All language subtitles for Ancient Origins popoposoiodiofiououg

Researchers in
Turkey are about to embark

on an excavation at the
ancient site of Karahan Tepe,

and they believe it's much
older than Gobekli Tepe,

the famous zero point
of world history.

If you were to ask any
professor of history

or even a self-respecting
armchair archeologist

to name the oldest
monument ever discovered,

they would've all
said Gobekli Tepe,

but now that answer
might be Karahan Tepe,

and this is creating
a lot of excitement

in archeological circles.

Karahan Tepe is said to be
much older than Gobekli Tepe.

Archeologists have been working
at the Karahan Tepe site,

which is often called
the sister site

of Gobekli Tepe since 1997.

The site is located
near Yagmurlu,

and roughly 35 kilometers east

of the 12,000-year-old
Gobekli Tepe site.

Over the years, archeologists
have made a series

of amazing discoveries
at the Karahan Tepe site.

In particular, tons of
buried T-shaped obelisks

similar to the ones car with
wild animals at Gobekli Tepe

have led researchers to conclude

that Karahan Tepe is much older

than its younger
sister Gobekli Tepe.

Head of excavations that
Karahan Tepe, Dr. Necmi Karul,

said that 12 spots estimated
to be in the same period

as Gobekli Tepe are now
known in the region,

one of which is
the Karahan Tepe.

Speaking at the 10th
International Resort
Tourism Congress,

culture and tourism
minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy

said that an intensive

and rapid excavation program
continues in Karahan Tepe,

which to date has
yielded 250 obelisks

featuring animal figures.

Ersoy claims that
planned excavations

will prove the settlement
at Karahan Tepe

will be much older than the
12,000 year old Gobekli Tepe.

A 2016 "National
Geographic" article

recounted the fascinating story

of the discovery and
preservation of Gobekli Tepe.

Professor Klaus Schmidt,

a German archeologist who
led excavations at the site,

argued before he died in 2014

that a vast labor force needed
to build the enclosures,

and that this construction
project pushed people

to develop agriculture

as a way of providing
predictable food,

and perhaps drink for workers.

At the 2015 World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland,

Turkey's DOGUS GROUP announced

that they plan to spend
15 million dollars

over the next 20
years in partnership

with the National
Geographic Society

on the Gobekli Tepe site,

and DOGUS GROUP
chairman, Ferit Sahenk,

said in a press release

that the reason so much cash
was being spent on Gobekli Tepe

was because this
prehistoric temple

was the zero point in time.

Karahan Tepe may well be
Gobekli Tepe's older sister.

While Gobekli Tepe
holds the world record

in media headlines and elsewhere

as the earliest temple of
its type ever discovered,

there are several
other contenders for
this crown in Turkey.

According to Jens Notroff,

an archeologist at the German
Archeological Institute

who is working on
Gobekli Tepe site,

smaller versions of
the pillars, symbols,

and architecture carved
into stone Gobekli Tepe

have been found in settlements
up to 125 miles away,

including Karahan Tepe.

Professor Notroff told
"National Geographic"

that Gobekli Tepe
probably served the
region as a cathedral,

and therefore the
surrounding sacred sites

were like parish churches.

The scientist also thinks

hunter gatherers traveled
long distances to meet,

worship and help build
new monumental structures

through vast community projects

that included grand
feasts to display wealth.

Returning to Karahan Tepe,

according to a report
in "Daily Sabah,"

many more years of
excavations and research

must be conducted to determine
what exactly it was used for.

However, while it does happen,

scientists seldom make
big claims without
equally big proof,

and in this instance,
the researchers think

that when they ultimately get

to Karahan Tepe's
excavation center,

it will be much older
than 12,000 years.

The archeologists at Karahan
Tepe are also convinced

that they have a new zero
point in world history.

The mayor says the site
will become a priority

in place of Gobekli Tepe,

and it will become a new focus
of national archeological

and tourist attention.

Karahan Tepe is the sister
to the enigmatic Gobekli Tepe

that sits around 23 miles
Southeast of Gobekli,

upon an elevated
limestone ridge.

It has many striking
similarities to Gobekli.

Firstly, it consists
of T-shaped pillars,

266 of them, that mostly
form parallel rows.

The pillars have
relief carvings,

and the sight of
appears, like Gobekli,

to be deliberately buried
under a great artificial mound.

Although this could be natural,

as after 10,500 years
of accumulation of dirt

combined with high winds
could have covered it back up.

The comparisons
do not end there.

It also has serpent
relief carvings,

strange rock indentations,
large cut marks,

porthole stones, and an
unfinished T-shaped pillar

still in the quarry, the
focus of this article.

Karahan Tepe was first
discovered in 1997,

and was surveyed in
2000, and again in 2011.

Like Gobekli Tepe,

it's located within the
boundaries of Sanliurfa,

ancient Edessa, the
birthplace of Abraham

around 30 miles from the city.

It's not an officially
recognized tourist site,

so they had to plan
their trip carefully,

as it was on private land
upon the Tektek Mountains.

Fortunately, a well-placed,
probably modern standing stone,

marked the entrance to the track

that led to the farm
that is located behind.

When Andrew Collins
visited there in 2004,

the person who showed him around

was warned he
would get a beating

if they found anyone
had visited there.

10 years later,

and the owners welcome
the occasional visitor

with tea and information,
no beatings entailed,

just sweet, hot beverages
and conversation

after the morning visit.

The dating of the
site is impressive,

as it's dated to 8500 BC,

contemporary with the
now submerged Neval1 Cori

and the latest stages
of Gobekli Tepe.

There are obvious
similarities to these

and other sites in the vicinity,

but we've heard that
there was a quarry on site

where an unfinished
T-shaped pillar

still sits within the bedrock.

Kevin Fish diligently searched
for it with only one clue,

that it was directly to the
west of the main enclosure,

as mentioned in the 2011 report.

Kevin eventually converged
at the impressive monolith.

It lies on a rock face
sloping 30 degrees

towards the setting sun.

