Red Deer Cave People

The Red Deer Cave People appear to have been some of the most unusual humans in the past 20,000 years. They have been dated to have existed about 14,000 years ago, which is exceptionally recent in terms of human evolution. Yet, their fossils display many ‘archaic’ human features that are associated with more distant relatives in the family tree.

They might have been an ancient relic of humanity that held on until the end of the last Ice Age. Or they may have been a hybrid population, possibly related to Neanderthals and Denisovans. Or perhaps they show that Homo sapiens were extremely diverse throughout their history.

In 1989, human remains were unearthed at a cave in Yunnan, southern Chine. It became known at the Red Deer Cave because of the discovery of giant red deer fossils at the site. It is believed the human inhabitants cooked and ate the animals.

In 2012, scientists speculated whether the people in the cave represented a new human species. By studying their jaws and teeth, it was noted they had thick skulls with flat faces, broad noses, small chines, large molar teeth and prominent brow ridges, all features associated with older, long-extinct members of the human family tree.

The scientists had discovered a population of prehistoric humans whose skulls display an unusual mosaic of primitive features, like those seen in our ancestors thousands of years ago.

A 2015 study of a thigh bone discovered at Red Deer Cave suggested that individual weighed about 110 pounds (50 kilograms) and shared anatomical features with early Homo erectus or Homo habilis, both of which went extinct about 1.5 million years ago.

Since the femur was dated at just 14,000 years old, this did not fit the widely accepted chronology of human evolution. This femur was part of a living person a few thousand years before Homo sapiens developed agriculture, which sparked an evolution of culture that ultimately gave rise to complex civilizations.

It suggests that primitive-looking humans might have survived until very late in our evolution. But it is just one bone. A pre-modern species may have overlapped in with modern humans on mainland East Asia, but that case needs to be built with more bone discoveries.

By 2022, advancements in ancient DNA allowed a study of Red Deer Cave hominins’ genetics. It confirmed that they were modern Homo sapiens. In fact, they had a significant genetic connection to modern East Asians and Native Americans, who descended from the same groups of people.

So the Red Deer Cave People were not as unusual as first thought, even though the small population did have features not seen in any modern population of humans. With no clear explanation why they appeared this way, it hints that humans living towards the end of the last Ice Age were more diverse than those living across the world today.

 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/red-deer-cave-people-mysterious-humans-with-archaic-features-lived-just-14-000-years-ago/ar-AA1sjQUN?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=d22bab67fbce4483a434506da43bfd67&ei=110

Speedy Space Object

It’s always good to know that our defense systems work.

On July 6^th, (I believe it was in 2024, but I could be wrong), automated systems that study the skies for potentially hazardous objects sent out a warning. Estimated at about 164 ft (50 m) in diameter, the object was spotted hurtling towards Earth. Its path would take it uncomfortably close to the moon and our planet. However, it was not an asteroid.

As objects move through the sky, different observatories identify whether it’s a new object and if it might pose a hazard to Earth. Follow-up observations determined that the object was actually the European Space Agency’s Juice (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer) spacecraft. The probe was flying by Earth and the moon to exploit gravity as it slingshot through space.

But the Juice spacecraft isn’t 50 meters across. Its solar panel wings measure only 27 meters (88 feet), which is quite big for a deep space probe. Because it appeared very bright, owing to its reflective solar panels, the automated system initially estimated the object was a larger rock.

Scanning the skies for menacing objects is important. It gives us time to prepare and evacuate a certain area, if that’s necessary. Scientists agree that we need to know what’s coming, when it’s coming, and how hard it’s going to hit.

Space rocks do veer into our area of the solar system from time to time. But there are no known asteroids on course to collide with Earth for at least the next 100 years.

Even relatively small rocks are still threatening, as proven by the 56-foot (17 meters) rock that exploded over Russia and blew out people’s windows. Every year, on average, an automobile-sized asteroid plummets through our sky and explodes. Objects about 460 ft (140 m) in diameter occur every 10,000 to 20,000 years. And a ‘dinosaur-killing’ impact from a rock a half-mile across or larger happens on 100-million-year timescales.

Just to ease your mind, the dinosaurs went extinct about 66 million years ago.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/speeding-space-object-triggered-a-warning-it-wasn-t-an-asteroid/ar-AA1oUdjf?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=31d76d4fc57b4ec7828d859661209820&ei=30 

Mysterious Monolith

On the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, archaeologists have unearthed a temple believed to be 4,000 years old, which features a mysterious monolith. The remains of the sacred space were identified at the archaeological site of Erimi.

The prehistoric settlement of Erimi is located in south-central Cyprus more than 300 feet above sea level, on a limestone terrace. Cyprus is located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and serves as a crossroads between Europe, Africa and Asia.

Around 2000-1600 BC, in what’s known as the Middle Bronze Age, a community settled on the Erimi hill. In this Bronze Age community, scientists discovered a room in which they found a monolith measuring more than 7 feet in height. The monolith is completely smooth and features a motif in the center.

The monolith, which had stood in the center of the room, had collapsed onto the floor and destroyed a large amphora placed at its feet. An amphora is a type of container with a pointed bottom. Its characteristic form dates back to prehistoric times.

Peculiarities of this room indicate it is a sacred space. It is believed that the activity that supported the community economically also involved its members ideologically and symbolically. This small sacred space in Erimi is the oldest example known on the island.

I wish the article had included a rendering of the motif on the monolith. It’s always exciting to get a glimpse of what was considered important and special to people from another age.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/archaeologists-discover-mysterious-monolith-in-4-000-year-old-temple/ar-BB1pKQPq?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=5a6a04505124448aa6c13993dfb41141&ei=50