Home | Category: Life and Culture in Prehistoric Europe
FIRST CLOTH
Cayanu
The oldest known cloth is a 3-by-1½-inch, 9000-year-old piece of linen found in southeastern Turkey at an archaeological site known as Cayonu, near the headwaters of the Tigris River. Linen is made from flax The cloth was partly fossilized. It was found wrapped around an antler, which preserved and fossilized the cloth with calcium. If the antler hadn't been present the cloth would have deteriorated within a century. [Source: John Noble Wilford, Science Section, New York Times July 13, 1992]
The people that produced the cloth were also some of the world's first people to raise wheat and settle into houses and villages. The linen was made by twisting the flax fibers into twine-like thread. The weaving technique used to create the cloth was believed to have been adapted from basket-weaving technology, which had been around for about a 1000 years. Weaving cloth, archaeologists have said, was one of the most important innovations in the development of human civilization. Cloth making appeared to have arisen about a 1000 years after copper was first hammered and 10,000 years after pottery was first fired. Before cloth was invented ancient people wore animal skins. The advantage of cloth was that it could be fashioned into lighter, cooler garments.
In 1988 linen believed to be 8,500 years old was discovered at Hahal Hemar Cave in Israel. Also discovered in the cave---which archeologists speculated was used for ceremonial purposes---was a skull decorated with asphalt. Flax has been found in the remains of dwellings of Swiss lake dwellers, These ancient people used the flax for cloth and cord and fiber for fishing and trapping. Textile markings dated to 5000 B.C. have been found at French site. [National Geographic Geographica, January 1988]
According to Archaeology magazine: An examination of textiles found wrapped around cremated remains in a 2,800-year-old bronze urn show that wild nettles were used to make cloth in the Bronze Age, calling into question the assumption that only cultivated plants, such as flax and hemp, were used for textiles in the period. Further, the nettles were imported from an area where flax was being grown — meaning that, for reasons unknown, they were chosen over their cultivated counterpart. The textile was of very high quality, with a dense tabby weave. [Source: Samir S. Patel. Archaeology magazine, January-February 2013]
See Separate Article: EARLY MODERN HUMAN CLOTHES, JEWELRY AND MAKE UP europe.factsanddetails.com
First Textiles and Clothing
Mark Stoneking of the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig calculated that our human ancestors began wearing clothes about 114,000 years ago based on comparing the DNA of head lice, which have been around millions of years, and body lice (which are misnamed as they appear on clothing rather than the body), which are a relatively new species. His reasoning goes that a new species evolves when there is a new environment (in this case clothing for the body lice) and if he could figure when body lice branched off from head lice (which he did using by comparing the DNA of the two species) he could figure out when early man first wore clothes.
Very old linen, from Fayum, Egypt
The earliest known evidence of ceramics and textiles have been found at the 24,000-year-old Doiní Vestonice and Pavlov hill sites in the Czech Republic that were the home of prehistoric seasonal camps. Evidence of these things are impressions left on clay chips recovered from clay floor that was hardened by a fire. The meshlike impressions of textiles indicate that these people may have made wall hangings, cloth, bags, blankets, mats, rugs and other similar items.
The 26,000-year-old Venus sculptures found in Willendorf, Austria and Brassempouty have what look like knotted hair. Anthropologist Olga Soffer of the University of Urbana-Champaign has suggested the hair on statues may in fact be replicas of hats.
Other evidence that textiles was invented between 20,000 and 30,000 years ago include bone needles and other sewing tools and impressions of interlaced fibers on clay shards found at Upper Paleolithic sites. Braided fibers found in a pit in Lascaux, France hints not only of thread but also rope, cord, fishing lines, and perhaps woven garments and baskets.
The discovery of bone needles indicates that ancient men probably sewed together hide and fur garments. This helped them expand into colder climates. Sewing and needles also allowed the creation of water-resistant clothing and the ornamentation of clothes with beads, animal teeth, and shells.
The first needles appeared about 20,000 years ago and the earliest garments were probably form-fitting animal-skin tunics, leggings and boots stitched together with linen thread. A teenage boy and girl found at a 20,000-year-old site called Sungir near Vladimir and Moscow, Russia were buried with clothing with 3,000 ivory beads attached to it. The arrangements of the beads indicates that the boy wore long pants, a cape, short cloak, and knee-high boots. A hat and belt were decorated with Arctic fox and cave lion teeth.
