG II was likely occupied in the midst of the cold and dry global climatic event known as the Younger Dryas, when temperatures declined sharply over most of the northern hemisphere around 12,900–11,600 years ago.

Affected by climatic changes, groups in the area became increasingly mobile and potentially smaller in size, she said.

NEG II, however, shows that some groups in the Jordan Valley may have become larger in size and preferred town-like settlements to a nomadic existence.

Researchers said this shift in settlement pattern could be related to climate conditions that provided the ingredients necessary for prehistoric man to take the final steps toward agriculture in the southern Levant.

“It is not surprising that at a number of sites in the Jordan Valley we find a cultural entity that bridges the crossroads between Late Paleolithic foragers and Neolithic farmers,” Grosman said.

ASIA, CHINA, WORLD

Cannabis originated in China, genetic analysis reveals

Cannabis originated in China, genetic analysis reveals

People feeling the effects of marijuana are prone to what scientists call “divergent thinking,” the process of searching for solutions to a loosely defined question. Here is one to ponder: Where did the weed come from? No, not where it was bought, but where and when was the plant first domesticated.

Many botanists believe that the Cannabis sativa plant was first domesticated in Central Asia. But a study published Friday in the journal Science Advances suggests that East Asia is the more likely source and that all existing strains of the plant come from an “ancestral gene pool” represented by wild and cultivated varieties growing in China today.

The study’s authors found that the plant was a “primarily multipurpose crop” grown about 12,000 years ago during the early Neolithic period, probably for fibre and medicinal uses.

Farmers began breeding the plant specifically for its mind-altering properties about 4,000 years ago, as cannabis began to spread into Europe and the Middle East, the authors of the study said.

Cannabis originated in China, genetic analysis reveals
Cannabis landraces in Qinghai province, central China have been determined as the forerunners of cannabis domestication. A landrace refers to a domesticated, locally adapted, traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time.

Michael Purugganan, a professor of biology at New York University who read the study, said the usual assumption about early humans was that they domesticated plants for food.

“That seems to be the most pressing problem for humans then: How to get food,” said Purugganan, who was not involved in the research. “The suggestion that even early on they were also very concerned with fibre and even intoxicants is interesting. It would bring to question what were the priorities of these Neolithic societies.

A 2016 study by other scientists said that the earliest records for cannabis were mostly from China and Japan, but most botanists believe that it was probably first domesticated in the eastern part of Central Asia, where wild varieties of the plant are widespread.

Gene study

Genetic sequencing for the latest study suggests that the species has a “single domestication origin” in East Asia, the researchers wrote. By sequencing genetic samples of the plant, they found that the species had most likely been domesticated by the early Neolithic period. They said their conclusion was supported by pottery and other archaeological evidence from the same period that was discovered in present-day China, Japan and Taiwan.

But Purugganan said he was sceptical about conclusions that the plant was developed for drug or fibre use 12,000 years ago since archaeological evidence show the consistent use or presence of cannabis for those purposes began about 7,500 years ago. “I would like to see a much larger study with a larger sampling,” he said.

Luca Fumagalli, an author of the study and a biologist in Switzerland who specialises in conservation genetics, said the theory of a Central Asian origin was largely based on observational data of wild samples in that region. “It’s easy to find feral samples, but these are not wild types,” Fumagalli said. “These are plants that escaped captivity and readapted to the wild environment. “By the way, that’s the reason you call it to weed, because it grows anywhere,” he added.

Wild agricultural hemp growing in the countryside.

The study was led by Ren Guangpeng, a botanist at Lanzhou University in the western Chinese province of Gansu. Ren said in an interview that the original site of cannabis domestication was most likely northwestern China and that the finding could help with current efforts in the country to breed new types of hemp.

Hemp was likely the first stage in cannabis domestication as a food source and for making rope.

To conduct the study, Ren and his colleagues collected 82 samples, either seeds or leaves, from around the world. The samples included strains that had been selected for fibre production and others from Europe and North America that were bred to produce high amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant’s most mood-altering compound.

Fumagalli and his colleagues then extracted genomic DNA from the samples and sequenced them in a lab in Switzerland. They also downloaded and reanalyzed sequencing data from 28 other samples. The results showed that the wild varieties they analyzed were in fact “historical escapes from domesticated forms,” and that existing strains in China — cultivated and wild — were their closest descendants of the ancestral gene pool.

“Although additional sampling of feral plants in these key geographical areas is still needed, our results, which are based on very broad sampling already, would suggest that pure wild progenitors of C. Sativa have gone extinct,” they wrote As hemp’s function as a global source for textiles, food and oilseed dried up in the 20th century, the use of cannabis as a recreational drug increased, the new study noted. But there are still “large gaps” in knowledge about its domestication history, it said, in large part because the plant is illegal in many countries.

It can also be hard to understand precisely how plant species are domesticated in the first place, said Catherine Rushworth, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Minnesota who studies plant evolution.