At 18 feet long,

it would have probably
been the largest monolith

at the site.

The site is not excavated yet,

so this can't be confirmed,

and weighs in at
around 30 to 40 tons.

It's downward angle on the slope

on natural, exposed rock face

may have been why this was a
preferred spot to quarry from.

As archeologist
Bahattin Celik explains,

this is quite a
practical technique

with roughly chiseling
on the side of the rock

to produce a T shape

whilst carving the other
side 40-centimeters wide

and one-meter deep.

The solid pillar
separated from the bedrock

with this technique, and can
be removed from the quarry

with the help of a slope.

Andrew Collins
decided to measure it,

and discovered it was, indeed,

18 feet, 5.5 meters in length,

with a maximum
width of 6.6 feet,

two meters across
its T-shaped head.

This is similar in size
to the twin monoliths

at the center of Gobekli's
enclosure C and D.

The weathering was very bad,

much like the exposed parts of
the pillars on the main hill.

However, what lies underneath

could be as well
preserved as Gobekli Tepe.

Altogether, Karahan Tepe
is a fascinating site

that begs excavation,

as the significance of
the nearby Gobekli Tepe

has now hit the headlines.

After leaving the site,

the visitor wondered
if the location

of the choice of
rock was significant.

Was the direction of the
quarry from the main temple

an indication of a
tradition that existed

as far back as 10,500 years ago?

Andrew Collins discussed
the possibility

that, indeed, it could be case,

as bringing quarry stone
from the west to the east

may represent bringing it
into the light, sunrise,

from darkness, the sunset.

However, the remaining
14-foot pillar

still on the Eastern
slope had further avenues

slightly further east of it,

so again, it showed a possible
west-to-east movement.

Alternatively, it
could also represent

an east-to-west direction
from the smaller quarry

to the main enclosure.

After searching through
some masonic texts,

a reference was
found to a ceremony

where the initiate had to
move in that direction,

east to west.

Why this is perhaps
could represent facing
one's own death,

as initiation
rites such as these

are often about facing
deep rooted fears.

Whether this was on the minds

of the builders of Karahan
Tepe, we'll never know,

unless, of course, the
site gets excavated

and evidence emerges.

For now, we can only speculate.

Another aspect that
grabbed Andrew's attention

was the fact that
the parallel rows

appear to be serpent like,

weaving up or down
the main hill,

or from the main enclosure.

In his initial report, Andrew
stated it's even possible

that these zigzagging
pairs of stones

making up the stone avenues,

located on the Northern
Eastern sides of the Tepe,

signify the path of snakes,

which are seen to descend
light-living energy

into the valley below.

This idea is given
credence through the fact

that carving on the stones
seems directed up the hill,

as if the direction of
movement is downwards

through the various
sets of gateways.

After coming to this conclusion,
Andrew dreamt of snakes,

their tails tied together,

each one trying to break
free of its bondage,

all of them writhing
about in the process.

With this dream
came the impression

that the snakes represented
the containment, flow,

and energy of the stones'
avenues at Karahan Tepe.

An interesting concept,
if nothing else.

Earth energy springs to mind,

as it has been found in
Avery, Brittany, and Cornwall

that stone avenues mark the path

of telluric earth
energy currents,

with a crossing point often
at the center of the complex,

which would naturally
congregate on a hilltop.

More research needs
to be carried out

to confirm this hypothesis,

but with the serpent symbolism
at such a remote site,

it could even reveal
the origins of geomancy

and earth energy science.

When they go back in September,

they will have some
equipment to take readings,

and dousing rods, to find
out if this is the case.

Archeologists are
preparing to launch

the third major excavation
of an important site

on the Jiroft plane
in the Halil River

of Southeastern Iran.

The Konar Sandal remains were
exposed after flooding in 2001

near Jiroft in Iran.

Sheltering by towering rugged
mountains on three sides,

this hidden jewel was
revealed to be a sprawling,

Bronze Age urban settlement
built by a magnificent kingdom

whose existence had
been previously excluded

from the annals of history.

The discovery led some
experts to hypothesize

that the long-lost
year of culture

was actually the
cradle of civilization

before the emergence of
Sumer or Mesopotamia.

The excavated area in
Iran's Kerman province

has been named Konar Sandal.

Its central feature is a pair

of massive burial mounds
separated by a distance

of approximately one
mile, 1.6 kilometers,

which have been designated
as Konar Sandal A, North,

and Konar Sandal B, South.

The site is located near
Jiroft in Southeastern Iran.

Beneath mound A, archeologists
found a stone structure

they believed was used
for religious purposes.

Under mound B, they
found the remains

of a two-story fortified
citadel anchored to a base

that covered more than
33 acres, 13.5 hectares.

At the foot of the mounds,

deeper digs have
revealed the presence

of many smaller buildings,

and its believe that
similar structures

will eventually be
unearthed in the space

between the two
mounds and elsewhere

in the subterranean
surrounding environment.

In addition to the
excavated structures,

Konar Sandal has also
yielded a plentitude

of stunningly attractive
and finely crafted artifacts

revealing the existence of a
culturally sophisticated people

who created and resided in an
indisputably advanced society.

Unlike the first
two explorations,

which were carried out
by international teams,

this new excavation will be
strictly an Iranian affair

sponsored by the country's
Research Institute

of Cultural Heritage
and Tourism.

The demarcation project is aimed

to determine the legal
boundaries of the
prehistorical site,

explained the Kerman
provincial tourism chief

who referred to the
Konar Sandal site

as one of the most
important Bronze Age cities

in Southwest Asia.

This is a strong contention,

but in fact, this assessment
may be unduly modest.

The first section of the
Jiroft plane site and acropolis

was discovered in 2001.

Heavy flooding of
the Halil River

washed away tons of topsoil
that had previously covered it,

exposing a complex
of ancient tombs

no one had ever
expected to find.