Oldest Cotton Textile — 6,200 Years Old — from Peru
A George Washington University researcher identified a 6,200-year-old indigo-blue fabric from Peru as one of the oldest-known cotton textiles in the world. The blue-tinged pieces of cloth were unearthed at Huaca Prieta, an ancient ceremonial mound on the north coast of Peru that was occupied between 14,500 and 4,000 years ago. Thousands of squares of the prehistoric textiles have been found at the site. The ancient Peruvian fabric is more than 1,500 years older than the earliest known Egyptian fabrics. The textile is now in the Cao Museum collection in Peru. The paper, "Early Pre-Hispanic Use of Indigo Blue in Peru," published in Science Advances on September 14, 2016. [Source: George Washington University, September 14, 2016]
According to Jeffrey Splitstoser, lead author of a paper on the discovery and assistant research professor of anthropology at the George Washington University, the finding speaks to the sophisticated textile technology ancient Andean people developed 6,200 years ago. "Some of the world's most significant technological achievements were developed first in the New World," he said. "Many people, however, remain mostly unaware of the important technological contributions made by Native Americans, perhaps because so many of these technologies were replaced by European systems during the conquest. However, the fine fibers and sophisticated dyeing, spinning and weaving practices developed by ancient South Americans were quickly co-opted by Europeans."
Otzi belt “The textile was discovered during a 2009 excavation at Huaca Prieta, a desert area that offers nearly pristine archaeological preservation on the north coast of Peru. Experts believe the site was likely a temple where a variety of textiles and other offerings were placed, possibly as part of a ritual. The well-preserved artifacts give a glimpse into ancient civilization and lifestyle and offer an unexpected connection to the 21st century.
Splitstoser examined more than 800 pieces of the cloth. The swatches — or pieces of cloth — were mostly square, ranging in size from 30 to 90 centimeters (1 to 3 feet) in length, although the larger squares were usually two pieces of textile that had been stitched together. Not all the squares were made of the same weave, but oddly, Splitstoser said, all the samples he worked on were fragments of cloth that had been cut, torn or ripped from a larger piece of cloth. “If you got to the Andes today people will take a square of fabric about the same size as what we saw, put whatever they want to carry in the center and then wrap it up,” he said. “I think they were carrying things in the bag to the temple and then ritually depositing or using them there and leaving the textiles there as well.”
The cloth pieces were not used for clothing because they had no arm, leg or head holes, and the edges were not treated or hemmed the way you would expect for even a simple item of clothing like a poncho, he said. Instead, he suspects that they may have been used to carry items to the site. In addition, many of the prehistoric squares of fabric look like they had been wet and were discovered twisted and scrunched up, indicating that they had been dipped in liquid and then wrung out. Splitstoser said many of the cloth fragments were found on a ramp that led to the top of what may have been a ceremonial temple at the time. There were also many smashed-up gourds on the ramp. “I don’t think it is too big of a leap of faith to think the gourds were carrying liquid and the textiles were carrying the gourds,” he said. ”Perhaps when the people got to the ramp, they poured the liquid in the gourd on the textiles and whatever else, then squeezed the liquid out of the fabric.”
Some of the oldest cotton bolls were discovered in a cave in Tehuacán Valley, Mexico, and were dated to approximately 5500 B.C., but some doubt has been cast on these estimates. [Source: Wikipedia]
Oldest Indigo-Dyed Textile — 6,200 Years Old — from Peru
The 6,200-year-old indigo-blue fabric from Huaca, Peru described above is the oldest known textile decorated with indigo blue. It is 3,000 years older than the first blue-dyed textiles in China, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances, and marks the earliest use of indigo as a dye, a technically challenging color to produce. [Source: George Washington University, September 14, 2016]
“The development of indigo dye was critical for future trends in fashion, fabrics and textile arts, Splitstoser said. "The cotton used in Huaca Prieta fabrics, Gossypium barbadense, is the same species grown today known as Egyptian cotton," Dr. Splitstoser said. "And that's not the only cotton connection we made in this excavation — we may well not have had blue jeans if it weren't for the ancient South Americans."
