Here are some recent and fairly recent news stories that have some connection to my own finds and research. First up this headline from the Daily Mail:
Unknown ancient humans made elephant bone tools to carve meat 400,000 years ago in a way not thought to be possible until 100,000 years later, archaeologists say
- Researchers analysed elephant remains found near Rome between 1979 and 91
- They found nearly 100 ancient hominid made tools created 400,000 years ago
- Among the bones they found a smoother, once used in the treatment of leather
- However, it was made using a technique not seen until about 300,000 years ago
- Other earlier than expected techniques included the processing of long bones
- They don't know for certain which human species created the unusual bone tools but the team behind the study suspect it would have been Neanderthals
Finds B,C,D and E can easily be interpreted as holding thumb or finger figuration to the few of us who understand Palaeolithic symbology. Finds A,G and H appear more like the clawed nail variation. H also looks like a cloaked figure with face details.
A close shape match is apparent with the above find from Italy and the below find from my site here in the U.K. Interesting a slight patch of cortex remains on my find in exactly the polished area shown at the tip of the Italian find.
This next study in Science Alert is about the predominance of Horse depictions in cave paintings across Europe from 10,000 to 30,000 years ago:
Stone Age Artists Were Inexplicably Mesmerised by Horses, Millennia Before Domestication
The link is here. Although I have made sculptured horse head finds from my site, (often combined with elephant half) before reading this article I was unaware that a predominately right facing orientation was also apparent, or even a thing, I don't have thousands of samples of horse depictions as in the study in the article, but a possible trend is evident in my own finds.
Look carefully for common Palaeolithic figuration in the stone tool above.
This is an article in Swaddle, although I would be cautious about accepting the headline.
World’s Oldest Cave Art Was Made by Children, Study Shows
The link is here. The claim that children made this art is in my opinion completely unsupported. Very small stature people were known to exist in prehistoric times did they rule out these? No they used modern day data from the WHO of all people.
