In Kenya, an international team of researchers in the Panga-i-Saidi cave have discovered the most inhabited place in the history of mankind. A cave with a "living space" of almost 300 sq. meters has been occupied by Homo sapiens for 78,000 years. From the Stone Age to almost the present day, at least 312,000 generations have changed within its walls.
According to scientists, starting from the Middle Paleolithic, up to a hundred people could live in it. And there is no sign of any interruption in the settlement of the cave.
The cave is located in a unique location. Nearby, both meadow pastures and coastal tropical forests were within reach. Therefore, the inhabitants of the cave used resources from both environments. The place has also escaped climate disasters. Although the drought may have affected the environment, the area around the cave did not suffer from a lack of water.
According to scientists, the combination of these conditions largely explains the centuries-old settled life of ancient hunters and gatherers. Moreover, people left the cave relatively recently, and it is still used by the local population for ritual purposes.
The oldest artifacts found in the cave are stone tools that are 78,000 years old. However, 67,000 years ago there was a noticeable change in the technology of their manufacture. Instruments have become smaller, more varied and better processed. And about 60,000 years ago, the population of the cave increased significantly in size. Perhaps this was due to a change in food extraction technology.
However, the following layers, dating from 60,000-50,000 years ago, show a combination of types of tools from different periods of the Stone Age. There are no clear signs of a radical change in behavior. This refutes the assumption of the revolutionary and leapfrogging development of ancient people. Scientists also found no signs of the impact on the life of hunters and gatherers of the eruption of the Toba volcano, which occurred 74,000 years ago.
“No significant collapse of human activity has happened. This confirms the assumption that the so-called volcanic winter did not lead to almost complete destruction of mankind,”the scientists note in a publication on the website of the Institute for the History of Humanity of the Max Planck Society in Jena (Germany).
The artifacts found also testify to the cultural complexity of the Stone Age. Among the finds are carved bone, all kinds of arrowheads, red ocher and jewelry. Including the oldest bead in Kenya, which is 65 thousand years old. Beads from 33,000 years old and younger are made from shells from the coast.
Promotional video:
“While this indicates interaction with coastal regions, there is no evidence that marine resources are regularly used by the inhabitants of the cave,” the scientists note.
About 25,000 years ago, ostrich egg shell beads became fashionable. Other decorative or ritual objects such as carved bones and pieces of red ocher were found on all cultural layers, which also indicates the absence of significant cultural or technological "revolutions" in the Panga-i-Saidi site.
"The results do not support the thesis of a dramatic cultural upheaval and, despite the proximity to the coast, there is no evidence that people used the coast as a kind of 'highway' for their migratory movements," the researchers said.
Taken together, tools and decorative artifacts paint a picture of a culture that has changed over time. Another important find in the cave near the coast is the absence of traces of seafood. This suggests that ancient people could well have survived inland and were not dependent on coastal resources.
Sergey Sergeev