Siberia is one of the least populated places on the planet - only 3 people per square meter. However, Siberia is a godsend for archaeologists: dry air and permafrost have preserved relics of the past until our times. Despite the fact that Siberia is now considered a harsh, inhospitable region, it was once the cradle of humanity. You may also be interested in the article 10 hunting places in Russia.
10. Shigir idol
At the end of the 19th century, while excavating a swamp in Western Siberia, archaeologists unearthed an unusual find - the world's oldest wooden sculpture. The find is 11,000 years old, twice the age of the Great Pyramids and 6,000 years older than Stonehenge. The height of the figure is 2.8 meters, and it was made of a deciduous tree, which at the time when it was felled with stone tools was 157 years old.
The idol featured lines and squiggles, which scientists believe may be a coded message. It is also believed that this statue could be the ancestor of Indian totems.
9. "Amazon"
In 1990, archaeologists found in Altai, Siberia, the remains of 2500 years ago. According to their assumptions, it was the body of a warrior woman, the so-called Amazon. On her head was a scythe, and with it were buried shields, a bow, a quiver with arrows and the remains of 9 horses, which indicated a high status. However, the DNA results were unexpected. "Amazon"turned out to be a teenage boy who at the time of his death was about 16 years old.
8. The oldest oncology
Scientists were inclined to believe that cancer is a modern disease, since the life of people of other eras was more active and they ate only natural food. However, the 2014 discovery refuted this opinion. In the Baikal region, a 4500-year-old burial was found: the men were with hunting and fishing tackle, but one of them was completely different - he was found in a wooden burial ground, in a fetal position.
Scientists found out that he had a malignant tumor, namely prostate cancer. Perhaps the peculiarities of his burial were associated with the fact that his death was long and painful.
7. "Racial reconstruction" of the idol
Scientists believe that the 2,400-year-old Ust-Tsaevsky idol underwent changes in the early Middle Ages: about 1,500 years ago, someone made it "plastic surgery". It is believed that this idol belongs to the times of the Scythians, when the people who lived in that region had a European appearance.
However, in the Middle Ages, this area was inhabited by the Mongols, and after a number of changes, the appearance of the idol became more consistent with the Mongoloid race. In addition, it is assumed that in the 17th century, after the Russian occupation, the idol underwent another change - a cone-shaped hole in the mouth area for a pipe with tobacco.
6. Bone Armor
Recently archaeologists unearthed a 3,900-year-old bone armor in Siberia. Since it was buried separately, it is assumed that this was a kind of ritual, and the armor itself was a gift or a trophy and belonged to a person of high status. She was found during the reconstruction of a sanatorium in Altai.
5. Oldest sewing needle
The oldest sewing needle was discovered in the Altai mountains, in the Denisovskaya cave. Its age is about 50,000 years, which is 40,000 more than the age of the samples found earlier. Apparently it is a weapon "Denisov's people" - "cousins"hominids, named after the cave. They were more technically advanced than the Neanderthals, and the very design of a 7-centimeter needle with a hole could still be used today."
4. Noblewoman Okunev
In the Republic of Khakassia, archaeologists found the remains of a noblewoman who belonged to the Okunev culture - an ethnic group that lived between the XXV-XVIII centuries BC. The grave contained more than a hundred ornaments made of animal teeth, needles, bone and horn tools, jars and much more, which indicated a rich origin.
On the objects there were drawings that scientists associate with the Okunev ethnos. There was an image of a bull on the tombstone - a rarity for found burials in Siberia, but a frequent occurrence in ancient burials in Kazakhstan.
3.3,000-year-old brain surgery
In 2015, scientists found a burial in Siberia with unusual contents - a skull, on which traces of surgical intervention can be recognized, which is at least 3,000 years old. The parietal bone included signs of healing, which suggests that the patient, who was between 30 and 40 years old, was alive for some time after the operation, and died, according to scientists, from postoperative inflammation.
Pain relievers such as opiates do not now grow in the area. However, in Ancient Siberia it was easy to find thyme, juniper, hemp and hallucinogenic mushrooms, which shamans used in their rituals. Such a ritual could introduce a person into a state of altered consciousness, in which this operation could have been carried out 3,000 years ago.
2. Dina and Yuan
In 2015, researchers discovered two now extinct specimens of cave lions. They were nicknamed Dina and Yuan and are about 57,000 years old. By the way, this species became extinct 10,000 years ago. Dinah and Yuan were about two weeks old when they died. A white liquid was found in their stomachs, which is possibly ancient milk.
Ancient cave lions were common in Eurasia, Alaska, and northern Canada. Scientists hope that Dina and Yuan will help determine why their species became extinct, but at the moment there is an assumption that they were exterminated because of their skins.
South Korean scientist Wang Woo Suk hopes to clone cave lions... At this point, he has already made some progress in cloning mammoths, and hopefully one day these species will exist again.
1.5,000 year old couple
Recently, archaeologists have discovered a 5,000-year-old burial at the Sacred Cemetery on the shore of Lake Baikal. The buried were a man and a woman holding hands. Most likely, this is a nobleman and his wife or mistress. The male skeleton is completely preserved, while the female is damaged by rodents.
Also in the burial were jewelry, a jade dagger and a metal object, the purpose of which was never determined. To avoid raids by grave robbers, the location of the excavation was kept secret.
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Siberia is a real find for archaeologists, thanks to the permafrost, artifacts are well preserved. Learn about archaeological finds in Siberia older than the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge; and also about the achievements of people who lived at that time.