When he first started examining the swatches, Splitstoser couldn’t tell they were dyed at all because they were so dirty. However, after they were cleaned in 2011, he started to notice a few faint traces of color. “That’s when I could see they were blue, and that’s when I started asking around to see if I could get them analyzed,” he said. It turns out it is not easy to definitely detect ancient indigo. Indigo molecules break down over time and can get washed out of fabrics. It takes extremely sensitive equipment to detect it.
6,200-year-old cloth from Peru
After a few failed tries, Jan Wouters, a chemist at the University College London, was able determine that the blue in the fabrics was indeed indigo and, further, that it was probably made from Indigofera, a genus of plant that has been widely used to produce blue dye across the world. “It’s interesting to see how long people have been using that particular plant,” Splitstoser said.
He added that the find is a little surprising because indigo is not the most intuitive dye. Indigotin, the blue component in indigo, is not soluble in water, so it’s not like you can just throw some Indigofera flowers in a vat of boiling water and extract the dye. Instead, you have to ferment the leaves, which turns the indigotin into another chemical that is soluble in water, but is not blue. “It’s actually kind of a yellowish color,” he said. “In order to get the blue, you dip the clothes in the water with the dissolved indigo molecule, then when you pull it out it oxidizes, and that’s when it turns blue.”
That means that these ancient people living 6,000 years ago not only knew how to turn plant fibers into thread, and weave that thread into cloth, but also how to use complicated dye processes to stain the cloth new colors. “In the modern world, we sometimes think of ancient people as primitive with a lack of understanding about the world,” Splitstoser said. “But really, you had to be pretty smart to live back then.”
Green Stone Jewelry and Dogtooth Handbags
The development of agriculture 11,000 years ago in the Middle East coincided with an increase in green stone decorations according to a comprehensive study of stone beads unearthed at eight dig sites in Israel. Stéphan Reebs wrote for Livescience: “The sites are between 8,200 and 13,000 years old. Of the 221 beads found there, report Daniella E. Bar-Yosef Mayer of the University of Haifa and Naomi Porat of the Geological Survey of Israel in Jerusalem, 89 beads , or 40 percent, are made of green stone, including malachite, turquoise, and fluorapatite. [Source: Stéphan Reebs, Livescience, October 10, 2008 ==]
“The collections mark the first substantial appearance of stone beads, green ones in particular, anywhere in the archaeological record. In the hunter-gatherer societies that preceded the dawn of agriculture, beads — typically of antler, bone, tooth, ivory, or shell — were white, yellow, brown, red, or black, with only a few examples of green soapstone. ==
“The minerals used to fashion the green beads discovered in Israel came from as far away as northern Syria and Saudi Arabia. Thus, people must have gone to great lengths to obtain stones of the latest color. Bar-Yosef Mayer and Porat propose that with the advent of agriculture, the color of young leaves came to symbolize fertility and good health. Green beads, they say, were probably used as fertility charms and amulets against the evil eye, just as they are today in many parts of the Middle East. The study was detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences” ==
Andrew Curry wrote in Archaeology: “German researchers have uncovered what may be the remains of the world's oldest handbag, according to Sachsen-Anhalt State Archaeology and Preservation Office archaeologist Susanne Friederich. Though the bag itself, probably made of leather or linen, rotted away long ago, the form of the bag's outer flap—made of more than 100 dog teeth, all sharp canines—was preserved. The remains were discovered in a surface coal mine not far from Leipzig, next to the body of a woman buried at the end of the Stone Age, between 4,200 and 4,500 years ago. Dog teeth are often found in graves from the period, usually as necklaces or hair ornaments. "But every woman would argue that a handbag should count as jewelry too," says Friederich. Further analysis may reveal more about the dozens of dogs whose teeth decorated the bag.” [Source: Andrew Curry, Archaeology, Volume 65 Number 3, May/June 2012]
World's Oldest Shoes
Thirty-five shoes between 8,000 and 5,000 years have been found in a cave along the Missouri River in Calloway County, Missouri since 1955. Made mostly from rattlesnake master, a tough, spiny-edged yucca-like plant, the shoes come in surprising variety of styles. There are slip ons and tie up varieties. Some are insulated with grass. Some have rounded toes and round-cupped heels. Some have double thick soles and slingback heels. Other are worn out. [Source: Nicholas Wade, New York Times, July 7, 1998]
The oldest known leather shoe — a 5,500-year-old leather moccasin — was found in was found in a cave near the village of Areni, Armenia. The 24.5-centimeter-long, 7.6- to-10-centimeter-wide covered piece of footwear was made of an old piece of leather. It had laces and was sawed to fit around the wearer’s foot. Announced in June 2010, the discovery was made near the Armenian-Turkish-Iranian borders by a team from University College Cro in Vayotz Dzor province.
