35,000 Year Old Ivory "Workshop" in Germany?

I'll be interested to read more about this site. My gut feeling upon reading this is that the archaeologists have been a bit cavalier in making certain assumptions about it.  Photographs would be nice -- if this is a worshop as asserted, did they find any half-finished or discarded ivory models?  Any 35,000 year old "venuses" for instance?  Come on - give us more more more...

Reported at Science Daily

Oldest Ivory Workshop in the World Discovered in Saxony-Anhalt

ScienceDaily (Sep. 26, 2012) — Excavations at the mammoth hunting site of Breitenbach near Zeitz have uncovered a 35,000-year-old ivory workshop.

In an international co-operation project, archaeologists from the Monrepos Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for the Evolution of Hominin Behaviour, part of the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, (RGZM) and the Landesamt für Denkmalpflege and Archäologie in Saxony-Anhalt are excavating the 35,000 year old site of Breitenbach, close to Zeitz in Saxony-Anhalt. Other co-operation partners are the Faculty of Archaeology at the University of Leiden (NL), the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (ArchPro) in Vienna, the Institute of Geoinformatics i3mainz of the University of Applied Sciences in Mainz as well as the Institutes of Geosciences at the universities of Mainz, Tübingen and Cologne.

During this year's campaign, site directors Dr. Olaf Jöris and Tim Matthies and their team found the oldest evidence for clearly distinct working areas which are interpreted as standardized workshops for working mammoth ivory. It was possible to identify a zone where pieces of ivory were split into lamella, as well as a second area where the pieces had been carved and their waste had been discarded. Some ivory beads and rough outs of unfinished products were also found amongst this debris, alongside several other ivory objects, including a decorated rod and fragments of a three-dimensionally modified object, very likely an object of art. The manufacturers were early modern humans similar to ourselves, who obtained mammoth ivory which had probably lain around at this site for some time, either from the carcasses of mammoths which had died here naturally or from the bodies of the victims of expert hunters. In the case of the latter scenario, the mammoths could have been hunted by modern humans or even by Neanderthals, since Neanderthals had only become extinct a few thousand years before the site was occupied by modern humans.

The clear spatial deposition of the finds in different working areas allows us to draw conclusions about the use of space at around 35,000 years ago, a concept apparently still unknown to Neanderthals.

The settlement at Breitenbach covers an area of at least 6,000 m² and perhaps as much as 20,000 m², making it one of the largest sites of the younger Palaeolithic period (Upper Palaeolithic) known to date. The first archaeological excavations were carried out in the 1920's; the more recent campaigns have investigated some 70 m² of the site. Many students from 25 countries have helped to excavate the site. Close to 3,000 finds have been recovered so far in this year alone.

Finds comparable in age to the ones from Breitenbach are most commonly found in caves, where the utilisation of space was governed by the natural formation of the cave walls. This led to restrictions on, and compromises by, the cave inhabitants. In addition, the same areas of caves were repeatedly inhabited over a long period of time, superimposed over and often blurring details of earlier settlement remains. In the open, as at Breitenbach, humans had the possibility to organise their space more or less free of restrictions or preconditions and establish structures which allow us to reconstruct the daily life of this period at the highest resolution.

Field work at Breitenbach has provided new insights into the spatial activities of people at the beginning of the younger Old Stone Age (Upper Palaeolithic), especially into the spatial organisation of settlement sites and thus of daily life during the Aurignacian at around 40,000-34,000 years ago. This is ultimately of great importance for our understanding of the roots of modern human behaviour itself, since indications for "organizing oneself"in a well-defined and regulated manner which we are accustomed to today, are recognized for the first time worldwide through the new features discovered at the site of Breitenbach.

Due to the unparalleled large size of the settlement area, the Breitenbach site offers a unique opportunity to undertake a detailed investigation of an open site of the Aurignacian period. This will enable us to gain new insights into the complexity and spatial organisation of an early Upper Palaeolithic settlement site, where evidence of personal adornment, art, music or even burials, which are to date hardly known from this period, can also be expected.

Anthropologists Discover Oldest Form of Wall Art

Well - we'll see.  At the rate things are changing these days, this "oldest" may not survive a year.  About time things speeded up!  Technology is changing rapidly and with it, so are the intepretations of what we're discovering (and what has already been discovered) by the experts.

Let's play a little game, darlings:  What is this?

Basically, I want to know why they say this is Aurignacian?  Not "Neanderthal?"  (Maybe the two were already blended by then, LOL!  Well, I shouldn't laugh.  Most of us with European ancestors have between 2 and 4% of so-called "Neanderthal" DNA, so who got the last laugh, heh heh heh?) 

By the way, after the oh-so-staid press release, check out some of the "vulgar vagina" (har!) headlines from around the world that this - press release? - generated?  Well, darlings, something generated these headlines!  Check them out...

Press Release:
Public release date: 14-May-2012Contact: James Devitt
james.devitt@nyu.edu
212-998-6808
New York University

Anthropologists discover earliest form of wall art

Anthropologists working in southern France have determined that a 1.5 metric ton block of engraved limestone constitutes the earliest evidence of wall art. Their research, reported in the most recent edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows the piece to be approximately 37,000 years old and offers rich evidence of the role art played in the daily lives of Early Aurignacian humans.

