How did people in the Paleolithic live? We're getting a clearer picture on that, although it may never be entirely complete. Why did they do the things they did? To a great extent that's still a mystery.
The circular structure in Russia, built from the bones of at least sixty mammoths, is a case in point. Humans at the time hunted and ate woolly mammoths, which could feed an extended family or small tribe for quite some time. So the presence of the bones isn't a surprise. But their use in this structure is. What exactly was behind it?
It could well be an early religious impulse. An expression of gratitude to the beast for providing sustenance. Or to a higher power for providing the beast. Or perhaps both.
2 comments:
You may well be correct about the reasons why the peoples who lived in Siberia in the Paleolithic period made such a structure - it very well may have been built as a temple. Or it could have been an early version of a smoke house since fire had to be carefully guarded in northern regions where even if summers were mild the other seasons were long dark and cold and food difficult to come by.
It's no wonder we still question what people were up to so long ago and it's very likely to remain a mystery. After all we don't know what uncontacted Amazonian tribes are doing although we do have more ways of spying on people than ever before. When I hear about archeologists theories I'm reminded of the story about the six blind men examining an elephant by touch.
Another theory about exactly what our ancestors were engaged in is the idea that there was a civilization that preceeded our own. If some almost unimaginable disaster struck the planet ten thousand or more years ago it would be hard to discover what the people who lived then were doing and what they knew that we don't.
https://www.ancient-origins.net/ancient-technology-news-history-archaeology-ancient-places/ancient-civilization-0021959
That's true too. Given the region's climate at the time there also could be some practical reasons for the structure. Wild, when you think about it, that humans ventured into the colder areas at an early stage of our development. In some of those places Neanderthals came first, but Neanderthals evolved from hominins/early humans who emigrated from warmer areas.
Some things we don't know and don't seem likely to find out any time soon. Of course saying so isn't the best way to get grant money. Because of that archaeologists may try to sound more confident of their theories than they actually are. The six blind men indeed.
Interesting idea of civilization being around 10,000 or more years ago. It's another possibility that will probably just hang around out there. The ruins of Gobleki Tepe do look incredible, and incredibly advanced. Especially when you consider that they've been exposed to the desert elements for a good amount of time, which you might expect to break them down somewhat.
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