Impressive hauls of bronze
and age jewelry, ceramics,

tools, drinking
cups, board games,

and a variety of
decorative items inlaid

with semi-precious stones

were recovered from
the unearthed cemetery.

Unfortunately, the initial
discoverers were looters

and antiquities black marketers

who stole and sold
many valuable artifacts

before law enforcement and
the military finally arrived

to secure the site.

After this initial discovery,

the first official excavation
at Jiroft began in 2003,

under the leadership of
the Iranian archeologist,

Dr. Yousef Majidzadeh.

It ended in 2007,

and he published his team's
findings shortly thereafter.

Based on radiocarbon dating,

the archeologist concluded that
the year after civilization

that built the
integrated urban complex

had reached the peak of
its power and prosperity

at around the year 2,500 BC.

However, signs indicated

that initial construction on
the complex may have begun

as long ago as the
fifth millennium BC.

During this excavation,

and during another that
was launched in 2014,

archeologists continue
to find many valuable

and intriguing artifacts
inside the mounds

and beneath the
surrounding landscape.

Most notably, they also
found four tablets inscribed

in two different languages,

one of which was composed
entirely of geometrical figures

and could not be
compared to anything

that had been found before.

So just how significant
was the discovery

of this long-lost,
literate kingdom

in a bleak desolate
area of Iranian desert?

Significant enough to
throw the identification

of Mesopotamia as the cradle
of civilization into question.

Jean Perrot, a
French archeologist

with previous excavation
experience in Iran

was invited to inspect
the site and its contents

during the earliest stages
of the first excavation.

When asked to share
his impressions,

he stated the following,

"An area we formerly regarded
as resided only by nomads

and their cattle

was the heart of an incredibly
advanced civilization.

In this area, people lived
with a social hierarchy.

These people had an
explicit view of the world,

which distinguishes
them from the Sumerians.

Henceforth, we must
consider the Jiroft

as the origin of civilizations,

and refer to all
other civilizations

as pre or post-Jiroft
civilization."

There may be a bit of
hype in this statement

since Sumerian civilization
can be traced back

at least as far, if not farther,

than the Jifoft civilization,

to the fifth and
sixth millenniums BC,

but given that Mesopotamia and
Southern Iran are separated

by only 600 miles,
or 1000 kilometers,

there exists a possibility

that the Jiroft civilization
shared a common ancestor

with the Sumerians, and
that perhaps the two split

following the chaos, confusion,
and destruction caused

by the great floods
that occurred

at the end of the last Ice Age.

At the very least, it's
reasonable to assume

that the peoples of Mesopotamia
would have interacted

with their Jiroftian
neighbors to the east,

perhaps to a significant
enough extent

that each culture
was influencing

the development of the other.

In fact, many of the artifacts
discovered at Konar Sandal

are decorated with
mythological imagery

that seems to link its culture
with that of Mesopotamia.

The Jiroft civilization
specialized

in the creation of pottery

using a semi-precious
mineral known as chlorite,

and examples of this pottery

containing strikingly similar
iconography have been found

at various archeological sites

throughout the
Middle East and Asia,

including sites identified
with Bronze Age Mesopotamia.

Different interpretations
of the exact identity

of the lost Jiroft
civilizations have been offered.

Dr. Majidzadeh believes
that he and his colleagues

may have discovered the site

of the legendary land of Aratta,

a glorious Atlantis-like
kingdom from the Bronze Age

that mysteriously disappeared
from the pages of history

in the far distant past.

However, knowledge of
Aratta comes primarily

from Sumerian poems, which
has led some to question

whether such a place
ever existed at a all.

An alternative theory suggests

that the newly-discovered
Iranian civilization

may be the ancient
kingdom of Marhasi,

which was located
in Southern Iran,

and is known to have been
involved in conflicts

with the Mesopotamian
kingdom of Akkad

in the third millennium BC.

A final answer to the riddle
of the Jiroft civilization

may never be found, but the
fact that it existed at all

is forcing archeologists
and historians

to reassess everything
they thought they knew

about the primacy and
importance of Mesopotamia

to world history.

Mesopotamia has not been
diminished, but going forward,

it may have to share the
title cradle of civilization

with its cousin from the east.

Scientists have uncovered
decorated artifacts

dating from between 40,000
and 75,000 years ago

from Tanzania and the
southern tip of South Africa

that show that man
developed the capacity

for symbolic thought long
before previously believed.

The discovery of these artifacts
could present huge problems

to conventional thinking
about human history.

The earliest kind of
decoration used by humans

was probably ochre,
which we know was used

over 200,000 years ago
in the middle Stone Age

and middle Paleolithic.

The earliest evidence
of its use in Africa

dates back 285,000 years.

Ochre is an umbrella term

for a range of earthy,
iron-rich rocks

composed of iron
oxides or oxyhydroxides

such as shales, sandstones,
mudstones, and specularites.

In Africa, ochre is still used
for protection from the sun

and against insects,
such as mosquitoes.

It has also been
scientifically proven

to inhibit the effect
of UV radiation,

and also has many other uses.

Fascinatingly, ochre appears
in the archeological record

around the same time as
anatomically modern humans,

and became more frequently used

from about 100,000 years ago
at many Middle Stone Age sites.

One of the most often
debated questions

in the study of early man
is when did the origins

of modern human behavior begin?

When and where did our
common ancestors first begin

to behave in ways
similar to ourselves?

Although it is well known

that Homo sapiens were
anatomically modern

by 200,000 years ago in Africa,

there's an never been
evidence to support the idea

that these humans could be
capable of modern behavior,

but all that changed with the
discovery of the Blombos heads

on the 24th of April, 2004,
by a team of scientists

led by Dr. Christopher
Henshilwood,

a South African
archeologist affiliated

with university of
Bergen in Norway

and the State University
of New York at Stony Brook.

The discovery was
made Blombos Cave

on the shore of
the Indian Ocean,

200 miles east of Cape Town.

Archeologists now believe

that due to these
and other findings,

most ancient symbolic
traditions in Africa date back

at least 100,000 years.

