Tag

Neolithic

All articles tagged with #neolithic

world-news22 days ago•75 min saved

Nearby hillside reveals a Neolithic 'prototype' of Stonehenge, researchers say

Archaeologists have unearthed a nearby early version of Stonehenge on a hillside a few miles from the iconic monument. Excavations conducted 2015–2017 and years of analysis suggest it was a precursor to Stonehenge, shedding light on the late-Neolithic ceremonial landscape and offering context for why the famous circle was built. The discovery comes as scholars discuss Stonehenge’s possible purposes, with sunrise-ritual implications noted, and broader public interest remains high in the area near Bulford and Salisbury Plain.

via AP News|

#archaeology #england #neolithic

science23 days ago•186 min saved

Wiltshire discovery hints at Stonehenge's prehistoric precursor

Archaeologists in Wiltshire have uncovered a 5,000-year-old wooden structure at Bulford that may have been a prototype for Stonehenge. Two wooden poles stood 120 meters apart and align with the midsummer sunrise and midwinter sunset, suggesting early astronomical knowledge. Radiocarbon dating places the site about 5,000 years old, roughly 500 years before Stonehenge’s stones were erected. Artifacts such as pottery, bone, charcoal, flints, and a rare disc-shaped knife hint at communal solstice gatherings within a broader Neolithic landscape around Stonehenge.

via CNN|

#archaeology #bulford #neolithic

science25 days ago•8 min saved

Ancient Britons Likely Haul 6-Ton Stone 435 Miles to Stonehenge, New Study Finds

Curtin University researchers conclude Stonehenge’s central Altar Stone, weighing about six tons, originated in northeast Scotland and was moved to Wiltshire by deliberate human transport rather than glaciers. Glacial routes to southern England are unlikely, suggesting a staged journey that combined overland hauling with rivers or coastal transport, reflecting planning and cooperation in Neolithic Britain; future work aims to pinpoint the stone’s exact source.

via SciTechDaily|

#archaeology #ice-age #neolithic

science1 month ago•4 min saved

Ancient builders hauled a 13,000-pound Stonehenge altar stone across roughly 450 miles, study finds

A Curtin University-led study argues the Altar Stone at Stonehenge (weighing about 13,000 pounds) was moved by Neolithic humans over hundreds of miles in staged moves—overland hauling combined with river or coastal transport—rather than by glaciers, suggesting a long, organized, multi-year effort.

via New York Post|

#altar-stone #archaeology #ice-sheet-modeling

science1 month ago•3 min saved

7,000-year-old headless burials in Slovak ditch reveal Neolithic rituals

Archaeologists uncovered 78 skeletons at Vráble, Slovakia, dating to about 5250–4950 BCE, most of which were headless and buried in a ditch. The skulls appear to have been removed deliberately and possibly kept apart from the bodies, suggesting ritual or social practices rather than a massacre.

via CBS News|

#archaeology #burial-practices #headless-skeletons

archaeology1 month ago•112 min saved

Ancient Slovakia ditch hides 7,000-year-old headless skeletons, hinting at Neolithic burial rites

In a Neolithic LBK settlement at Vráble, Slovakia, archaeologists uncovered a ditch containing dozens of headless skeletons, including a mass burial of at least 77 decapitated bodies and a skull from a child. Analyses suggest the skulls were removed with sharp tools and that beheadings occurred postmortem as part of a ritual rather than a mass killing. The find, dating to about 5250–4950 BCE, hints at head-focused ancestor worship or other social practices within three neighboring LBK neighborhoods; researchers caution that more excavation is needed to understand whether violence played a role.

via Live Science|

#archaeology #decapitation #lbk

archaeology1 month ago•43 min saved

Stonehenge's Altar Stone: a Neolithic trek across Britain

A Curtin University–led study links Stonehenge’s Altar Stone to Caithness, Scotland, using mineral fingerprints and ice‑sheet modeling to show glaciers likely played only a limited role; the six‑ton block would have required a staged, human‑led journey across land and waterways to Salisbury Plain, highlighting coordinated Neolithic transport across regions rather than a purely glacial transfer.

via Archaeology News Online Magazine|

#altar-stone #archaeology #glaciers

science1 month ago•2 min saved

Glaciers Likely Carried Stonehenge’s Altar Stone From Scotland

Researchers propose the Altar Stone originated in northeast Scotland and was carried by glaciers as far as Dogger Bank during Britain's last Ice Age, with Neolithic people then moving it the rest of the way to Stonehenge, implying staged, highly organized cooperation rather than a direct glacial haul.

