hebel. today · 14 November 202659 / 80

Beyond Familiar · Forgotten History

Neanderthal jewelry and medieval diet reveal ancient daily habits

Archaeologists have identified the earliest evidence of jewelry in Europe through eight white-tailed eagle talons excavated from the Krapina cave in Croatia. While the talons sat in museum storage for over a century, a…

Archaeologists have identified the earliest evidence of jewelry in Europe through eight white-tailed eagle talons excavated from the Krapina cave in Croatia (The Ancient Near East Today). While the talons sat in museum storage for over a century, a recent inventory revealed cut marks and polished, worn-down surfaces on all eight specimens, indicating they were likely mounted as a necklace or bracelet approximately 130,000 years ago. The presence of cut marks from at least three different eagles suggests a deliberate, organized effort to collect and modify these objects long before modern humans arrived in the region.

  • Thirteen stelae discovered in 1998 on the slopes of a fortress in eastern Türkiye depict human figures surrounded by weaponry, animals, and symbols (The Ancient Near East Today).
  • Excavations at the Bala Hissar citadel in Kabul have uncovered archaeological material ranging from ancient pottery to fragments of Buddhist statues (The Ancient Near East Today).
  • Medieval accounts confirm that bread served as a primary staple food for dogs in the Middle Ages, often bought specifically for hunting hounds (Blackbird Rook).
  • Scientists identified all five essential nucleobases used in DNA and RNA within pristine samples from the asteroid Ryugu (The Curiosity Files).

Try today · 30 min

Examine a collection of historical artifacts for signs of modification or wear that suggest their use as personal items.

Look for non-obvious marks like polishing or small incisions on common objects in museum archives.

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Sources

  1. The Ancient Near East Today on hebel. →Details the Krapina eagle talon jewelry and recent archaeological excavations at the Bala Hissar citadel in Kabul.

  2. Blackbird Rook on hebel. →Explores the historical diet of medieval dogs, specifically the role of bread as a primary food source.

  3. The Curiosity Files on hebel. →Reports on the discovery of essential nucleobases in asteroid samples and new findings regarding Denisovan history.

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