In Israel, archaeologists have identified the authors of mysterious engravings under the age of 14 thousand years, which was discovered on an ancient tombstone. It is established that the drawing was made by natufians.
About the study, says Haaretz. The tombstone was discovered in the cave of Rakefet on mount Carmel. For several years he carefully studied in the laboratories of the Institute of archaeology named after Zinman at the University of Haifa.
This unusual find was made in the North of Israel in the ancient naturism cemetery. Natufians was the first who began to bury their dead in cemeteries. The people dug shallow graves, which top was covered by a mysterious plates.
In this case we are talking about the slab that covered the burial of several people. Radiocarbon Dating of the remains showed that these people were buried 12 to 14 thousand years ago. Quite a long time scientists have focused on the analysis of the skeletons.
Only recently have they drawn attention to the stove and found it is poorly visible to the naked eye figure. Modern technology has helped to restore it. As a result, the eyes of scientists appeared in the image in which they identified the figure of a man.
This figure proves that the burial practices of natufians was more complicated than was thought until now. Naturisti period occurred about 15 thousand years ago, when Paleolithic society moved from hunting and gathering to sedentary farming.
Archaeologists believe that natufians drove a small group of nomads and built a village, inhabited all year round. They farmed, they already had domesticated dogs. These communities acquired and cemeteries.
New data show that their funerary rites probably included feasting and dancing. Scientists suggest that the slab could be depicted the figure of a dancing shaman, perhaps, dressed in the skin of some animal.
But there is another version, According to it, the plate can be engraved with a lizard – this is indicated, for example, the image of the “tail”. While it is the dominant version of the human figure, but its confirmation will require further studies using advanced technologies.
If this is indeed a humanoid figure, it is the first time that this image was found on naturism cemetery. All in all, it was discovered about a dozen gravestones that were obviously brought in from somewhere else.
the Cemetery was located at the entrance to the cave. On it were found the remains of about 30 people of all ages – from infants to the elderly.