Europe's Oldest Shoes? — 6200-Year-Old Sandals from Spain
Shoes from Areni Cave
In September 2023, scientists announced that they had discovered 6,200-year-old grass sandals in a cave in Spain that were described as the oldest woven grass footwear ever discovered in Europe. Some called them the oldest shoes in the world. The news came from a team of researchers from the Universidad de Alcalá and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona that studied 76 objects, including a mace and mallet, found many years ago in Cueva de los Murciélagos (Cave of the Bats) in Albuñol in Granada, Spain but recently dated to be 2,000 years old than previously thoought.
A total of 22 woven sandals were found. Made of grasses as well as other materials, including leather, lime and ramie bast, a type of natural fiber, the sandals have no laces, but some had a single braid fixed to the middle which could be tied around the wearer’s ankle. Similar sandals from later periods found across Europe were made with other materials, not just grass. Some of the sandals were found with bodies buried in the Spanish cave. Some had clear signs of wear, while others appeared never to have been worn, suggesting that some people had clothing made especially for their burial. [Source: Issy Ronald, CNN, September 30, 2023]
The researchers said in a the study, which was published in the journal Science Advances. the sandals discovered in the cave represent "the earliest and widest-ranging assemblage of prehistoric footwear, both in the Iberian Peninsula and in Europe, unparalleled at other latitudes," The researchers said two types of footwear were discovered at the site, one with a consistent woven sole, and another with a harder "central core." "For the central core type, a small group of fibers emanating from the base of the sole may have been placed between the first and second toes. These fibers are also connected to a braid fixed to the middle of the sandal, which could be tied around the ankle." [Source: Duarte Dias, CBS News, September 30, 2023]
Other Stuff Found in the Cave with Europe's Oldest Shoes
The objects in the cave in southern Spain also provided the first direct evidence of basketry among hunter-gatherer societies and early agrarian communities in southern Europe. CBS News reported: Among the discoveries were baskets, sandals and organic tools made of reed and esparto grass. By studying the raw materials the objects were made of, the researchers were able to date them to the early and middle Holocene period, between 9,500 and 6,200 years ago. "The quality and technological complexity of the basketry makes us question the simplistic assumptions we have about human communities prior to the arrival of agriculture in southern Europe," said Francisco Martínez Sevilla, a researcher in the Prehistory Department of the University of Alcalá.
The ancient humans crushed the grass to make twine to braid baskets, bags and sandals. The grass had to be dried for 20 to 30 days before it was rehydrated for 24 hours to make it pliable — a complex and skilled process. Similar sandals were worn by “Ötzi the Iceman” 5,300 years ago. Martínez Sevilla, of Spain’s University of Alcalá, added that the Cueva de los Murciélagos was a “unique site in Europe to study the organic materials of prehistoric populations.” [Source: Patrick Smith, NBC News, September 30, 2023]
María Herrero Otal, who co-authored the study, told CBS News the research offered "a unique opportunity to study social aspects of early human groups," because the type of fiber-based materials discovered are not typically recovered from archeological sites. "It means that the use of esparto grass has started al least 9,500 years ago, and it is a tradition which is still live in Iberia [Spain and Portugal]."It is spectacular how the techniques, the raw material and its preparation has been used for thousands of years and there are still people working in the same way."
sandals found in the Spanish cave
The items were first discovered during mining activities in the Cueva de los Murciélagos during the 19th century. But the authors of this study concluded that the materials discovered were about 2,000 years older than previously thought. According to researchers, the low level of humidity combined with the cool, dry winds inside the cave helped prevent bacteria from developing, which allowed the fiber-based objects to survive through the millennia. Ceramic fragments, flakes of flint and quartz, a polished ax head, as well as ornamental boar’s teeth and stone bracelets, were also found at the site, most of which are now displayed in museums in Madrid and Granada.
