Oldest Stone Bracelet Yet Found - 40,000 Year Old Denisovan (?)Writing in the Novosibirsk magazine, Science First Hand, Dr Derevyanko said: 'There were found two fragments of the bracelet of a width of 2.7cm and a thickness of 0.9 cm. The estimated diameter of the find was 7cm. Near one of the cracks was a drilled hole with a diameter of about 0.8 cm. Studying them, scientists found out that the speed of rotation of the drill was rather high, fluctuations minimal, and that was there was applied drilling with an implement - technology that is common for more recent times.Writing in the Novosibirsk magazine, Science First Hand, Dr Derevyanko said: 'There were found two fragments of the bracelet of a width of 2.7cm and a thickness of 0.9 cm. The estimated diameter of the find was 7cm. Near one of the cracks was a drilled hole with a diameter of about 0.8 cm. Studying them, scientists found out that the speed of rotation of the drill was rather high, fluctuations minimal, and that was there was applied drilling with an implement - technology that is common for more recent times. Discovery

Oh, those mysterious Denisovans.  Check out this latest:

Story and many photographs of the wonderful bracelet from The Siberian Times online:

Stone bracelet is oldest ever found in the world

By Anna Liesowska

07 May 2015

Dating back 40,000 years to the Denisovan species of early humans, new pictures show beauty and craftsmanship of prehistoric jewellery.

It is intricately made with polished green stone and is thought to have adorned a very important woman or child on only special occasions. Yet this is no modern-day fashion accessory and is instead believed to be the oldest stone bracelet in the world, dating to as long ago as 40,000 years.

Unearthed in the Altai region of Siberia in 2008, after detailed analysis Russian experts now accept its remarkable age as correct. 

New pictures show this ancient piece of jewellery in its full glory with scientists concluding it was made by our prehistoric human ancestors, the Denisovans, and shows them to have been far more advanced than ever realised.

'The bracelet is stunning - in bright sunlight it reflects the sun rays, at night by the fire it casts a deep shade of green,' said Anatoly Derevyanko, Director of the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography in Novosibirsk, part of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

'It is unlikely it was used as an everyday jewellery piece. I believe this beautiful and very fragile bracelet was worn only for some exceptional moments.'

The bracelet was found inside the famous Denisova Cave, in the Altai Mountains, which is renowned for its palaeontological finds dating back to the Denisovans, who were known as homo altaiensis, an extinct species of humans genetically distinct from Neanderthals and modern humans.

Made of chlorite, the bracelet was found in the same layer as the remains of some of the prehistoric people and is thought to belong to them.

What made the discovery especially striking was that the manufacturing technology is more common to a much later period, such as the Neolithic era. Indeed, it is not clear yet how the Denisovans could have made the bracelet with such skill. [So why are the archaeologists so certain this is a Denisovan creation?  Read on...]

Writing in the Novosibirsk magazine, Science First Hand, Dr Derevyanko said: 'There were found two fragments of the bracelet of a width of 2.7cm and a thickness of 0.9 cm. The estimated diameter of the find was 7cm. Near one of the cracks was a drilled hole with a diameter of about 0.8 cm. Studying them, scientists found out that the speed of rotation of the drill was rather high, fluctuations minimal, and that was there was applied drilling with an implement - technology that is common for more recent times.

'The ancient master was skilled in techniques previously considered not characteristic for the Palaeolithic era, such as drilling with an implement, boring tool type rasp, grinding and polishing with a leather and skins of varying degrees of tanning.'

Chlorite was not found in the vicinity of the cave and is thought to have come from a distance of at least 200km, showing how valued the material was at the time. [If this is not evidence of ancient trade, I don't know what is!]

Dr Derevyanko said the bracelet had suffered damage, including visible scratches and bumps although it looked as if some of the scratches had been sanded down. Experts also believe that the piece of jewellery had other adornments to make it more beautiful.

