19. 7. 2011 10 thousand years old spear
Categories: Calendar , Nálezy nejenom s detektorem kovů v USA, severní a jižní Americe
The 90-centimeter-long spear was discovered by an archaeologist near the famous Yellowstone Park. It was in a pocket of a melting glacier. Prehistoric people probably hunted animals in such a place to escape the heat.
This is a rare artifact indeed. It was found by archaeologist Craig Lee. The spear is 90 centimetres long and even shows the marks made by the owner. It could have been the number of animals hunted, for example.
There was probably a flint point on the spear and a groove on the other end. This was probably used to hook onto the spear thrower. The prehistoric weapon found was originally straight. But it was tested in the ice. At first glance, it looks like an ordinary stick.
"The hunter may have missed the animal and his weapon disappeared into the snow. It's like looking for keys stuck in a snowdrift. You'll just find them sooner than spring. In this case, spring came after many millennia. Only in this decade have we realized that in numerous places around the world, in snow and glaciers melting due to warming, archaeological treasures are waiting to be discovered," Lee said.
Melting glaciers are also revealing more and more plants, feces and animal carcasses that are thousands of years old. But they must be found as soon as possible. It is not good to leave them in the air with daylight, otherwise they will decay.
Thousands of years old treasures are being uncovered by the melting of the glaciers in the Alps. Thanks to them, scientists have learned, for example, that people climbed mountains up to 3,000 metres above sea level in search of crystal and other raw materials.
"We are finding amazing things that allow us to reveal what was previously hidden," said Marcel Cornelissen, who led the expedition to the Mesolithic site at 2,800 metres above sea level, near the Brunifirm glacier in the Swiss canton of Uri.
The shrinking of the glaciers and the melting of the icefields are already too far advanced, according to Cornelissen. But he doesn't think there will be another Ötzi.
Sources: www.tyden.cz, www.irozhlas.cz
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