11 Fascinating Archeological Finds That Challenge the Past
Archeologists are some of the most amazing scientists and detectives on the planet, solving the mystery of our history one dig site and artifact at a time. Considering they rely on discovering old things in the ground, it's incredible that we know as much about the history of our species as we do. But some things will always remain a mystery. These awesome 11 archeological finds changed the way we see our history, and made us rethink where, when, and how we were doing things in ancient times.
You probably know that humans as we think of ourselves today first evolved in Africa, and slowly migrated away around 60,000 years ago. Although there were other human-like species at the time, the people in that original group are the forefathers of 90% of modern humanity. However, one dig site in India is placing all of that into question.
Advanced stone age tools were found and dated to be 200,000 years old, well before we would have arrived there. Either groups of humans developed and left Africa far before we thought they did, or a different stone age species was operating in India 200,000 years ago.
Read about that, and other archeological finds that make us question out past.
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1. Panga ya Saidi Caves
The Panga ya Saidi caves in Kenya are thought to have been inhabited for 78,000 years of human history. The massive caves could have housed hundreds of people, and archeologists have found evidence of tools from every time period starting with the stone age. -
2. Antikythera Mechanism
When scientists discovered a 2,000-year-old Greek shipwreck off the coast of Antikythera, they also found a mysterious box. Effectively an analogue computer, the box can predict the positions of the planets and stars in the sky by date, moon phases, and count down time. -
3. Advanced Stone-age Tools in India
We know that the majority of humans descended from people who left Africa around 60,000 years ago. But an under-studied site in India uncovered advanced stone age tools that are over 200,000 years old. How did that happen? Either some people left earlier than we thought, or a separate group developed those tools on their own. -
4. Voynich Manuscript
This 600-year-old book from central Europe contains odd symbols, letters and drawings. It is unclear whether the book is just a bunch of gibberish, or if there is an entire language that has since been lost. -
5. The Tomb of Qin Shi Huang Di.
The resting place of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di, is guarded by the famous Terracotta army of 8,000 warrior statues. But his actual tomb, which is around 2000 years old, has yet to be excavated for fear of traps. -
6. Gobekli Tepe
Around 11,000 years ago, humans were still nomadic hunter gatherers. However, the Gobekli Tepe in Turkey has stone pillars and rooms, contradicting that timeline. It is considered the oldest discovered architecture. -
7. Hobbit People
In 2003, small skeletons were found on the Indonesian island of Flores. Originally thought to be diseased humans, archaeologists eventually realized that they were an entirely new species of never before seen hominins. They were nicknamed “Hobbits.” -
8. King Tut's Grave
The Egyptian boy pharaoh Tutankhamun is thought to have died unexpectedly. His resulting burial appears to be botched, with evidence that his mummy caught fire. With that in mind, some theorize that his tomb was originally built with others in mind, and that there is still more to discover in it. -
9. Ancient Egyptian Zoo Animals
Everyone loves to talk about how old the Pyramids are, but the discovery of a cemetery unearthed animal remains even older; about 5,000 years old. Many of the exotic animals had evidence of healed injuries, which could only have happened in captivity. -
10. Stone Wall Animal Traps
Walls of small stones across Egypt, Israel and Jordan were a mystery, until archaeologists theorized that the 2,300-year-old structures were used to funnel animals into deadly pits. -
11. Costa Rican Stone Spheres
These large stone spheres were made by a Pre-Colombian civilization, likely by using smaller stones to chisel.
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The Panga ya Saidi caves in Kenya are thought to have been inhabited for 78,000 years of human history. The massive caves could have housed hundreds of people, and archeologists have found evidence of tools from every time period starting with the stone age.
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