Ancient Objects There is something which I find truly fascinating about finding very ancient relics. It is like a doorway into the minds of our ancestors. Sometimes it shows us they had a better grasp of certain crafts than we ever imagined. This might include blacksmithing, building and a myriad of other things. One of the finds which best illustrates this, is of a sword. It is not just any sword, but one of the oldest swords ever found, being over 5000 years old. One of the first things you notice about the sword it is not a rusted piece of iron as are most ancient swords. This one is in incredible shape for its age. It is a one piece item with the handle being part of the weapon. The weapon is an early Bronze Age weapon. A doctoral student was touring a monastery and noticed some cases. In them were antiques and the last case had a sword in it which was labeled as from the Middle Ages. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She knew from her studies the sword was mislabeled and was thousands of years older. It is interesting to note the composition of the sword which must have contributed to fine preservation. It was made of what is known as arsenical bronze. What this means is it is made of copper and arsenic. This was an early type of bronze. While today we consider a sword a weapon, in ancient times it was also considered a symbol of authority. The oldest objects on the human timeline are said to be stones formed into tools. They are usually chipped to make sharp edges or formed to be used as a hammer stone. While these are very interesting, I have a theory that many of these stones are misclassified and were chipped naturally. When scientists find an area where they believe was inhabited by ancient humans, they examine the terrain about the area and while some of the stones they find may indeed have been used as tools, I have to think some were not. The most ancient jewelry ever found was found in a cave in South Africa. It was the kind of thing most of us would never have noticed and probably walked right by, but the trained scientific eye picked it right up. It was something which looked very modest and ordinary until examined thoroughly. Forty-one sea shells were found in a cave and had been sorted according to size. Tiny holes had been drilled in them. Red pigment was found on some of them. All the holes were in similar positions and it is believed they were to be strung into a necklace. Now here is even the more amazing part, the shells were dated from 75000 years ago. That makes them the oldest jewelry ever found by over 30000 years. What made this find even more important was the fact scientists had believed humans were not interested in such things before 40000 years ago. They were wrong again. The paragraph above refers to jewelry made by humans, but it is said even older jewelry was found, but in a Neanderthal cave and it is presumed they made it. This jewelry is over 100000 years old and consisted of a necklace made out of a talon from an eagle. It was believed Neanderthals were nothing more than stupid brutes who couldn’t talk. This idea has started to change as we find out more about them. Scientists now believe they were capable of speech and of certain crafts. Maybe some of the things we have been crediting ancient humans with were also from Neanderthals. During the end of 2020 some interesting finds were made. The first object was called a throwing stick. It did not come from homo sapiens but a much older race according to scientists. It was made and used by Homo heidelbergensis a so-called ancestor of humans. The stick was over 300000 years old. It turns out this race also had spears and longer lances and they used them to hunt, according to scientists. Another beautiful sword was found in a field in the Czech Republic. Apparently, it had been in the ground for thousands of years because it dated back to the Bronze Age. The theory was rain had eventually washed away the soil which covered it, making it visible. While this sword was much more decorative than the one above it was also from near the end of the Bronze Age, making it somewhat newer. The hilt featured elaborate scroll work and the pommel was ornate. This sword was estimated to be about 3300 years old and demonstrated the advancement in swords since the 5000 year old sword was made. One of the things which is surprising is the age of archery. It is far older than first suspected. The first bows have been traced back about 64000 years. Back to South African caves. A bunch of arrow heads were found in Sibudu Cave. They still had traces of glue on them. The arrow heads were made from stone. The age was a surprise. It was not only weapons and jewelry early people were making. They were also into art. Two figurines were found in Germany which are the oldest we know of. One is the Löwenmensch figurine and the other the Venus of Hohle Fels. They have been dated between 35000 to 40000 years old. When we get to very early life size statues or bigger, the biggest life size one known is Urfa Man. It was found in Turkey and dates back about 9000 years. The Löwenmensch figurine is of a lion man and the other of a hefty female which is believed to represent fertility. Urfa man is a statue of a man from about the knees up. Musical instruments have been found which are quite ancient. Germany enters into the picture again. Bone flutes were found at Geissenkloesterle Cave. The flutes were made from bird bones and also from ivory obtained from mammoths. It is not known it the flutes were played for pleasure or were considered necessary for religious rites. The flutes have been dated to about 43000 years old. As you can see, we are beginning to get quite a picture of life millennia ago. Our ancient ancestors knew how to hunt and make weapons. They knew how to make primitive jewelry and probably used it in courting. They were becoming interested in art and created works of art far older than we had assumed. They played music and probably did if not only for religious rites, but for entertainment even though we really don’t know.
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