Years after these
amazing discoveries,

new discoveries relating
to early Homo sapiens'

cognitive abilities are still
challenging mainstream views.

The archeological
site at Blombos Cave

contains Middle Stone Age
archeological deposits,

including hearts, bone,
stone, marine shells, and sand

in discrete layers
dated to between 100,000

and 72,000 years ago.

This is seen by many researchers

as probably the most
important period

in the early development
of modern human behavior.

Published results from
Blombos Cave indicate

that some aspects of
modern behavior evolved

during the early
Late Pleistocene,

after 100,000 years
ago in Africa.

Excavations at the cave match
recent and older findings

from a number of African
Middle Stone Age sites

that date to this time period.

The discoveries at the cave show

that people apparently
had the intention

to make a statement about
themselves with jewelry

about 30,000 years earlier

than any previously identified
personal ornaments used

by our human ancestors.

This was the conclusion
of the archeologist

who discovered a collection

of tiny shells
pierced with holes,

as if they had been
prepared for stringing

as primitive beads.

The 41 pea-size shell
beads were uncovered

in groups arranged
by sizes and shade,

each cluster
probably representing

a single piece of jewelry.

According to researchers,

the strings of bead
represent the oldest,

well-dated examples of people
making and wearing jewelry.

This can be interpreted
as further evidence

that these people
possessed a language

capable of sharing the symbolic
meanings of these objects.

Two years before the
discovery of the beads,

Dr. Henshilwood reported the
discovery of other evidence

of possibly complex
symbolic thinking

by the inhabitants
of Blombos Cave,

including abstract engravings,

and finely worked bone
tools and weapon points.

The shell beads of Blombos Cave

were from a small
snail-like mollusk,

which must have been
brought by the group

from rivers more
than 10 miles away.

All the recovered
shells from Blombos Cave

were carefully pierced
around 75,000 years ago

using a bone tool to create
a keyhole perforation.

These were then strung and
worn as a personal ornament.

Archeologists discovered
signs of repeated rubbing

on the beads, a sign
that they had been rubbed

against one another,
and against the cord,

resulting in discreet use-wear
surfaces on each bead.

Such patterns of wear are
not present on the shells

in their natural environment.

Microscopic residues
of ochre discovered

inside some of the
beads probably resulted

from deliberate
coloring by the wearer,

or perhaps by
transfer when worn.

Henshilwood and other
researchers believe

that this small,
but rowing record

of very early artistic
artifacts from Africa

are vital evidence that
modern behavioral traits,

such as the use of
external symbols,

developed slowly over a couple
of hundred thousand years,

not abruptly after our
ancestors emerge from Africa,

as some archeologists
have suggested.

However, not all searches agreed

with Dr. Henshilwood's
interpretation

that these mysterious
artifacts were expressions

of a modern type of creativity.

Indeed, a few of them
have even questioned

whether the shells were
actually used as beads.

Archeologist Randall White
of New York University,

for example, does not believe
that humans made the holes

in this snail shell, saying
"I'm disturbed by the fact

that there are no tool traces."

Up until the discoveries
in Blombos Cave,

the earliest African
personal ornaments

with 13 ostrich egg
shell beads from Kenya

dated to 40 to 45,000 years ago.

Other slightly more
recent evidence

includes a 43,000-year-old
perforated teeth

from Bulgaria, and 41,000 year
old marine beads from Turkey.

In 2000, archeologists
reported finding

ostrich eggshell beads,
as well as ochre pencils

and fish bones at a site

in the Serengeti National
Park of Tanzania.

The archeologists
were not able to date

the two carved
donut-shaped pieces

of ostrich shell precisely,

but they came from the
same layer as tools

from the African
Middle Stone Age

between 280,000 and
45,000 years ago.

For some reason, the mysterious
discovery was not announced

until four years
later, in March, 2004,

at the Paleoanthropology
Society meeting in Montreal.

Despite the uncertainty
over their exact age,

one of the archeologists
who discovered the beads,

Curtis Marean from the
Institute of Human Origins

and department of anthropology
at Arizona State University,

stated that they were
unambiguous examples

of symbolic behavior.

But why do decorated beads mean

that we may have discovered
the earliest examples

of modern human thinking?

Research has shown that symbols
cannot exist in isolation,

but generally form a part
of interlinked systems.

Modern human behavior is
usually defined as behavior

that is caused by socially
constructed patterns

of symbolic thinking,
actions, and communication.

The capacity for
symbolic thought

is not the main defining factor
for modern human behavior,

but rather it is the use of
symbolism to organize behavior

that defines us.

So early humans were
first behaviorally modern

when symbols became an inherent
part of their daily lives.

In basic terms,

this means that people
were using the artifacts

that they made to organize
their social world

in a similar way as we do today.

Within each group of people,

such as those at
the Blombos Caves,

artifacts may have had meanings

that could be understood only
by members of that group.

A good example is the design

of the bead necklace
discovered in the cave,

which may have carried
a significant meaning

that was not understood by
people outside the group.

The findings from Blombos
Cave and from Tanzania,

and the subsequent
reanalysis and excavation

of other relevant sites have
resulted in a clear change

in our understanding of
the timing and location

of the development of
modern human behavior.

Archeologists believe
that these discoveries

undoubtedly reflect
the acquisition

of completely modern
cognitive abilities

by Southern African populations

at least 100,000 years ago.

Although scientists are aware

that these are vastly
important discoveries,

in terms of early man,

they still seem to
be a little reluctant

to believe very early dates.

Randall White commented,
"If the dates hold up,

we now seem to be seeing a trail
of representational objects

that it is increasingly older

as we move back from
Europe into Africa."

A mysterious small clay
figurine of a human found

in 1889 at Nampa, Idaho,

has remained a controversial
artifact since its discovery.

As the figuring was found
at a depth of 300 feet

in a geological
stratum that dates

to around 2 million years ago,

some researchers believe
the culture that created it

must have flourished
at the same period,

but according to
conventional chronology,

this is simply not possible.