'Next to the hole on the outer surface of the bracelet can be seen clearly a limited polished zone of intensive contact with some soft organic material,' said Dr Derevyanko. 'Scientists have suggested that it was a leather strap with some charm, and this charm was rather heavy. The location of the polished section made it possible to identify the 'top' and 'bottom' of the bracelet and to establish that it was worn on the right hand.'

Polished zone of intensive contact with some soft organic material. General reconstruction of the view of the bracelet and compraison with the moders bracelet. Pictures: Anatoly Derevyanko and Mikhail Shunkov, Anastasia Abdulmanova.  Image from article (link in headline).

Roman Glass Beads Found in Ancient Japanese Tomb

Roman jewellery found in ancient Japan tomb

AFP – Fri, Jun 22, 2012

Glass jewellery believed to have been made by Roman craftsmen has been found in an ancient tomb in Japan, researchers said Friday, in a sign the empire's influence may have reached the edge of Asia.

Photo By Nara National Research Institute/AFP/NARA NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Tests have revealed three glass beads discovered in the Fifth Century "Utsukushi" burial mound in Nagaoka, near Kyoto, were probably made some time between the first and the fourth century, the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties said.

The government-backed institute has recently finished analysing components of the glass beads, measuring five millimetres (0.2 inches) in diametre, with tiny fragments of gilt attached.  It found that the light yellow beads were made with natron, a chemical used to melt glass by craftsmen in the empire, which succeeded the Roman Republic in 27 BC and was ultimately ended by the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.

The beads, which have a hole through the middle, were made with a multilayering technique -- a relatively sophisticated method in which craftsmen piled up layers of glass, often sandwiching gold leaf in between.

"They are one of the oldest multilayered glass products found in Japan, and very rare accessories that were believed to be made in the Roman Empire and sent to Japan," said Tomomi Tamura, a researcher at the institute.

The Roman Empire was concentrated around the Mediterranean Sea and stretched northwards to occupy present-day England. The finding in Japan, some 10,000 kilometres (6,000 miles) from Italy, may shed some light on how far east its influence reached, Tamura said.

"It will also lead to further studies on how they could have got all the way to Japan," she said. [Oh come on, we know how they got to Japan.  Ancient trade networks!  Geez Louise!]

