[ad_1]
About 14,000 years ago, a group of five barefooted – two adults, a pre-adolescent and two children – walked and even crawled through a dark passage in a cave, according to a new study analyzing fingerprints. hands and not left by these individuals.
To enlighten their way, these people of the late stone age probably burned pine bundles (Pinus), which archaeologists have also found in the cave, known as Grotta della Bàsura, in northern Italy.
The ceiling of the cave was so low that the ancient explorers were forced to crawl, leaving behind "the very first trace of human footprint left during rampant locomotion", that is to say in a "crouching" position writer Marco Romano, postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Evolution Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. [In Photos: Stone Age Human Footprints Discovered]
Researchers have heard about the ancient human presence in Grotta della Bàsura since the 1950s. But the new analysis is the first high-tech insight of these tracks, in which researchers used laser scans, sediment geochemistry, archeobotany and 3D modeling to study fingerprints.
There were so many footprints – 180 in total – that the researchers were able to piece together what had happened that day during the Upper Paleolithic (also known as the Stone Age). late). According to the researchers, research revealed that there were five people: a 3-year-old girl, a 6-year-old girl, a preadolescent (8 to 11 years old) and two adults.
The researchers discovered a total of 180 human footprints and traces that were made about 14,000 years ago in a cave in northern Italy. Here are three footprints, made on different surfaces of the cave.
Credit: Marco Avanzini
This group was barefoot and did not seem to wear any clothing (at least, it left no footprint in the cave). After walking nearly 150 meters into the cave, the group arrived at the "Corridoio delle Impronte" (imprint corridor), then fell in single file, with the child of 3 years old in the cave. ;back.
"[They] very close to the side wall of the cave, a safer approach also used by other animals (dogs and bears, for example) when moving in a poorly lit and unknown environment, "Romano told Live Science in a email.
Shortly after, the roof of the cave fell to within 80 cm, forcing the adventurers to crawl, "placing their hands and knees on the clay substrate," Romano said.
The corridor – known as Corridoio delle Impronte – in the cave where the researchers analyzed some old prints.
Credit: Isabella Salvador
The explorers then passed a bottleneck of stalagmites; crossed a small pond, leaving deep marks on the soggy ground; climbed a small slope beyond the "Cimitero degli Orsi" (bear cemetery); and finally arrived at the terminal hall "Sala dei Misteri" (room of the mysteries), where they stopped.
Once in this room, "the teenager and the children started collecting clay on the floor and coated it on a stalagmite at different levels depending on the height," said Romano. The torches of the group left several traces of charcoal on the walls. Then they left the cave.
The motley crew shows that "very young children were active members of Upper Paleolithic populations, even in seemingly dangerous and social activities," Romano said.
The new study is "a superbly presented book," said Matthew Bennett, a professor of environmental science and geography at Bournemouth University in the UK, who did not participate in the research. "It's an example of the sophistication with which we can now record impressions, whether it's about humans or animals." [Photos: Dinosaur Tracks Reveal Australia’s ‘Jurassic Park’]
However, since researchers already knew that ancient humans lived in the area and used the cave, this discovery does not add much to the scientific understanding of late Stone Age populations, Bennett said. "It's a group of individuals exploring a cave, which is cool, but we knew it anyway," he told Live Science.
In this image, the researchers used glossy leaves to highlight the ancient human engravings on the floor of the cave.
Credit: Isabella Salvador
Bennett added that it is not unusual to find children 's footprints mixed with those of adults of that era. This is partly explained by the fact that children were probably more numerous than adults during the Upper Paleolithic and that children made more steps than adults, their legs being shorter. In addition, "[children] do nonsense – they dance, they run, they do not walk economically in one direction, "said Bennett. It is statistically logical to find many footprints of children. "
The study was published online today (May 14) in the eLife magazine.
Originally published on Science live.
[ad_2]
Source link