In 1887, five gentlemen,
James A. Pinney,

Nathan Falk, Joseph
Perrault, John Bernard,

and M. A. Kurtz formed a
company to locate artesian water

at the new town of
Nampa, Southwest Idaho.

By July of 1889, their sand
pump had reached a depth

of over 300 feet.

According to Mr. Kurtz,
he was at the sand pump,

checking the
contents coming out,

when, in his own words, he
had the clay image in his hand

and supposed it was a twig.

"I dipped it into a barrel
of water standing near,

washed it off, and saw
it once what it was.

The tiny, baked-clay artifact

was about an inch-and-a-half
long in the shape of a human.

American amateur geologist
George Frederick Wright

later wrote about the
discovery in his book,

"The Origin and
Antiquity of Man,"

"The record of the well shows

that they had penetrated
first about 50 feet of soil,

then about 15 feet of basalt,

and afterwards passed
through alternate beds

of clay and quick sand, down
to the depth of 300 feet,

when the sand pump began to
bring up numerous clay balls,

some of them more than
two inches in diameter,

densely coated with iron oxide

2 million years old."

Wright went on to describe
the mysterious figurine.

"It was a female figure and
had the lifelike lineaments

in the parts which were
finished that would do credit

to the classic centers of art."

American archeologists
at the time noticed

that the apparent similarities
between the Nampa figurine

and those of Upper
Paleolithic Europe,

but how had the figure ended
up in a geological formation

from the Pliocene-Pleistocene
transition

dating to approximately
2 million years ago?

The oldest known example of
a depiction of a human being

is the Venus of Hohle
Fels from a cave

in the Swabian Alps of Germany,

which is date to between
40,000 and 35,000 years ago.

Does the incredibly
ancient Nampa figurine

challenge the
evolutionary scenario,

as some independent
researchers have suggested?

What mysterious culture existed

in North America 2
million years ago

who could have been
sophisticated enough

to craft such an object?

Perhaps the figure shows
that intelligent humans

might have existed
on Earth far earlier

than originally
believed by science.

The Nampa figurine
has been held up

by some as a perfect example
of an out-of-place artifact,

objects found in context
that are way out of sync

with the accepted
chronology of human history.

For some researchers,

such artifacts place
a huge question mark

against what we think we know
of the world in its history.

Some argue that these
discoveries offer
persuasive evidence

that in remote antiquity,

mankind was significantly
more advanced

than we could ever imagine.

They insist that at very
times in prehistory,

we have reached a high
level of civilization

only for it to be subsequently
destroyed without a trace

by natural or
manmade catastrophes.

Two well-known examples of
such out-of-place artifacts

are the supposed
fossilized human footprints

discovered in the 1880s
at the summit of Big Hill

in the Cumberland Mountains
in Jackson County, Kentucky,

and an apparently man-made
object enclosed in rock,

known as the Coso artifact,

which to all intents
and purposes,

resembles a modern spark plug.

The Coso artifact was
initially believed by some

to be more than
500,000 years old

and belong to an unknown,
impossibly old civilization.

However, later research
into the object

concluded something
entirely different.

Two researchers believing the
object to be relatively modern

enlisted the help

of the Spark Plug
Collectors of an America.

They sent letters and copies
of the X-rays of the artifact

to four different
spark plug collectors

who had no knowledge
of the case,

and had never seen
the pictures before.

The collectors independently
came to the same conclusion.

They were certain

that it was a 1920s-era
champion spark plug,

one that had probably
powered a Ford Model T,

and had been modified,

possibly to serve
the mining operations

in the Coso mountain range.

The amount of decay
in the artifact

was an almost perfect match
for the rates of decay

that would occur in a
spark plug from this era.

So the Coso artifact had
been lying on a mountain

for no more than 40 years,

and had not been
encased in rock at all,

but in a material composed
mainly of hardened clay

with a mixture of
organic matter.

Understandably, members of
the scientific community

do not support the extreme
date for the Nampa figurine.

For example, Michael
Brass in his 2002 book,

"The Antiquity of Man:

Artifactual, Fossil and
Gene Records Explored"

notes that such a small
fragile clay figurine

would've undoubtedly
been destroyed

by the drilling
equipment upon retrieval,

as it was brought
up to the surface.

Other researchers
have pointed out

that there are a number of ways

by which the figurine
could have worked its way

into the Pliocene-Pleistocene
clay through fishers,

through mining activity,

or even by being pushed
there by the drill.

The presence of the clay balls

found at the same general depth
close to the solid bedrock,

this might suggest that
a variety of materials

had descended fairly
rapidly through the deposit

by a mechanism
currently unknown.

The reliability of the work
of George Frederick Wright,

which is so critical
for those who believe

that the figurine is
really 2 million years old,

has also been
called into question

and revealed to
be highly suspect.

Wright's contemporaries were
highly critical of his writing

and did not take his work
seriously as science.

D.G. Brinton wrote a book review

of Wright's "Man and
the Glacial Period"

in the journal
"Science" in 1892.

In this review, he states,

"Dr. Wright's last
example is the feeblest

of all the Nampa image,

a beautifully-formed
clay image of a female

said to have been brought
up from a depth of 300 feet

in the holding of an artesian
well at Nampa, Idaho.

It is sad to destroy illusions,

but when this same
image with its story

was laid before a well-known
government geologist,

and he at once recognized
it's a clay toy

manufactured by the
neighboring Pocatello Indians,

the person displaying it
replied with engaging frankness,

'Well, now don't give me away.'

As if that were not enough,

the well-known government
geologist was, in fact,

J.W. Powell, who wrote
in "Popular Science"
monthly in 1893.

In the fall of 1889, the writer
visited Boise city in Idaho.

While stopping at a hotel,

some gentleman called on
him to show him a figurine,

which they said had been found

in sinking an artesian
well in the neighborhood

at a depth of more
than 300 feet.

It was claimed that this
figurine had been brought up

from the bottom of
an artesian well

while the men were working.