via BBC Science Focus Magazine|

#altar-stone #doggerland #glaciers

science2 months ago•6 min saved

Morocco’s Ancient Genomes Reveal a Mosaic Path to Farming

New ancient DNA from three Moroccan sites shows the Maghreb’s shift from hunting-gathering to farming was multi-directional and layered: European Neolithic farmer ancestry reached Morocco around 7,400 years ago, indigenous hunter-gatherers adopted farming while retaining local genetics, and later Fertile Crescent pastoralists added new lineages, painting a mosaic rather than a single-wave spread of farming.

via Indian Defence Review|

#ancient-dna #migration #morocco

science2 months ago•6 min saved

DNA Tracks a Sudden Population Replacement in Neolithic France 5,000 Years Ago

DNA analysis of 132 skeletons from a Neolithic burial site near Paris reveals two distinct populations separated by centuries, with a rapid collapse around 3200–3100 BCE and a later group linked to Southern France/Iberia, suggesting population replacement possibly aided by disease and accompanied by social restructuring.

via Indian Defence Review|

#ancient-dna #france #migration

science4 months ago•4 min saved

Caves Unveil Green Sahara From 8,000 Years Ago

Scientists analyzing stalagmites from caves south of the Atlas Mountains in southern Morocco find rainfall persisted from 8,700 to 4,300 years ago, signaling a greener Sahara; uranium-thorium dating and oxygen isotope analysis tie the wetter period to tropical moisture plumes, and archaeological records show Neolithic communities expanding there as grazing lands widened.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#climate-history #morocco #neolithic

archaeology4 months ago•70 min saved

Ancient DNA shows farming spread into Europe came through women joining hunter-gatherer groups

New ancient-DNA findings from Belgium, the Netherlands and Rhine-Meuse wetlands reveal that Neolithic farming spread into hunter-gatherer Europe largely via women marrying into forager communities, supporting a permeable frontier model. Over time, later migrations such as Corded Ware from the steppe reshaped the region’s ancestry, leading to populations with mixed hunter-gatherer and farmer lineages rather than a simple farmer replacement.

via Live Science|

#ancient-dna #archaeology #europe

science4 months ago•97 min saved

Stone-Age Woman Buried with Male Tools Signals Fluid Neolithic Roles in Hungary

A study of 125 skeletons from two Neolithic cemeteries in eastern Hungary (circa 5300–4650 BCE, about 7,000 years ago) shows that men and women generally had distinct burial patterns, but some individuals were buried in ways that did not align with their biological sex. Female burials were often on the left with shell bead belts, and male burials on the right with polished stone tools, yet an older female’s toes indicated a kneeling pattern more like the men’s. The researchers say these exceptions reveal that gender roles were flexible and shaped by multiple factors in this Stone Age society.

via Live Science|

#burial #gender-roles #hungary

science4 months ago•8 min saved

Northwestern Europe’s Hunter-Gatherers Outlasted Farming by Millennia, DNA Reveals

Ancient DNA from individuals in the Belgium–Netherlands region dating 8,500–1,700 BCE shows hunter-gatherers persisted thousands of years after farming arrived (~4,500 BCE), with only limited genetic input from incoming farmers. The farmer influx was largely women marrying into local communities, enabling a gradual cultural transition rather than a rapid population turnover, and hunter-gatherer ancestry remained common until about 2,500 BCE when new populations fully mixed. The study, part of a Reich Lab collaboration, was published in Nature and underscores the strong, gender-skewed role in knowledge transfer during Europe’s Neolithic transition.

via SciTechDaily|

#ancientdna #european-history #farming

archaeology4 months ago•98 min saved

DNA reveals tangled kinship in 5,500-year-old Gotland gravesite

A DNA analysis of 5,500-year-old burials at Ajvide on Gotland, Sweden, uncovers complex kinship networks among Neolithic hunter-gatherers: many graves held distant relatives rather than immediate family, including a teen girl whose father’s bones were placed atop her grave, with bones moved from elsewhere; the study suggests kinship beyond the immediate family shaped burial practices.

via Live Science|

#ajvide #ancient-dna #archaeology