'Neanderthal' Created Jewelry

Interesting that two stories showed up today that turn conventional wisdom regarding evolution on its head. Ha! See prior post for the other story. Perhaps within my lifetime I will see wholesale acknowledgement that Darwin had it all wrong, baby. From Scientific American Heavy Brows, High Art?: Newly Unearthed Painted Shells Show Neandertals Were Homo sapiens's Mental Equals A discovery of painted shells shows that Neandertals were capable of symbolism, sweeping away age-old thinking that they were stupid By Charles Q. Choi January 8, 2010 Newly discovered painted scallops and cockleshells in Spain are the first hard evidence that Neandertals made jewelry. These findings suggest humanity's closest extinct relatives might have been capable of symbolism, after all. Body ornaments made of painted and pierced seashells dating back 70,000 to 120,000 years have been found in Africa and the Near East for years, and serve as evidence of symbolic thought among the earliest modern humans (Homo sapiens). The absence of similar finds in Europe at that time, when it was Neandertal territory, has supported the notion that they lacked symbolism, a potential sign of mental inferiority that might help explain why modern humans eventually replaced them. Although hints of Neandertal art and jewelry have cropped up in recent years, such as pierced and grooved animal-tooth pendants or a decorated limestone slab on the grave of a child, these have often been shrugged off as artifacts mixed in from modern humans, imitation without understanding, or ambiguous in nature. Now archaeologist João Zilhão at the University of Bristol in England and his colleagues have found 50,000-year-old jewelry at two caves in southeastern Spain, art dating back 10,000 years before the fossil record reveals evidence of modern humans entering Europe. At the Cueva (Cave) Antón, the scientists unearthed a pierced king scallop shell (Pecten maximus) painted with orange pigment made of yellow goethite and red hematite collected some five kilometers from that site. In material collected from the Cueva de los Aviones, alongside quartz and flint artifacts were bones from horses, deer, ibex, rabbits and tortoises as well as seashells from edible cockles (Glycymeris insubrica), mussels, limpets and snails; the researchers also discovered two pierced dog-cockleshells painted with traces of red hematite pigment. No dyes were found on the food shells or stone tools, suggesting the jewelry was not just painted at random. In addition, Zilhão and his colleagues saw an orange pigment–coated horse bone at Aviones that might have served as a pin to prepare or apply mineral dyes or to pierce painted hides as well as three thorny oyster (Spondylus gaederopus) shells that might have served as paint cups, holding as they did residues of hematite, charcoal, dolomite and pyrite. The researchers also came across lumps of red and yellow pigments there that had to have come from afield, such as the area of La Unión three to five kilometers to the northwest, which has served as a gold and silver mining district since antiquity. These discoveries, in combination with earlier findings hinting at Neandertal ornaments and funerary practices, suggest "Neandertals had the same capabilities for symbolism, imagination and creativity as modern humans," Zilhão says. Anthropologist Erik Trinkaus at Washington University in Saint Louis, who did not take part in this study, notes, "I'm hoping that this will start to bury the idea that's been around for 100 years—that Neandertals died out because they were stupid." The rarity of such finds, however, thus far might still suggest to some that Neandertals were not great minds, "the number of sites that have these pigmented shells from either Neandertals or modern humans is something that you can count on the fingers of one hand," Trinkaus says. "These finds are very thin on the landscape." [All this might indicate is that so-called 'Neanderthal' artifacts have been destroyed over the years in much more heavily populated, farmed and developed Europe than sites in Africa where 'modern man' artifacts have been found.] Instead of Neandertals and modern humans developing jewelry independently, two intriguing possibilities this discovery raises are that Neandertals taught our ancestors art—or vice versa."I have argued that the archaeological culture associated with Europe's earliest modern humans, the Proto-Aurignacian, features a mix of ornaments of different traditions: small, basket-shaped beads similar to those known from South Africa since about 75,000 years ago, likely to have been used as parts of composite beadworks, and pierced animal teeth, likely to have been used as isolated pendants," Zilhão says. [I believe he must mean in the time before 'modern humans' decided to kill off the 'Neanderthals' or the 'Neanderthals' decided to eat each other to extinction. Both of these hypotheses have been touted as the reason or a reason for the so-called "extinction" of 'Neanderthal.'] Although tooth pendants are entirely unknown in the modern humans of Africa and the Near East prior to their dispersal into Europe, Zilhão adds they are precisely the kinds of ornaments linked with the Châtelperronian industry in France during the upper Paleolithic period of the Stone Age, which is linked with the Neandertals. "This mix indicates a significant level of cultural exchange at the time of contact, and the persistence in early modern human cultures of Europe of items and traditions of Neandertal origin," he says. [Cultural exchange. Well, we know what that means, don't we. Where there is cultural exchange, there are feasts, story-telling, dances, alcoholic beverages or mushrooms to be snorted etc., and sex. Woo woo! Scientists can't quite wrap their heads around this sort of cultural exchange.] The scientists are set to detail their findings online January 11 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

