1 . Archeologists said on Wednesday they have unearthed the oldest wooden structure ever discovered, dating from nearly half a million years ago, which suggests that our ancestors may have been more advanced than previously thought.

The exceptionally well-preserved wooden structure was found at Kalambo Falls in the north of Zambia near the border with Tanzania. It dates back at least 476,000 years, well before the evolution of Homo sapiens (智人), according to a study describing the find in the journal Nature.

The wood bears cut-marks showing that stone tools were used to join two large logs to make the structure, which is believed to be a platform, walkway or raised dwelling to keep our ancestors above the water. A collection of wooden tools, including a wedge and a digging stick, was also discovered at the site. The ancestors of humans were already known to use wood at this time, but for limited purposes such as starting a fire or hunting.

Larry Barham, an archeologist at the U. K.’s University of Liverpool and the study’s lead author, said the structure was a “chance discovery” made in 2019 while excavating the site located on the banks of the Kalambo River, above a 235-meter waterfall.

Discoveries involving such ancient wood are rare, because it tends to rot leaving behind little trace for the historical record. But the high level of water at Kalambo Falls is believed to have preserved the structure over the centuries.

Excavations at the Kalambo site in the 1950s and 1960s unearthed some wood, but it was not able to be accurately dated. However, this time around, the researchers used a new method called luminescence dating, which determines age by measuring the last time certain minerals were exposed to sufficient heat or sunlight. This revealed that the structure was much older than the researchers had thought, dating back at least 476,000 years.

The discovery of the wooden structure “changed how I thought about these people”, Barham added. “They transformed their surroundings to make life easier, even if it was only by making a platform to sit on by the river to do their daily chores,” he said. “They used their intelligence, imagination and skills to create something they’d never seen before, something that had never previously existed.”

2 . Lingjiatan Ancient Cultural Site

Lingjiatan site is located in Lingjiatan village, Hanshan County, Anhui Province.

·With a history of about 5,600 years, it is the largest and best preserved Neolithic settlement site found in Chaohu Lake Basin in the lower reaches of the Changjiang River.

·The unearthed area is 2,200 square meters, including 1 altar in the late Neolithic age, 66 tombs, 1 relic built with large-area red pottery blocks, 1 house site, and 1,300 precious cultural relics such as delicate jade ritual vessels, stone tools and pottery, of which jade accounted for more than half.

·The “Stonehenge” unearthed at the site is the only site found so far that there are Stonehenge remains in the Neolithic period in China, and its construction age is about 1,000 years earlier than that of Stonehenge in Britain.

·Unearthed “jade dragon”, the flat round jade dragon connected end to end is called “the first dragon in China”.

·The unearthed stone drill is one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the Neolithic Age in China in the 20th century.

·Studying urban elements

Lingjiatan site is the first settlement site in China with hierarchical architecture based on terrain. It plays a noticeable role in studying the evolution of Chinese ancient society and the exchange and collision of East, West, North and South cultures.

·Moving the history of Chinese cities forward for more than 1,000 years.

·Did the Youchao people master the metal smelting technology at that time? Have they produced the most primitive text symbols?

·After the discovery of Lingjiatan site, does Youchao’s birthplace lie in Chaohu Lake Basin?

4 . On 2 November 1974, Dr. Donald Johanson, a paleoanthropologist (古人类学家), with his student Tom Gray, was there, in Hadar in Ethiopia, a volcanic region home to ancient humans. The pair had been out exploring and had decided to walk back to their car via a valley. As they walked, they noticed an elbow bone sticking out. Nearby, they found pieces of a skull, ribs, a thigh bone, a pelvis and a jaw. It took weeks of careful work to recover all the pieces, and they found almost half of a skeleton.

On the night of this incredible discovery, Johanson and the team listened to The Beatles’ Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds on their tape deck (录音机). Inspiration struck, and that’s how this famous fossil got her name.

Lucy was a member of a species called Australopithecus afarensis (阿法南猿), and she lived more than 3 million years ago. The wear on her wisdom teeth shows that she was fully mature when she died, but she would have grown up quickly. She was probably only around 12 years old and weighed just 29 kilograms (64 pounds), barely half as much as a human female. Her brain was only one-third of the size of ours, and her face was ape-like, with a powerful jaw. She had curved fingers, and marks on her upper arm bone show that her muscles were strong, both showing that she was a competent climber.

How did Lucy die? Anthropologist (人类学家) John Kappelman and his colleagues think that she might have fallen from a tree. There are cracks in her bones and according to Kappelman’s reconstruction, Lucy fell from a height of 15 metres (50 feet) and hit the ground feet first. She broke both her ankles and knees.

The trouble with this theory is that it’s hard to prove. According to other researchers, the damage to her bones could also have occurred after she died.

5 . Scientists found what could be the oldest evidence of cooking at the edge of the ancient Lake Hula in Israel at the Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, according to a newly-published paper. The remains, especially fish teeth, were discovered near places where scientists also found signs of fire. Tests showed the teeth had been exposed to temperatures that were hot, but not super-hot. This suggested the fish were cooked slowly over a low heat, rather than being put right onto a fire.

With all the evidence together, scientists concluded that these ancient humans had used fire for cooking some 780,000 years ago. That is much earlier than the next oldest evidence for cooking, about 170,000 years ago, which showed Stone Age humans ate burnt roots in South Africa.

Scientists believe cooking started long before this, though physical evidence has been hard to come by —considering the importance of using fire to cook. Cooked food makes it easier for the body to digest and get more nutrients. When early humans figured out how to cook, they were able to get more energy, which they could use to fuel bigger brains. Based on how human ancestors’ bodies developed, scientists guess that cooking skills would have had to appear nearly 2 million years ago.

Those first cooked meals were a far cry from today’s dinners. And at that time, humans started eating not just for fuel, but for their community. In a 2010 paper, scientists described the earliest evidence of a feast(盛宴), which was a specially prepared meal that brought people together for an event in a cave. This “first feast” came at an important turning point in human history, right as hunter-gatherers were starting to settle into more permanent living situations. Gathering for special meals may have been a way to build community and reduce tensions now that people lived closer to each other. Scientists believe ancient feasts served a lot of the same social uses that modern gatherings serve: People exchange information, make connections, or try to improve their position.

When it comes to ancient civilizations, most people think of the Greeks and Romans. It’s understandable as both     1     (shape) modern society in some way so far, whether it be their social, cultural, or political influences. However, dozens of civilizations had been around long     2     the Greeks and Romans, the lesser-known Jiahu people     3     (include).

The Jiahu settlement is located in the central plain of ancient China,     4     area known today as the Henan Province. The people created the country’s oldest recognized civilization. The area is rich in artifacts,     5     (make) it an archaeologist’s dream. Apart from the usual finds, people have uncovered records of the earliest examples of Chinese writing and proof     6     they were producers of the world’s oldest wine. Another remarkable discoveries was the oldest working bone flutes (长笛).     7     (typical) carved from the wing bone of a crane, they were most likely used in special ceremonies. Rough weaving tools and bone needles also     8     (unearth) from the site, indicating that Jiahu residents may have possessed basic weaving and sewing skills 8,500 years ago.

The settlement’s end came around 5700 BCE when the nearby rivers overflowed and flooded the area. It is assumed that the Jiahu people left their home     9     (settle) elsewhere, even though there is no indication as to     10     that might have been.