Ancient People: Expert Mattress Makers
People long ago knew how to use medicinal plants
to make bug-repelling bedding.
Summary: The world’s oldest bedding, dated at “77,000 years old” and
made of mosquito-repellant evergreens, has been discovered in a South
African cave. The use of medicinal plants along with other artifacts at
the cave helps show how creative these early peoples were, according to
an international team of archaeologists.
A stack of ancient beds was found at Sibudu, a cave in a sandstone cliff
in South Africa. They are made of compacted stems and leaves from
sedges, rushes and grasses that grew along the uThongathi River
directly below the site. The oldest of the mats are “50,000 years” older
than other known examples of plant bedding.
"The preservation of material at Sibudu is really exceptional," said
researcher Christopher Miller, a geoarchaeologist at Germany’s U. of
Tübingen. The plant remains are of evergreen plants from the species
Cryptocarya which are used extensively in traditional medicines. When
the leaves are crushed, insect-repelling scents are released.
"The selection of these leaves for the construction of bedding suggests
that the early inhabitants of Sibudu had an intimate knowledge of the
plants surrounding the shelter, and were aware of their medicinal
uses,” archaeologist Lyn Wadley said. "Herbal medicines would have
provided advantages for human health, and the use of insect-repelling
plants adds a new dimension to our understanding of behavior 77,000
years ago."
Research showed the inhabitants repeatedly refurbished the mats and
apparently also burned the bedding regularly, possibly to remove pests.
According to Miller, it was a novel use of fire. The age of the oldest mats
is roughly contemporaneous with other evidence of modern human
behavior such as perforated shell beads, sharpened bone points used
for hunting, bow and arrow technology, the use of snares and traps and
the production of glue. "These discoveries show the creativity and
diversity of behavior that these early humans practiced," Miller said.
(Photo of Cryptocarya from Wikimedia, credited to Penarc.)
To read the entire article, click on MSNBC.
Comment: The key word in today’s post is surprise. Scientists once
again appear genuinely surprised that people they consider ancients
were capable of some really creative abilities. (The December 5 post
dealt with the surprise scientists experienced when they discovered
how adept ancient fishermen were at fishing the deep seas and
catching fast-moving fish like tuna.)
In my 50+ years of studying creation-evolution issues, it has become
commonplace to read of the surprise archaeologists, anthropologists,
paleontologists and other scientists have over some recent
discoveries. Whether it’s the discovery that Neanderthals were as
similar to modern man as one “race” is to another or the discovery
that dinosaur fossils still contain soft tissue or the acknowledgement
that the universe appears to have been designed specifically for life, it’s
one surprise after another. Researchers really should be questioning
their presuppositions concerning old ages (“deep time”) and an
evolutionist origin of the universe and life. If they got rid of these
notions, they wouldn’t get surprised so often.
While the discoveries of old, cleverly-designed bedding or ancient
intelligent fishermen doesn’t prove evolution and its timeline are wrong,
this research does fit in nicely with the picture the Bible paints of how
the world and its living creatures got started. Mankind was created with
intelligence, animals were given their gifts at the time of creation, and
the world was designed by the Creator specifically for life.
It may not be politically correct, but it is biblically correct to warn that
many scientists and non-scientists alike will experience a hugely
unhappy surprise one day. According to Daniel 12:2, “multitudes who
sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others
to shame and everlasting contempt.” Some people who have not
repented of their sins and who have rejected Jesus may still know or
strongly suspect what will happen to them when they die. But for most
unbelievers, the entrance into the afterlife will be a really unpleasant
surprise. However, for those people who have repented of their sins and
do trust in Jesus for forgiveness and salvation, death is like a sleep from
which they will awaken to enjoy the pleasures of heaven, as they have
long been promised. No surprise there.
People long ago knew how to use medicinal plants
to make bug-repelling bedding.
Summary: The world’s oldest bedding, dated at “77,000 years old” and
made of mosquito-repellant evergreens, has been discovered in a South
African cave. The use of medicinal plants along with other artifacts at
the cave helps show how creative these early peoples were, according to
an international team of archaeologists.
A stack of ancient beds was found at Sibudu, a cave in a sandstone cliff
in South Africa. They are made of compacted stems and leaves from
sedges, rushes and grasses that grew along the uThongathi River
directly below the site. The oldest of the mats are “50,000 years” older
than other known examples of plant bedding.
"The preservation of material at Sibudu is really exceptional," said
researcher Christopher Miller, a geoarchaeologist at Germany’s U. of
Tübingen. The plant remains are of evergreen plants from the species
Cryptocarya which are used extensively in traditional medicines. When
the leaves are crushed, insect-repelling scents are released.
"The selection of these leaves for the construction of bedding suggests
that the early inhabitants of Sibudu had an intimate knowledge of the
plants surrounding the shelter, and were aware of their medicinal
uses,” archaeologist Lyn Wadley said. "Herbal medicines would have
provided advantages for human health, and the use of insect-repelling
plants adds a new dimension to our understanding of behavior 77,000
years ago."
Research showed the inhabitants repeatedly refurbished the mats and
apparently also burned the bedding regularly, possibly to remove pests.
According to Miller, it was a novel use of fire. The age of the oldest mats
is roughly contemporaneous with other evidence of modern human
behavior such as perforated shell beads, sharpened bone points used
for hunting, bow and arrow technology, the use of snares and traps and
the production of glue. "These discoveries show the creativity and
diversity of behavior that these early humans practiced," Miller said.
(Photo of Cryptocarya from Wikimedia, credited to Penarc.)
To read the entire article, click on MSNBC.
Comment: The key word in today’s post is surprise. Scientists once
again appear genuinely surprised that people they consider ancients
were capable of some really creative abilities. (The December 5 post
dealt with the surprise scientists experienced when they discovered
how adept ancient fishermen were at fishing the deep seas and
catching fast-moving fish like tuna.)
In my 50+ years of studying creation-evolution issues, it has become
commonplace to read of the surprise archaeologists, anthropologists,
paleontologists and other scientists have over some recent
discoveries. Whether it’s the discovery that Neanderthals were as
similar to modern man as one “race” is to another or the discovery
that dinosaur fossils still contain soft tissue or the acknowledgement
that the universe appears to have been designed specifically for life, it’s
one surprise after another. Researchers really should be questioning
their presuppositions concerning old ages (“deep time”) and an
evolutionist origin of the universe and life. If they got rid of these
notions, they wouldn’t get surprised so often.
While the discoveries of old, cleverly-designed bedding or ancient
intelligent fishermen doesn’t prove evolution and its timeline are wrong,
this research does fit in nicely with the picture the Bible paints of how
the world and its living creatures got started. Mankind was created with
intelligence, animals were given their gifts at the time of creation, and
the world was designed by the Creator specifically for life.
It may not be politically correct, but it is biblically correct to warn that
many scientists and non-scientists alike will experience a hugely
unhappy surprise one day. According to Daniel 12:2, “multitudes who
sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others
to shame and everlasting contempt.” Some people who have not
repented of their sins and who have rejected Jesus may still know or
strongly suspect what will happen to them when they die. But for most
unbelievers, the entrance into the afterlife will be a really unpleasant
surprise. However, for those people who have repented of their sins and
do trust in Jesus for forgiveness and salvation, death is like a sleep from
which they will awaken to enjoy the pleasures of heaven, as they have
long been promised. No surprise there.
LSI Blog - Friday, Dec. 16, 2011