Although scientists can make some basic predictions about how a given plant species will diverge in nature, she added, such predictions “go out the window” when a natural selection process is driven by humans. “So, for example, we might think that species would diverge when they’re adapting to different habitats, or to different pollinators,” she said. “But people are often the pollinators and people have created those habitats.

ASIA, RUSSIA, WORLD

In a Siberian cave, a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal ‘Swiss Army Knife’ was discovered

In a Siberian cave, a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal ‘Swiss Army Knife’ was discovered

Experiment shows multi-purpose tool can still be used for butchering: it highlights the skills of these extinct early humans. This week has seen the revelation from an international study that Neanderthals twice invaded cold Siberia, around 120,000 and 60,000 years ago.

‘This thing for Neanderthals was like a Swiss Army knife for us now.’

Scientists have also unearthed the tools used by the early humans when they settled in the Altai Mountains. 

Professor Kseniya Kolobova, of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in Novosibirsk, suggested that the tool called by scientists ‘asymmetrical backed biface’ was the ancient equivalent of the famous modern Swiss Army knife.


It was a ‘multi-functional tool, which can cut whatever you like, (butcher) and process skin, or make other tools. Pictures: The Siberian Times

They were discovered among 90,000 stone artefacts at Chagyrskaya Cave.

‘This thing for Neanderthals was like a Swiss Army knife for us now,’ she said, holding the stone tool, which is made of chalcedonite

‘We have a blunt end, so it is convenient to hold.’

Retouchers were made of bones, which were used to sharpen stone tools. Picture: Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of SBRAS

Remarkably, scientists show that it is still usable after 60,000 years. 

‘You can butcher for about an hour with this tool, as our experiment showed until it blunts…

‘Then they sharpened it again and again and again.’

Kseniya Kolobova shows how the bifacew could be used to make another tool.

It was a ‘multi-functional tool, which can cut whatever you like, (butcher) and process skin, or make other tools.

‘This is a Palaeolithic Swiss Army knife.’

Intriguing, too, is how small the world was in those times. 

Excavations site

Analysis of stone tools from Chagyrskaya Cave in the Altai Mountains shows striking similarities to those found at Sesselfelsgrotte in Germany, some 5,000 kilometres away. 

‘If we put our bifaces next to Europeans we do not see any differences, except the raw materials,’ she said.

‘European tools were made of flint, ours of chalcedony and jasper. 

‘That is, they brought the tradition of making their tools through several thousand kilometres almost unchanged.’

The Neanderthals in their conquests of Siberia killed and ate bison to survive say, archaeologists.  Finds linked to these archaic humans show ‘the cognitive abilities of the Neanderthals were wider than previously thought, said the professor.

ASIA, RUSSIA, WORLD

Perfectly preserved lion cubs that died 44,000 years ago ‘after being abandoned by mum’ found in Siberia

Perfectly preserved lion cubs that died 44,000 years ago ‘after being abandoned by mum’ found in Siberia

‘Male siblings born 44,000 years ago’ found ten metres apart in Yakutia but the truth is rather different – amid hopes to bring species back to life. The pair of cubs were believed to be siblings both born 44,000 years ago. 

Some 26000 years ago Sparta’s mother either left her in the cave and went hunting, or was killed herself, leaving the tiny cub without food.

In fact, one of the famous extinct cave lions named Spartak has been found to be female, not male, and will need to be rechristened as Sparta. And she was born 18,000 years after the cub found next to her named Boris, it now emerges.

Complete restoration works on the baby cave lions, preserved superbly in the Siberian permafrost, reveals a sensational level of pelt and hair preservation. Some 26,000 years ago Sparta’s mother either left her in the cave and went hunting, or was killed herself, leaving the tiny cub without food. 

‘She starved to death. We wondered why she looked so skinny when she was found, and then tomography of her internal organs showed there was no fat,’ said scientist Dr Albert Protopopov, an expert in frozen remains from the woolly mammoth era.

‘It was the most extreme stage of starvation.’

‘She starved to death. We wondered why she looked so skinny when she was found, and then tomography of her internal organs showed there was no fat.’

Sparta was found in the Yakutia region in 2018 by the same mammoth bone hunter who discovered a bigger cave lion cub called Boris a year earlier. 

They were just ten metres apart. 

The first theory was that the cubs must have been from the same family – but now scientists know that the cubs are separated by 26,000 years.  Boris lived some 44,000 years ago and was aged between two to three weeks when he died.  Most likely his death came when his mother left him inside a cave, went hunting and the cave rock collapsed, burying the cub. 

‘We found visible traces of internal injuries which we believe could have been caused by a rock falling on him’, Protopopov said. The most important task of this complex research on the cave lion cubs is to restore their appearance. 

‘It is still an enigma, in that on hundreds of published drawings of cave lions they are depicted without manes. Yet we notice spots and stripes of pigmentation in that area… which are not seen in modern-day lions. So we are moving towards re-creating the way the cave lions looked.

‘Their living conditions were very different to modern lions in that cave lions lives in a much colder climate and we believe therefore had to look different. 

‘There was less prey in cold climate. 

‘If we understand this question about mane we might get an idea of their social hierarchy – for example, we don’t know if they created prides with alpha males and several females alike to modern lions.’

