In the 19th century, miners in southern Spain unearthed prehistoric burial sites within caves. It contained approximately 22 pairs of ancient sandals woven from wood. esparto (a type of grass). The latest radiocarbon dating reveals that these sandals may be 6,200 years old. new paper Published in Science Advances magazine. The multidisciplinary team analyzed 76 artefacts made of wood, reed and esparto, including baskets, strings, mats and mallets. Some of the basket weaving was found to be older than sandals, providing the first direct evidence of basket weaving among hunter-gatherers and early farmers in the region.
Organic plant-based materials rarely survive for thousands of years, but when they do, archaeologists can learn quite a bit about the culture in which they were produced. For example, last year we reported on the world’s oldest known pair of pants, made in China some 3,000 years ago. With the help of a master weaver who created a replica of the pants, archaeologists uncovered the design secrets behind the 3,000-year-old wool trousers that were part of the burial suit of warriors now known as Turfanmans. was clarified. He died between 1000 and 1000. 1200 BC, western China. To make these, the ancient weaver combined his four techniques to create a garment specifically designed for fighting on horseback, flexible in some parts and strong in others.
Discovered by local landowner Murcielagos caves In 1831 (“Bat Cave”), all the bat guano in the main chamber was put to good use to fertilize the land. At one point it was also used for goat farming, but the discovery of galena turned the site into a mining operation. When the miners removed blocks to access the vein, they opened a gallery containing several partially mummified corpses and a series of baskets, wooden tools, and other artifacts. Most of the plant-based crafts were burned or given to local villagers.
It took another ten years for an archaeologist named Manual de Góngora y Martínez to interview the miners about the discovery and collect the scattered extant artifacts for posterity. He recorded about 68 human remains, and found objects such as pottery shards, flint blades and flakes, quartz, polished ax heads, bone awls, ornamental shells, boar teeth, and even a gold crown. They speculated that the artifacts were related to burials. Plant-based baskets, sandals, wooden objects, etc.
The unusual preservation of these plant-derived objects is due to the cave’s geology, the authors say. There is little moisture, and the Angosturas Gorge sends dry winds through a narrow entrance at the top of the cave. As the wind passes through the cave, it cools, dries, and picks up speed, making it harder for plant-hungry bacteria to thrive. Unfortunately, the original location where the items were found was not recorded, only that they were recovered from the depths of the cave. Therefore, archaeologists cannot rely on normal circumstantial methods to draw final conclusions. However, “sandals, baskets, and wooden remains…constitute a unique sample of organic remains not found at other sites of early peasant communities,” the authors write. .