Tag

Neolithic

All articles tagged with #neolithic

archaeology10 days ago•1 min saved

New Burials at Göbekli Tepe Challenge 'Skull Cult' Theory, Suggesting Permanent Settlement

Archaeologists have discovered the first intact human burials at Göbekli Tepe, the 11,600-year-old site in southeastern Turkey previously known as the world's first temple. Published in PLOS One on September 22, 2026, the study by Lee Clare and Julia Gresky reveals two graves dating to 8,700–8,000 BCE. One grave contained an adult woman, a young man, and an adolescent girl; the other held a single middle-aged woman. These findings suggest the site was a permanent residential settlement rather than solely a ceremonial gathering place, offering a new explanation for the hundreds of scattered bone fragments found in earlier excavations.

via thedebrief.org|

#archaeology #burials #gobekli-tepe

archaeology1 month ago•168 min saved

Ancient Turkish site reveals 11,000-year-old statue of a hunter astride a leopard

Archaeologists at Karahan Tepe in southern Turkey unearthed a unique 11,000-year-old statue showing a man riding a leopard, a form not seen before and possibly linked to symbols of power or masculinity in one of the world’s earliest settlements, offering new insights into early Neolithic life in the region near Göbekli Tepe.

via Live Science|

#archaeology #karahan-tepe #leopard-statue

science1 month ago•5 min saved

Ancient Neolithic Statue Shows Human Sitting on a Leopard at Karahantepe

Archaeologists at Karahantepe in southeastern Türkiye have uncovered a ~70 cm tall, 11,000-year-old statue of a human seated on the back of a leopard. Found in 2026 on a stone bench inside a small, stone-floored structure, this piece adds a new variation to the site’s human-animal imagery, where leopards are common but usually depicted differently. The exact meaning remains uncertain pending further publication, underscoring the Neolithic community’s complex relationship with predators and the role of narrative stone art at Karahantepe.

via Arkeonews|

#archaeology #karahantepe #leopard

science2 months ago•6 min saved

Farming spurred a global language boom that later waned

A new analysis suggests there were thousands of languages 12,000 years ago (roughly 3,300–7,800), language diversity rose as farming spread, peaking around 2,000 years ago with tens of thousands of languages, and then declined—indicating that language extinction is not solely a modern phenomenon.

via Nature|

#agriculture #language-diversity #language-extinction

world-news3 months 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

science3 months 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

science3 months 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

science4 months 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

science4 months 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

archaeology4 months 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

archaeology4 months 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

science4 months 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

science5 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

science5 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

science7 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