Boris, the older cub, has a severed tail.

Tests are underway on the lions to extract as much information as possible.  The cave lions were the largest predators after bears in ancient, and in the area where we find skulls of cave lions, there is only a handful of bear skulls.  Lions reigned in ancient Siberia because at the time it was savanna, bears needed more woods. 

‘Cave lion cubs are superbly preserved, you can even see their whiskers, and we are hoping to fetch a lot more information from them.’

The scientist predicted: ‘There is a very realistic chance to recreate cave lions and it would be a lot easier than to clone a woolly mammoth. 

‘Cave and modern lions separated only 300,000 years ago, in other words, they are different species of the same genus.

‘It means that we can take the DNA of the modern African lion and use it to recreate cave lions.

’It would be a lot easier than the mammoths.

‘But if we find methods to bring back woolly mammoths it would be a revolution and a payback by humans who helped extinguishing of so many species.’ 

Boris, the older cub, has a severed tail.

This led to speculation he was an ancient lynx, not a cave lion.

‘We were all worried by the lack of a tail on Boris,’ said Dr Protopopov.

‘But the man who found him explained that it got cut off when the cub was taken out of the permafrost.

‘I know it raised suspicion that the lion cub was in fact a lynx, but we know from the very first tests that this was clearly a cave lion cub.’

ASIA, EUROPE, RUSSIA, WORLD

5,000-Year-Old Rock Art Depicting “Celestial Bodies” Revealed in Siberia

5,000-Year-Old Rock Art Depicting “Celestial Bodies” Revealed in Siberia

Rock art images painted some 5,000 years ago during the Bronze Age were made with a sophisticated scientific understanding which has stunned experts. Images, discovered near Karakol village in the Altai Republic in Russia, show alien figures with round horns and feathers on their heads.

The depictions in red, black and white were found in 1985 in a gravesite in a remote village in Siberia have uncovered the extraordinary talent of the prehistoric artists.  

They have found that the red hues in the tomb drawings were made of thermally modified ocher, a clay made from Earth.

5,000-Year-Old Rock Art Depicting “Celestial Bodies” Revealed in Siberia
Celestial’ rock art images by ancient painters some 5,000 years ago were made with a sophisticated scientific understanding which has stunned experts. Paintings from the Altai Mountains of Siberia show alien or heavenly figures with horns and feathers on their heads

The white shades were made by scraping which revealed light-reflecting rock crystals, while soot was used for the black in the paintings. 

Scientists from the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow, Russia’s leading research and development centre for nuclear energy, said that the red colours especially fascinate the experts.

It is apparent that some 5,000 years ago the tomb painters knew how to carry out a chemical reaction in order to create not just a red colour but the precise tones they desired by varying the temperature of heating.

Roman Senin, head of the synchrotron research department at Kurchatov Institute, said: ‘We determined the phased composition of pigments, that is, the structure of the crystal lattice of individual grains of the dye.

‘Some structures are not typical for natural samples but are the product of heat treatment.

‘Simply put, the primitive artist heated the mineral to a certain temperature in order to get the colour he needed.’

Alexander Pakhunov, of Russia’s Institute of Archeology, said: ‘The results of the analysis of the composition of paints used in the funeral rite of Karakol people testify to the ability of the ancient inhabitants of Altai to distinguish pigments by colour and properties.’

The weird and wonderful depictions in red, black and white dating to the Bronze Age were found in 1985 in a remote village but now Russian nuclear scientists have uncovered the extraordinary talent of the prehistoric artists.
It is apparent that some 5,000 years ago the tomb painters knew how to carry out a chemical reaction in order to create not just a red colour but the precise tones they desired by varying the temperature of heating.

Full results of the new study will be presented at the 43rd International Symposium on Archeometry in May 2020 in Lisbon.

It is also clear that ancient people broke off rocks on local mountains already decorated at an earlier time with petroglyphs.

These were then moved into the graves – and superimposed their own fantastical images on stone slabs which were used as the tomb walls.

‘The remains of people buried inside the stone graves were also painted with the same colours, with spots of red ocher found below eye sockets and traces of a black and silvery mineral called Specularite prominent in eyebrows area,’ reported The Siberian Times – 

The earliest images were engravings of elks, mountains goats and running people with round horns on their heads.

White shades were made by scraping which revealed light-reflecting rock crystals, while soot was used for the black in the paintings. It is the red colours that especially fascinate the experts
5,000-Year-Old Rock Art Depicting “Celestial Bodies” Revealed in Siberia
Full results of the new study will be presented at the 43rd International Symposium on Archeometry in May 2020 in Lisbon. It is also clear that ancient people broke off rocks on local mountains already decorated at an earlier time with petroglyphs

On top of the petroglyphs were superimposed pictures of 11 human-like figures. The different colour tones are seen as carrying meanings to the prehistoric people.

While the funeral rites of these ancient mountain-dwellers are not yet understood, the techniques of the painters is now clear, say the scientists. The Karakol artworks date to the early and middle Bronze Age.