Archeologists uncover 7,000-year-old wells
Published: 20 Dec 12 07:45 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/sci-tech/20121220-46877.html
Archeologists have found what they believe to be the oldest water wells in Europe in eastern Germany. At 7,000 years old, they make their creators some of the earliest known carpenters.
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The four wells, which reach seven metres into the earth and were likely used to provide a small settlement with fresh water, did not match up with what historians believed man was capable of at that time.
The discovery seemed to suggest that early settlers in the area were working with wood long before metal tools were invented, and points towards a much higher standard of living for early stone age settlers than initially thought.
Elaborate woodwork techniques made this even more apparent – the corners of the wells had been bound tight enough to survive 7,000 years underground - “it was a big surprise,” said Willy Tegel, the archeologist who headed the team.
Historians knew already that society in the area had gone through a boom period at around 5000 BCE, as hunter gathers began settling into villages. But barely anything from the era has survived, as it was mostly made from wood.
Starved of air and beneath the water level, the wooden walls of the wells somehow stood the test of time though. And now, historians are going to have to begin rethinking prior presumptions surrounding the Early Stone Age.
“In reconstructions, houses from this era have probably been underestimated,” said Tegel, whose findings were first published in the academic journal PIOS ONE this week.
DPA/The Local/jcw
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Your comments about this article:
Splitting wood to approximately the correct size is relatively easy with stone axes. Smoothing the result and working the slotted joints is more interesting.
The technique commonly used, or at least one we know about, was to use hot embers from a fire to burn the bits needing removing and then use a sharp piece of flint to scrape away the burn. Patience, Grasshopper.
wa
If I survive the end of the world tomorrow or the impending Zombie Holocaust I will now know how to work wood. (LOL!)
They say native Americans used the ¦quot;burning¦quot; method to make their canoes out of solid tree trunks, too. This method must have been ¦quot;obvious¦quot; to primitive tribes?
Hardly the Early Stone Age! This was already the copper age - which followed the Late Stone Age.
Sorry to disappoint.
@DocEllis, @michael4096, @Vladd222
Woodworking technology?
7,000 years or 5,000 years ago. Stone age, copper age or middle earth age. Civilizations In china, south america and africa could read and write.
Its time for germany to return queen Nefertiti back to africa. Replace it with the most recent underestimated find from Leipzig. Which demonstrates one of the many stone age accomplishments in europe.
Some things never change! They had trolls 7,000 years ago - and you're still here!
Good to know the protectors of european culture. The illusionist and pretenders are doing what they do best.
Get over it and move on with life.
Get a LIfe!
Happy to know you understand there are some people paying attention. The more you dig, the deeper you go into the abyss of cultural reality. Many of your discoveries will be difficult to comprehend.
Welcome to the real world and humanity.
1. Copper was first used for jewelry and coins before this time, you are correct. It is highly likely that the people building this well had bits of copper jewelry knocking about. However, copper was useless for building wells, the subject of this piece and it wasn't until copper alloys such as bronze were developed some thousand or so years later than our well that woodworking lost its high tech magic. When you dismiss woodworking so lightly, you are applying today's thoughts to historical times - a historian's no-no.
2. Reading and writing depends on what you define it to be. Transferring ideas with symbols was around in Europe over 10,000 years before our well. We can still read them from Lascaux for example. However, the usual definition of writing is the transferring of general abstract concepts via symbols was developed some thousand years or so after our well. I assume that you have your own self-serving definition of writing between the two.
3. The date Nefertiti lived was closer to today's date than that of our well. Totally off topic.
It does seem that the article has confused "early" and "late" stone age. Maybe it happened in translation.
"Historians knew already that society in the area had gone through a boom period at around 5000 BCE, as hunter gathers began settling into villages."
That can't be "Early Stone Age". Like I said, it must be a translation error.
Historians no-no? Whose his-story are you attempting to convey?
What became of the transferring of ideas and Lascaux symbols when the romans and africans arrived occupied britannia and northern europe? Whether it was 10,000 years ago, 7,000 years, 4,000 years or 2,000 years ago. As I said, the chinese, african and central american civilizations had scripts, math and science.
Oh. Off our well topic and on a topic. Nefertiti was and still is of african culture and heritage.
People too, have forgotten the "ICE MAN" discovered not too long ago, which FORCED many to recant their beliefs and change the history books.
I suspect we don't know the half of it,m as much of history was DELIBERATELY destroyed in days long gone by, and we were far more advanced and technologicaly knowledgeable then todays alleged experts claim.
For example, check out the hype we are fed dail regarding dinosuars, first they were cold blooded, then we are told Hmmm, maybe the were warm blooded, then we're told they had tough leathery hides, later recanted to tell us many of them were feathered. LOL. C'mon people, get real. If this well exhibits excellent carpentry work, maybe that;s because these folks were expert carpenters. Check out the communities in the U.S. who work and live without electricity, (the Amish) they are excellent carpenters, so who's to say these folks were not either?
Good archeology/historical book of the world including Europe.