When this story was
told, the writer, Powell,

he simply jested with those
who claimed to have found it.

He had known the Indians that
live in the neighborhood,

had seen their children
play with such figurines,

and had no doubt
that the little image

had lately belonged to
some Indian children,

and said the same.

While stopping at the hotel,

different persons
spoke about it,

and it was always
passed off as a jest,

and various comments were made
about it by various people,

some of them claiming it
had given them much sport."

When Powell later read George
Frederick Wright's book,

he was extremely
surprised to discover

that Wright had obtained
the Nampa figurine,

and that he had actually
published it as evidence

of the great and
antiquity of man

in the valley of Snake River.

A certain Mr.McGee also
attacked the honesty

of the supposed discoverers

of the ancient artifact,
Kurtz and Duss.

In the 1894 second edition of
"Man and the Glacial Period,"

George Frederick Wright
repeats McGee's assertions.

"It is a fact," says McGee,

"That one of the best known
geologists of the world

chanced to visit Nampa while
the boring was in progress,

and the figurine and
the pretty fiction

were laid before him.

He recognized the
figurine as a toy,

such as the neighboring
Indians give their children,

and laughed at the story,

whereupon the
owner of the object

enjoined a secrecy pleading,
'Don't do give me away.

I fooled a lot of
fellows already,

and I'd like to
fool some more.'"

What does the Nampa
figurine represent?

In the years since
this discovery,

a lot of research has been done

into the culture of the Native
Americans local to the area

where the figure was found.

These studies have found,

as J.W. Powell
stated 120 years ago,

that small, fragile
clay figurines like
the ones discovered

were common to these
Native American tribes

in the late 19th and
early 20th centuries.

The evidence
overwhelmingly points

to the Nampa
figurine being a hoax

perpetrated at a time when
such stunts were popular

and people enjoyed
their brief notoriety.

A drawing recently discovered
on the wall of a cave

in the west of France

appears to be the oldest known
portrait of a human face.

The portrait was drawn
with calcium carbonate,

and used the bumps in the
wall to give form to the face.

The cave drawing was found
alongside a human body,

and represents the only
second time in history

that a human body from the
Upper Paleolithic period

had been found placed in
a cave with decorations.

It's unclear if the
portrait has any connection

with the mysterious
Venus figurines,

small statuettes of female
figures found throughout Europe

and some parts of Asia,

some of which date
back 40,000 years.

In 2006, it was announced

that archeologists
had discovered

the earliest known
depiction of a human face

in the Vilhonneur cave
system near Bordeaux,

in Western France.

The image, which had
originally been discovered

by a local pensioner,
Gerard Jourdy,

was only made public after six
months of scientific testing

and examination by French
scientists and archeologists

that dated the drawings
to 27,000 years ago,

which makes the
Vilhonneur grotto

one of the oldest sites
of rock art in the world.

The face is drawn with
black calcium carbonate

on an already
face-shaped rocky mass.

Two pieces of calcite that split

are used form the hair with
two black horizontal strokes

depicting the eyes.

A vertical stroke
forms the nose,

and another horizontal
stroke the mouth.

The cave also featured
other wall decorations,

including a negative
imprint of a right hand

surrounded in black on a wall,

made by blowing
color onto the area

once the hand had been placed
there, according to experts.

Also found inside the
same cave was a skeleton

of a young man
placed on the ground.

Two rib bones from these
skeleton were analyzed

at the laboratory
in Miami, Florida,

and dated the skeleton
two 27,000 years ago.

Five skeletons of young hyenas
were found in nearby parts

of the cave system.

Just a few months after
the world found out

about the Vilhonneur
grotto find,

controversy arose
about the claim

that it was the oldest
representation of a human face.

Australian rock art experts
questioned the claim,

pointing to the wealth of
engravings and paintings of man

made by early Aborigines.

Professor Mike Morwood

of the University
of New England said

some of the earliest
rock painting traditions

in the Pilbara, the
Kimberley, and Arnhem Land

date back over 30,000 years ago,

and include depictions of human
figures as well as animals.

So while the Vilhonneur
cave painting

is a very significant finding,

and may be the oldest portrait
known in Western Europe,

it certainly is not the oldest
such artwork in the world.

Archeologist Josephine McDonald

of the University
of Western Australia

is the author of an
academic work entitled

"Archaic Faces to Headdresses:

The Changing Role of Rock
Art Across the Arid Zone."

She was in agreement with
professor Morwood's opinion

that faces in a
Australian rock art

appear to predate the
recent French discovery.

Certainly, there's some
rock art in Australia

that is at least
30,000 years old,

and it indicates the
depiction of faces.

Most Australian archeologists
agree the earliest art

in Australia was produced
before the last Ice Age,

which gives it a
significant age.

There are some
researchers, however,

who believe that both the
Vilhonneur grotto portrait

and the earliest Australian
Aboriginal portrait art

are predated by small statuettes
known as Venus figurines.

Venus figurines are a class
of distinctive artifacts

dating back to the Upper
Paleolithic period,

roughly between 40,000
and 10,000 years ago.

Early 20th century
prehistorians,

believing that the
figurines depicted

an ancient model of beauty,

named the objects
Venus figurines,

in references to the
Roman goddess of beauty.

The figurines were
fashioned mainly in the form

of stylized
representations of females

with large breasts and buttocks,

and are found over a
vast area of Europe

and parts of Western Asia.

The most famous of
these Venus figurines,

and until the discovery of the
Vilhonneur grotto portrait,

is the Venus of Willendorf,

found near the town of
Willendorf, Austria.

The most notable and common
type of Venus figurines

are small, three-dimensional
sculptures of voluptuous women,

ranging in height from 1.2
inches to more than 15 inches,

and carved from a wide
range of materials,

including serpentine,
schist, limestone,

steatite, fired clay,
ivory, bone, and antler.

There are also carved plaques

showing similar representations,

and figurines that apparently
show young females.