World's Oldest Manufactured Beads Older Than Thought

World’s Oldest Manufactured Beads Are Older Than Previously Thought (Image: Dating from 82 000 years ago, these beads are thought to be the oldest in the world. (Credit: Copyright Marian Vanhaeren & Francesco d'Errico / CNRS 2007) ScienceDaily (May 7, 2009) — A team of archaeologists has uncovered some of the world’s earliest shell ornaments in a limestone cave in Eastern Morocco. The researchers have found 47 examples of Nassarius marine shells, most of them perforated and including examples covered in red ochre, at the Grotte des Pigeons at Taforalt. The fingernail-size shells, already known from 82,000-year-old Aterian deposits in the cave, have now been found in even earlier layers. While the team is still awaiting exact dates for these layers, they believe this discovery makes them arguably the earliest shell ornaments in prehistory. The shells are currently at the centre of a debate concerning the origins of modern behaviour in early humans. Many archaeologists regard the shell bead ornaments as proof that anatomically modern humans had developed a sophisticated symbolic material culture. Up until now, Blombos cave in South Africa has been leading the ‘bead race’ with 41 Nassarius shell beads that can confidently be dated to 72,000 years ago. Aside from this latest discovery unearthing an even greater number of beads, the research team says the most striking aspect of the Taforalt discoveries is that identical shell types should appear in two such geographically distant regions. As well as Blombos, there are now at least four other Aterian sites in Morocco with Nassarius shell beads. The newest evidence, in a paper by the authors to be published in the next few weeks in the Journal of Quaternary Science Reviews, shows that the Aterian in Morocco dates back to at least 110,000 years ago. Research team leader, Professor Nick Barton, from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Oxford, said: ‘These new finds are exciting because they show that bead manufacturing probably arose independently in different cultures and confirms a long suspected pattern that humans with modern symbolic behaviour were present from a very early stage at both ends of the continent, probably as early as 110,000 years ago.’ Also leading the research team Dr Abdeljalil Bouzouggar, from the Institut National des Sciences de l’Archéologie et du Patrimoine in Morocco, said: ‘The archaeological and chronological contexts of the Taforalt discoveries suggest a much longer tradition of bead-making than previously suspected, making them perhaps the earliest such ornaments in the world.’ Rest of article. Earlier related: Discovery Of The Oldest Adornments In The World ScienceDaily (June 18, 2007) Earliest Known 'Bling' Revealed ScienceDaily (June 24, 2006)

Bronze Age Necklace Discovered

December 1, 2008 Rare Bronze Age necklace is found A rare amber necklace believed to be about 4,000 years old has been uncovered in Greater Manchester. Archaeologists made the find while excavating a cist - a type of stone-lined grave - in Mellor, Stockport. It is the first time a necklace of this kind from the early Bronze Age has been found in north-west England. Experts from the University of Manchester Archaeological Unit said a amber necklace was one of the ultimate status symbols of the period. The necklace consists of dozens of pierced amber beads of various sizes, linked together on a length of fibre. It was discovered in the cist by experts from the university and local Mellor Archaeological Trust, who said the mystery was now how the material got to the north west. "Amber is very significant," said Vicky Nash, of the Mellor Archaeological Trust, who found the ancient item. "It's associated with burials in the prehistoric period but it's not readily available, the nearest source is in the Baltic [region]. "So to find that [necklace] in conjunction with a cist, it shows it was a burial of somebody particularly important at that time."

Ancient Jewelry: Earrings

Ancient earrings found in Jumilla By h.b. - Nov 16, 2008 - 9:29 AM The 2,300 year earrings found in Jumilla - Photo EFE Their grape design confirms the tradition of wine making in the area. Some earrings in the form of grapes and thought to date from 2,300 years ago have been found in Jumilla, Murcia. They are being used to confirm the wine-making tradition and activities in the area. The find came as excavation work continues at the necropolis at Coimbra del Barranco Ancho. Work at the site continues.

