A mile-long lava tube where humans sheltered for thousands of years
Submitted 1 year ago by bot@lemmy.smeargle.fans [bot] to hackernews@lemmy.smeargle.fans
https://gizmodo.com/humans-sheltered-lava-tube-umm-jirsan-thousands-years-1851415061
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 1 year ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
According to new research, ancient humans had at least two of those three needs met by a nearly mile-long lava tube about 77 miles (125 kilometers) north of Medina, Saudi Arabia, for at least 7,000 years.
The new study, published today in the journal PLoS One, examined faunal remains and rock art in the region and adds to a growing body of research into the system.
“The findings at Umm Jirsan provide a new type of archaeological site in the region, and one where organic material like bone and deeply layered sediments are much better preserved,” said Mathew Stewart, a zooarchaeologist at Griffith University in Australia and the study’s lead author, in an email to Gizmodo.
Seven of the lava flows in Harrat Khaybar are less than 1,500 years old, according to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, and the region still has the potential for activity, according to a 2022 study.
Based on human use of the surrounding area—evinced by nearby rock art and other faunal records—the team posited that the lava tube “was situated along a pastoral route linking key oases.” So you can think of Umm Jirsan more as an ancient truck stop than a place of residence.
In the harsh desert environment, the promise of a break from the sun, wind, and heat would’ve made Umm Jirsan a perfect prehistoric pit stop.
The original article contains 562 words, the summary contains 226 words. Saved 60%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!