The sizes and proportions
of the Venus figurines vary,

though the majority follow
certain artistic conventions:

large breasts and stomach,
wide hips and swollen thighs,

all probably intended
to depict pregnancy.

Facial features are usually
absent, as are arms,

hands and feet, and the
heads are relatively small.

A few examples have what
appears to be braided hair,

such as the Venus
of Brassempouy,

and the Venus of Willendorf,

and others have been discovered

with traces of
red ochre on them.

Venus figurines were
manufactured over a
vast period of time

from around 40,000 years ago,

and up to around
13,000 years ago.

The figurines have
been discovered

from the French Pyrenees
to the Siberian planes,

mostly from cave and
rock shelter sites.

Recently, however, a remarkable
carved ivory Venus figurine

was discovered in Hohle Fels
in Southwestern Germany,

which is thought to be
the oldest sculpture

of a human figure ever found.

In fact, it is the
oldest undisputed example

of Upper Paleolithic art

and figurative prehistoric
art in general.

The 2.4-inches-tall figurines,

dated between 35,000
and 40,000 years ago,

belonging to the early
Aurignacian oration,

are the very beginning
of the Upper Paleolithic,

which is associated with the
assumed earliest presence

of Homo sapiens in Europe.

The sculpture was
fashioned without a head,

like some other examples
of Venus figurines,

but it does have a carved
ring where the head should be,

suggesting that it
was worn as a pendant.

In the opinion of
professor Conard,

the various incised
lines and markings

that cover much of the
surface of the figure

may represent clothing.

Excavations at the site
by Nicholas J. Conard

from a university in Germany,

also discovered other figurines
including a horse's head,

a waterbird, and a half
human, half lion figurine,

all dated to about 30,000
to 33,000 years ago.

Also found at this remarkable
site were worked flint,

bone, and ivory, bones of
horses, reindeer, cave bear,

mammoth, and ibex, as well as
a deliberately burned bone.

A puzzling artifact,
though, is a bird bone flute

with five finger holes.

It was also unearthed
in this incredible cave,

dating to about
35,000 years ago,

which would've made it

the oldest handcrafted musical
instrument ever discovered.

However, subsequent
examination of the artifact

has persuaded scientists
that it is, in fact,

the earliest known
instrument for making rope.

One intriguing possibility
which has been put forward

is that the Neanderthals,

rather than anatomically
modern humans, Homo sapiens,

crafted the artifacts
at the Hohle Fels site.

However, although Neanderthals
were still living in Europe

about 30,000 to
35,000 years ago,

and are known to her have
frequented the Hohle Fels cave,

the archeological layers
in which the Venus figurine

and other carvings were
found is characteristic

of modern humans rather
than Neanderthals.

A wide variety of
interpretations regarding

what Venus figurines were
meant to represent exist.

These explanations range

from children's
educational material

to representations of
fertility goddesses.

The extreme accumulation
of fat around the buttocks

depicted on many
of the figurines

has led some researchers

such as French archeologist,
Edouard Piette,

to suggest that the figurines

are actual physical
representations

of members of the Ice Age
hunting tribes who made them.

However, the fact that many
Venus figurines depict females

who do not possess such
a feature would suggest

that this theory is
at best unproven.

A few decades ago, the
most popular theory

to explain these
strange figurines

was that they were
representations

of a worldwide
mother Goddess cult.

The belief, put forward by
archeologist Marija Gimbutas,

among others, that
Stone Age people

worshiped the Earth Mother
as a universal deity,

has been largely
discredited now,

though it still
has some adherence.

In Paleolithic pre-agricultural
hunter gatherer societies

who lived in harsh
Ice Age environments

where the population did not
have quick or easy access

to a food supply,

the Venus figurines may
have suggested a desire

for abundancy and security,

though not all
examples were rotund

or had exaggerated
feminine features.

The fact that Venus
figurines are found

over such a wide
geographical area indicates

that there was a
shared understanding

among the Paleolithic
hunter-gatherer tribes

of Europe and Western Asia

of a particular
aspect of womanhood

or a certain type of woman.

However, like the vast
majority of examples

of prehistoric art,
we can only guess

at the cultural meaning
and significance

of the Venus figurines to
our remote Ice Age ancestors.

The remains of an
ancient domesticated dog

that spent its life with humans

has been unearthed
in an Italian cave.

Believe it or not,

this ancient domesticated dog

is now considered to be
Europe's earliest pet dog

and might be 20,000 years old.

How wolves became wolf-like,
and then our early friends?

The early ancestors of
gray wolves, Canis lupus,

were a group of carnivores
named the Creodonts,

that roamed the
Northern hemisphere

between 100 and 120
million years ago.

About 55 million years ago,

this ancient species gave
rise to the carnassials,

a group of wolf-like animals
that had specialized jaws

and razor-sharp teeth for
tearing and eating meat.

One member of this
family, miakis,

is thought to be
the common ancestor

of all present day
wolves, bears, raccoons,

weasels, and dogs.

Researchers hope this
incredible discovery in Italy

will provide new information

on how and when dogs
diverged from wolves

and became domesticated
human pets.

Dr. Francesco Boschin heads
the team of archeologists

from the University
of Sienna in Italy

that published the study

on the Italian canid and wolf
remains found in the caves.

According to an article
in "Scientific Reports,"

he stated it might be
the oldest ever remains

of a domesticated pet
dog found in Europe.

The animal remains were
expected to be somewhere

between 14 and 20,000 years old.

This was a time when
humans and canines

first began a mutually
beneficial relationship

that eventually made our
dogs our best friends,

solving the hows and whys of
early canine domestication.

For millions of years,
humans and wild wolves

shared the same
hunting landscapes.

While it's unknown exactly
when domesticated dogs,

Canis familiaris, evolved
from the great wolves,

we do have some important
scientific clues.

A 2009 study published

in the "Molecular Biology
and Evolution Journal"

cites an analysis of ancient
dog mitochondrial DNA

that suggests they
evolved alongside wolves

over 100,000 years ago.