The research team, comprised of more than a dozen scientists from American and European universities and research institutions, has been excavating at the site of the discovery—Abri Castanet—for the past 15 years. Abri Castanet and its sister site Abri Blanchard have long been recognized as being among the oldest sites in Eurasia bearing artifacts of human symbolism. Hundreds of personal ornaments have been discovered, including pierced animal teeth, pierced shells, ivory and soapstone beads, engravings, and paintings on limestone slabs.

"Early Aurignacian humans functioned, more or less, like humans today," explained New York University anthropology professor Randall White, one of the study's co-authors. "They had relatively complex social identities communicated through personal ornamentation, and they practiced sculpture and graphic arts."

Aurignacian culture existed until approximately 28,000 years ago.

In 2007, the team discovered an engraved block of limestone in what had been a rock shelter occupied by a group of Aurignacian reindeer hunters. Subsequent geological analysis revealed the ceiling had been about two meters above the floor on which the Aurignacians lived—within arms' reach.

Using carbon dating, the researchers determined that both the engraved ceiling, which includes depictions of animals and geometric forms, and the other artifacts found on the living surface below were approximately 37,000 years old.

"This art appears to be slightly older than the famous paintings from the Grotte Chauvet in southeastern France," explained White, referring to the cave paintings discovered in 1994.

"But unlike the Chauvet paintings and engravings, which are deep underground and away from living areas, the engravings and paintings at Castanet are directly associated with everyday life, given their proximity to tools, fireplaces, bone and antler tool production, and ornament workshops."

He added that this discovery, combined with others of approximately the same time period in southern Germany, northern Italy, and southeastern France, raises new questions about the evolutionary and adaptive significance of art and other forms of graphic representation in the lives of modern human populations.

###

Woooo woooo!

Female genitalia features in world's oldest cave art, found at Abri Castanet
by Jean-Louis Santini (love that name!)
May 15, 2012

Is this world's earliest pornography?   
Daily Mail, May 16, 2012

Okay - enough!  I'm tired, I'm hungry, I've got 3 pounds of ground beef I bought on sale I've got to divide up and get a casserole going and wrap the other 2 pounds for the freezer.  Holy Mother!  A woman's work is never ever done. 

7,000 Year Old Projectile Points found in Vermont (USA)!!!

From the RutlandHerald.com
Artifacts dating back to 5000 B.C. found in Rutland Town
By PATRICIA MINICHIELLO
STAFF WRITER - Published: June 24, 2010

Ancient artifacts dating back roughly 7,000 years ago to 5000 B.C., were found by state archeologists on land near Thomas Dairy in Rutland Town recently.

John Thomas, one of the landowners, said the pointed projectiles looked like arrowheads and were discovered in at least two different locations on his property. (Image: The photo depicts 16 projectiles dating back to 5000 B.C. found on land near Post Road in Rutland Town owned by Orin Thomas and Sons.  Northeast Archaeology Research Center)
“One was close to Carey’s Auto and another abuts the development on Blue Ridge acres,” Thomas said Tuesday.

The discovery occurred as a part of an archeological dig — a standard procedure prior to subdivision — by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.

Scott Dillon, a survey archeologist with the division, said 16 projectiles were found at one location and appeared to be intentionally buried together in a pit. He said the relics studied by experts from the Northeast Archaeology Research Center Inc. were from the Native American era.

“These findings are quite rare and priceless. They really paint a picture of people living in the Rutland area 7,000 years ago.”

Dillon said the artifacts included stoneworking tools, fire-cracked rock and containers for cooking.

“They would heat up rock and drop the rock into the pot to heat up the food,” Dillon said of the Native American people who used these tools. When asked how much these items are worth, Dillon would not put a price tag on them.

“People do sell projectile points, but their monetary value is insignificant compared to their cultural value,” he said. “Their cultural value far outweighs the possibility of selling an artifact on eBay.”

After the discoveries were made, the state created buffer zones around the sensitive material and put a restriction on the land for anything but agriculture use.

Despite the buffer zone determination, four lots on the Thomas property were subdivided, a portion of which will soon be sold to the federal government to build a 70,000-square-foot Armed Forces Reserve Center.

On Tuesday, an Act 250 permit was granted for the Thomas subdivision, according to Bill Burke from Rutland’s Act 250 office.

Regarding the artifacts, Thomas said although the findings are not a financial burden yet, he feels they could be in the future.

“Anytime anyone encumbers the land, I feel that it could be a problem or expense very easily,” Thomas said.

When asked how he feels about the discovery of ancient relics on his land, Thomas answered bluntly.

“I feel that if these historic preservation people want to preserve these artifacts, they should put them in a museum and leave me alone.”

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It will be interesting to see what happens here - the clash among the land owner, the scientists and the preservationists.  What I want to know is, from experts' perspective, how do these points compare with "Clovis" technology and the much older Aurignacian period points found in parts of France and Spain?  How do they fit in, overall, with the peopling of America?