According to NBC News: Miners entered the Cueva de los Murciélagos in 1857, before stumbling upon several partially mummified corpses. Much of the plant-based tools and baskets alongside them were burned and scattered around the site as a result of the mining, while the rest were given to people in the nearby village of Albuñol. Ten years later, the archaeologist Manuel de Góngora y Martínez visited the cave and interviewed miners and villagers, preserving many items for future generations. The original location of the tools is forever lost, however, robbing archaeologists of crucial context. The human remains were not recovered. “Despite the mining activity, this assemblage represents one of the oldest and best-preserved collections of hunter-gatherer basketry in southern Europe,” the research team said in the article. [Source: Patrick Smith, NBC News, September 30, 2023]
Otzi’s 5,300-Year-Old Clothes and Shoes
Otzi — the 5300-year-old "Iceman" — carried a backpack and wore three layers of clothes: woven grass cape, believed to be a prehistoric raincoat, fur leggings, and goatskin undergarments, straw insulated leather shoes, a coat of leather and goat fur, and a brown-bear -fur hat. All of Otzi’s clothes came from animal hides which suggest woven fabrics were not common. Almost everything that is known about Neolithic clothing has been gleaned from Otzi.
Otzi’s shoes had fiber and bear-skin and deer-skin leather sections and were held together with a leather strap. The soles were made of bearskins tanned with bear brains and liver Still on his foot when was found was leather boot with an upper flap sewn onto a bottom sole, a sock-like net liner and laces made of grass rope. He placed insulating grass in the net liner and then put his foot into the liner.
In 2004, Petr Hlavlcek, a Czech professor of shoe technology at the Tomas Bata University in the Czech republic, made a pair of shoes like those worn by Otzi — with bearskin soles and grass insulation — and went hiking with them. Not only did he not develop any blisters he said the shoes were more comfortable and better for walking than modern hiking boots.
Hlavlcek walked the 12 mile distance to the glacier where Otzi was found. He said when he stepped into a stream he felt no discomfort. He told Discover magazine, “The shoes were full of water but after three seconds it was very warm” and had a “comfortable feeling. This is because this layer of hay if full of air holes and air is the best warm insulation.”
World’s Oldest Snowshoe — 5,700 Years Old — Found in Italy
A Neolithic snowshoe made of birch and twine — measuring 32 centimeters (12.6 inches) in diameter and radiocarbon dated to 3800–3700 B.C. — was found at an elevation of 3,050 meters (10,000 feet) on Gurgler Eisjoch Glacier in Dolomites Mountains, Italy, According to archaeologist Catrin Marzoli, director of the Office of Cultural Heritage of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, the technology hasn’t changed much over the millennia. “This Late Neolithic snowshoe is of a very simple, yet effective construction,” she says. “Until a few decades ago, in rural areas, snowshoes of this shape and material have been produced and used.” [Source: Jarrett A. Lobell, Archaeology magazine, January-February 2017]
“Like their modern counterparts, the Neolithic inhabitants of this Alpine region were quite comfortable traversing what might seem to be a harsh and inhospitable landscape, although archaeologists are unsure why they would have undertaken these journeys. It may have been to hunt, to locate pastureland, to travel to neighboring areas, to flee from their enemies, or even to celebrate religious ceremonies, explains Marzoli. Yet whatever their reasons for venturing into the rugged terrain, this snowshoe demonstrates that they were properly equipped — at least in part — for winter on Europe’s high-altitude glaciers.
3500-Year-Old Gold Belt with 'Cosmological' Designs Found in Czech Beet Field
Otzi shoes
In September 2022, a beet farmer discovered an ornate 3,500-year-old gold belt on his land in the Czech Republic. The belt first appeared as crumpled sheet of gold covered in dirt but it was well preserved and the farmer sent photos to archaeologists at the nearby Silesian Museum in Opava and they realized the object’s significance. [Source: Kristina Killgrove, Live Science, October 29, 2022]
Jiří Juchelka, head of the Silesian Museum's archaeology department, told Radio Prague International (RPI) that the 51-centimeter (20-inch) -long object — made mostly out of gold but with silver, copper and iron inclusions — was likely the front of a leather belt. "It is decorated with raised concentric circles and topped with rose-shaped clasps at the end," he said in an interview with RPI. "It may be missing a few tiny parts, but otherwise, it is in perfect condition."