Thus many experts believe
canines began scavenging

due to a lack of food,

and that humans slowly developed
a bond with these animals

that also acted as
an early warning

if larger creatures approach
to campsite or entered a cave.

Some scientists believe wolves

and early humans
hunted together,

and this is how the
relationship was formed.

The latest study by Dr.
Boschin and his team

focused on bone fragments from
ancient canines and wolves

found at two Paleolithic
caves in Southern Italy,

the Paglicci Cave and
the Romanelli Cave.

These ancient animals,
according to the research,

are the first dogs to live
alongside humans as a pet.

Furthermore, according to an
article in the "Daily Mail,"

the ancient
canine-human connection

offers a definitive answer
to the longstanding question

of how and when dogs
first became pets.

Anyone who has a dog or
has experience losing one

knows the depth of uniqueness
of that special bond,

but why and when in the
history of our planet

did this love affair between
humans and dogs begin?

Discover the history of
dogs and human interaction.

The earliest known
ancestors of gray wolves,

a major figure in the history
of dogs, are called Creodonts.

They roamed the
Northern hemisphere

between 100 and 120
million years ago.

By 55 million years ago,

these pack hunting carnivores
gave rise to the carnassials,

wolf-like animals that had jaws

for tearing and devouring meat.

One member, his family
known as my miacis existed

between 60 and 55
million years ago,

and is thought by
mainstream scientists

to be the common ancestor
of all present day wolves,

dogs, bears, and raccoons.

About 45 million years ago,

up to around 2
million years ago,

a massive species
known as bear dogs

roamed across North America,
Europe, Africa, and Asia,

sharing hunting planes
with Canis lupus,

one of the closest relatives
to the modern gray wolf.

Around 25 million years ago,

a species called Cynodictis

split in two
evolutionary branches

resulting in
African hunting dogs

and Eurasian wolves and dogs.

At this time in North America,

the plans were dominated
by the fearsome Tomarctus,

equipped with razor-sharp
claws, a powerful biting jaw,

and a long tail for balance
while hunting and fighting.

Up until 2010,

most experts to believed
domestication occurred

about 14,000 years ago, but
studies of dog mitochondrial DNA

strongly suggest they
evolved alongside each other

100,000 years ago.

Supporting this new paradigm,

in 2009, several richly buried
dog skulls were discovered

in a cave in the Czech Republic,
which dated to 30,000 BC.

Furthermore, in 2011, a
Paleolithic dog skeleton

dated to 30,000 BC was found
biting a large mammoth bone

and its brain had
been carefully removed

some time after death,

suggesting it held
ritual significance.

Another dog skull dated to
31,000 BC was found buried

with a human body in
a cave in Siberia,

not only telling archeologists

that the man had
domesticated hunting dogs,

but they had played
an important role

within his supernatural
belief system.

The relationship between
humans and dogs was cemented

at the dawn of farming
when people realized

just how quickly a wolf could
be domesticated with starch.

Having sharp teeth,
strong jaws and speed,

semi-tamed wolves were used

to protect small
hunting stations,

and in return were rewarded
with companionship,

protection, shelter, and
a reliable food source.

By 6,000 BC, dogs
were being trained

as effective farming tools,

and weapons used at times
of inter-tribal fighting.

And these inherent tension
skills are still evident today

in different dog breeds.

For example, guard dogs,
police dogs, military dogs,

sheep dogs, and rat catchers.

The rise of organized religions

led to the
ritualization of dogs,

and they were
generally associated

with the human soul's
journey in the afterlife.

Canine deities were worshiped
in ancient China, Egypt,

and south America,
where they were carved

into statues and temples,

and featured centrally in
mythologies and legends.

Evidence of the ritualization
of dogs was found

in the skeleton of
male Husky-like dog

that lived 7,000
years ago in Siberia,

that had worked alongside
humans throughout his lifetime,

ate human food, and
was richly buried

as though it were a human.

What is more, a wild wolf was
ritualistically buried nearby,

perhaps once perceived
as protecting human souls

on their journey
through the afterlife.

Around 2000 BC, the Iron
Age saw Romans, Egyptians,

Greeks, and Britons increasingly
using dogs in warfare,

blood sports, and
violent entertainment.

Larger breeds such as the
mastiff and wolf hound

were found to be
effective in war,

and the ancient Roman history
Strabo reported in 38 AD

of large British
dogs, which were bred

in the homeland of Britannia

to hunt dangerous
game as war dogs.

In 43 AD, at the Roman
conquest of Britain,

a procurer called Cynegii was
recorded as selecting dogs

for exporting to Rome to either
compete in the amphitheater

or to join the Roman
army as war dogs.

He mentioned a
wide-mouth giant dog

that surpassed the
Roman Molossus dog.

What does the future have
in store for dogs and us?

Today, like in so
many aspects of life,

dogs have become
extremely polarized,

and we have specially
trained medical dogs

that detect cancers

and smell when diabetic patients
are suffering hypoglycemia,

low blood sugars.

This is all happening as
astronaut dogs are being trained

in space programs,

and search and rescue
dogs leap from helicopters

and speedboats, not to
mention military dogs

that can detect explosives
and locate injured bodies

in places deem you
dangerous for soldiers.

A highlight in research for
this article was learning

that in 1943,
during World War II,

the American Army began a
war dog training program,

which parachuted
puppies into war zones

to sniff out enemy
tunnels and bunkers.

What on earth will dogs
be doing in the future?

In the modern police and army,

dogs that are trained
to bite often suffer

from broken teeth, which
are now being replaced

with sharp titanium fangs

at a cost of between
$600 and $2000 a tooth.

Is this the beginning

of a new evolutionary
path for canines?

Like us, will we soon
be able to sync our dogs

with our computers
and smartphones?

In conclusion, the
evolution of dogs

that has spanned
nearly 45 million years

is far from complete,

and although we have altered
its course irreversibly

with mass breeding over
the last 200 years,

so far, no other animal has
evolved to live alongside humans

as harmoniously as dogs have.