Breathtaking Pearl and Gem Earring Discovered

This was all over the news today - with good reason. This earring is a timeless creation, breathtakingly beautiful. Imagine wearing a pair of these beauties - the hair would have been up-swept or swept away from the face so that the earrings would be clearly visible; they would have dangled against the wearer's jawline. I love pearls - these, of course, are all-natural pearls from a time way before cultured salt and freshwater pearls were invented. I'm not an emerald fan - but these emeralds are not faceted (I believe they did not have the technology back then to facet gemstones like emeralds, sapphires, rubies, diamonds, etc.) and the color reminds me a lot of the semi-precious stone malachite, which has a rich varigated/streaked green color that I find irresistible -- like grass and budding leaves in spring. November 10, 2008 2,000-year-old gold earring found in Jerusalem By SHAWNA OHM – 11 hours ago JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli archeologists have discovered a 2,000-year-old gold earring beneath a parking lot next to the walls of Jerusalem's old city, the Israel Antiquities Authority said Monday. The discovery dates back to the time of Christ, during the Roman period, said Doron Ben-Ami, director of excavation at the site. The piece was found in a Byzantine structure built several centuries after the jeweled earring was made, showing it was likely passed down through generations, he said. The find is luxurious: A large pearl inlaid in gold with two drop pieces, each with an emerald and pearl set in gold. "It must have belonged to someone of the elite in Jerusalem," Ben-Ami said. "Such a precious item, it couldn't be one of just ordinary people." In a statement released Monday, the authority said the piece of jewelry was "astonishingly well-preserved." Finds from the Roman period are rare in Jerusalem, Ben-Ami said, because the city was destroyed by the Roman Empire in the first century A.D. Shimon Gibson, an American archaeologist who was not involved in the dig, said the find was truly amazing, less because of its Roman origins than for its precious nature. "Jewelry is hardly preserved in archaeological context in Jerusalem," he said, because precious metals were often sold or melted down during the many historic takeovers of the city. "It adds to the visual history of Jerusalem," Gibson added, saying it brings attention to the life of women in antiquity. Though Gibson dates the piece slightly later than the antiquities authority, to sometime between the second and fourth centuries A.D., he said its quality and beauty were impressive. Ben-Ami added that he expects more small, luxury items to turn up in future excavations. Earrings similar to this one have been found at archaeological sites throughout Europe, Ben-Ami said, where the Roman Empire also flourished. The authority said the earring to be crafted using a technique similar to that depicted in portraits from Roman-era Egypt. Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Golden "Spindle-Shaped" Objects Discovered in Bulgarian Tomb

I'll post the article first and comment later: Amazing Archaeological Discovery in the South of Sakar Mountain Updated on: 20.10.2008, 18:27 Published on: 20.10.2008, 12:17 Author: Diana Stoykova A sensational golden discovery was made in the South of Sakar Mountain by a team of archaeologists under the governance of Ph.D. Borislav Borislavov from Sofia University "Climent Ohridski" and Nadezhda Ivanova - vice-chief (National Institute Of Archaeology And Museum - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) The excavations were sponsored by the Ministry of Culture through the National History Museum, the sum amounting of 22 000 leva, announced NHM director Bozhidar Dimitrov. The expedition explored a mound in the surroundings of Izvorovo village, Harmanli Municipality. The mound is 31 m in diameter, 2, 9 m in height. Two stages of heaping were determined. The first dates back to the second half of the 2nd millennium B.C. (middle bronze age) and the second - to the 2nd century A.C. (Romanian period) During the Bronze Age a rubble and stamped clay platform was shaped, over which a funeral device was built. It is in fact a mould of quartz with a clay foundation, 8 m in diameter and 2 m in height. At its foundation a crematory funeral was performed. The remains were put in a richly decorated clay pot and dispersed around the stones. At the same level treasures which of extreme importance were found having in mind the period - a golden jewel, consisting of 320 beads: small spherical (2 mm) taking turns with big barley-shaped beads (7 mm), 1, 5 m all, two golden spindle-shaped objects, with a solar decoration, a golden and a silver tile, tied together with a sliver knit, a silver ring and a bronze knife with a stone hone. Golden finds of the same kind have been found only on Crete - these finds, however, outnumber them almost 15 times. Ph.D. Borislavov suspects that it is the mould of a man of utmost importance - a ruler or a high priest. The number and the master's workmanship can be explained by the fact that this region was a major trading road, connecting Asia Minor,the Balkans and Central Europe. These treasures, however, can be the work of a local culture. It is know that Sakar mountain is the home of a mysterious stone culture -the dolmens. The mound was preserved as a cult place, when during the 2nd century A.C. a village was built around it. It is surrounded by a circle of big stone blocks, 22 m in diameter, and heaped by red soil and three levels of stones, which helped its perseverance through the centuries. This discovery is unique not only for Bulgaria and it will shed light on long kept secrets about far forgotten ages. Tomorrow- Tuesday at a press-conference in NHM minister Danailov will personally present the finds to the public. After that they will be exhibited in hall 1 of the National History Museum.

