Piercing was limited to adults, indicating that the prehistoric practice may have been a coming-of-age ritual.
During excavations at Bonkukla Tarla in southeastern Turkey, archaeologists discovered the oldest known evidence of body piercing in skeletons dating back 11,000 years. It was reported by Arkeonews.
The scientists discovered that only adults had the piercing, indicating that the prehistoric custom may have been a coming-of-age ritual.
A team from Ankara University, during excavations conducted from 2012 to 2017, discovered more than 100 pieces of jewelry buried in human graves.
Jewelry was found near the ears and chin of the skeletal remains and was mostly made of limestone, obsidian, chlorite, copper or river stones.
The various decorations indicate that they were intended for both ear holes and lower lips known as labrets.
At the same time, none of the children’s burials contained such jewelry, so archaeologists suggest that the piercing was not only aesthetic, but also of social importance.
The find challenges accounts that date the practice of body piercing to no earlier than the mid-7th millennium BC.
The research team, led by Emma Luiza Baysal, assistant professor of prehistory at Ankara University, believes the discovery will help clarify previously discovered artifacts, as well as reassess Neolithic evidence in southwest Asia .
This shows that the traditions that are still a large part of our lives emerged during an important transition period when people first began to settle in permanent villages in West Asia more than 10 thousand years ago. They have very intricate skills in decorating necklaces, bracelets and pendants. These people had a highly developed symbolic world, which they used the human body to express,” explained Dr. Baysal.
ANKARA UNIVERSITY
It was previously reported that in western Ukraine, archaeologists discovered stone tools about 1.4 million years old.
Source: korrespondent
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