Based on the style of the decoration, Conservator Tereza Alex Kilnar at the Museum Bruntál estimated that the gold belt dates to the middle to late Bronze Age, around the 14th century B.C. Not much else is known about the context of the gold belt yet. Kilnar told RPI that the belt likely "belonged to someone in a high position in society, because items of such value were rarely produced at the time."
Central Europe at that time was made of numerous cultures connected by a vast exchange network. Kristina Killgrove wrote in Live Science: While the Bronze Age is known for its abundance of bronze artifacts, raw materials such as gold were also traded and made into prestigious items for the elite. Archaeologists have found gold objects in high-status graves in Bronze Age Central Europe. But gold items also have been discovered in hoards in special, isolated locations, suggesting a kind of gift exchange between the cultural elite and the supernatural.
Australian National University archaeologist Catherine Frieman told Live Science the owner of the gold belt was someone of high status, either social or spiritual. The Bronze Age "saw a really extraordinary flourishing of metalworking practice, including very ornate goldworking, and wide distribution of elaborate gold objects in central and western Europe," Frieman said. "Gold objects with circular motifs are often linked to Bronze Age cosmological systems believed to focus on solar cycles." While the decorative motifs have yet to be fully studied, the importance of the gold belt is already clear. "It's rare to find ornaments of this type and fragility this intact," Frieman said, because "sheet gold tears like paper. It is rare for special gold finds to emerge during excavation."
5,000-Year-Old Beads in Spain Made Amber, Pine Resin and Cinnabar
Amber used to make beads found in Spain originated more than a 1,000 kilometers away. According to Archaeology magazine: The Baltic region contains the largest known deposits of amber, a translucent fossilized tree resin sought by ancient cultures to use in jewelry. Chemical analysis determined that the earliest known evidence of Baltic amber in Iberia comes from Cova del Frare near Barcelona, where an amber bead was found in a burial that has been dated to 3500 B.C. This indicates that the semiprecious stone was introduced into western Europe through Neolithic trade networks 1,000 years earlier than previously thought. [Source: Archaeology magazine, November 2023]
Bronze Age beads — ranging in size from 0.37 to 0.53 inches diameter and dated 3000–1400 B.C. — La Molina Cave and Cove of the Giant, Spain were made of mollusk shells, seeds, pine resin and cinnabar. Jarrett A. Lobell wrote: “Bronze Age Spain was a dicey place to buy jewelry. At this time, trade networks that spanned all of Europe carried valuable raw materials across the continent. One of these materials was amber, or fossilized tree resin, which had long been prized for its color and rarity, and was used in high-status ornaments for both the living and the dead. Amber from the Baltic, and later Sicily, as well as ivory from Asia and Africa, jade from the Alps, and the mineral cinnabar became ever more prized commodities. At the continent’s western edge, Spain was connected to long-distance trade routes, and thus to a plentiful supply of these luxury items, by virtue of its access to the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, says archaeologist Carlos Odriozola of the University of Seville. It was also, therefore, a prime target for unscrupulous traders looking for an easy mark. [Source: Jarrett A. Lobell, Archaeology magazine, July-August 2019]
Odriozola has analyzed grave goods from burials in two different locations — one an artificial cave called La Molina in Seville, and the other the Cove of the Giant near Barcelona. He has found that, alongside such precious items as ivory, there were also beads that, at first glance, appear to be amber, but which actually turn out to be shells and seeds covered in pine resin to make them resemble the gemstone. “This is the first time in Western Europe we have evidence of imitation and fakery,” says Odriozola. He wonders whether these were examples of traders deliberately deceiving consumers, whether community leaders didn’t have the resources to purchase the real thing, or whether a shortage of amber led to the development of techniques for creating faux amber. “The quest for power and wealth are consistent behaviors for humankind across time, and it’s easy to imagine ancient middlemen cheating people to acquire them,” Odriozola says. “If they fooled us, a team of well-trained archaeologists, I’m sure they fooled their buyers in the past, too.”
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons, Otzi Museum, Science.org
Text Sources: National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Nature, Scientific American. Live Science, Discover magazine, Discovery News, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, BBC, The Guardian, Reuters, CNN, NBC News, CBS News, AP, AFP and various books and other publications.
Last updated May 2024