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Okay, first of all, the article (and archaeologists) totally slighted the discovery of TWO SPINDLE-LIKE OBJECTS in this tomb. Now darlings, everyone knows that spindles do not appear in men's tombs; they only appear in women's tombs because they were used - say it all together now - in spinning wool and flax for the weaving of cloth! Duh! Compare the previous posted article about the portion of a stone spindle discovered in Iceland. Second, it is premature, without more to go on, to just assume that the mound was the burial spot of a MAN of "utmost importance" - a ruler or a priest. Why not the tome of a female ruler - or a priestess? The TWO GOLDEN SPINDLE-LIKE OBJECTS would seem to point more toward a female burial than a male burial. In the absence of remains that could be analyzed anatomically - only ashes from a cremation - it is totally presumptive, and unfortunately typical - to assume that the burial was male. Can the ashes be analyzed for male or female DNA? Third, I don't know about you, darlings, but the style of that gold bead necklace found in the mound certainly reminds me of necklaces worn by women and not those worn by men, even in the bad old days! In fact, it has a very modern ambiance to it, doesn't it! I think the archaeologist dudes made a big mistake...

Classic Jewelry - 2,500 Years Old

From thisislondon.co.uk Unearthed after 2,500 years, the gold earrings that could have been made yesterday Last updated at 03:39am on 17.08.08 It's the sort of classic jewellery favoured by modern women except these earrings were worn 2,500 years ago.An archeologist discovered gold earrings, a ring and other funeral gifts dating back to the 5th century B.C. while excavating a Thracian tomb near the village of Kushare, about 280km from Sofia, Bulgaria. Some of the oldest examples of gold jewellery and artifacts have been discovered in Bulgaria and it's Black Sea coast is considered the birthplace of the world's metal production. What are Bulgaria's borders today were part of several ancient civilizations, including Thracian cultures which existed from the 5th millennium BC up to the end of Roman rule. Bulgarian archeologist Georgi Kitov, who made these discoveries, specializes in Thracian cultures and is well known for his controversial excavation practices, such as using earthmoving machines. Last year his team unearthed a gold mask belonging to a fourth century B.C. Thracian King in southeastern Bulgaria.

Caveman Bling!

From the Brisbane Times: Archaeologists uncover caveman bling May 7, 2008 - 6:28AM RABAT - Archaeologists have uncovered shells used for finery by prehistoric man 85,000 years ago in a cave in eastern Morocco, the country's heritage institute said today. A research team led by archaeology and heritage institute (INSAP) member Abdeljalil Bouzouggar and Nick Barton from Oxford University found the 20 perforated shells in a cave near Taforalt between March and April this year. The Nassarius gibbosulus shells are the type prehistoric man would have worn, according to a statement from the Moroccan Ministry for Culture. In 2007, Bouzouggar and Barton discovered 14 perforated shells in the same cave. "This discovery shows that the making and use of objects of finery is very anchored in the traditions of Morocco's prehistoric people," said Bouzouggar, in whose opinion the country is the original centre of artistic and symbolic creation. Objects of finery discovered in Morocco are "now considered to be even more ancient than those discovered in Algeria, South Africa and in Palestine", said the culture ministry. Known as the "cave of pigeons", the 30-metre deep and 10-metre high cave is situated 50km from Morocco's Mediterranean coast. AFP ********************************************************************************************* What was not explained - was the cave inhabited by so-called "modern" man, or by so-called "Neanderthal" man? Inquiring minds want to know!