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As the days begin to warm, people are emerging from their homes to gather and engage in an age-old tradition: cook outs. As Laura Geggel at LiveScience reports, archaeologists recently unearthed an ancient example of the practice. In a remote rock shelter in Western Australia, researchers found the remains of a campfire and kangaroo feast that likely took place 20,000 years ago.
The site is located in Pilbara in the Hamersley Ranges, an area currently leased by the mining company BHP Billiton. According to Karen Michelmore at the Australia Broadcasting Company, a group of BHP surveyors, including aboriginal land owners, found the small cave around a decade ago while surveying the site prior to mining. A test pit dug several years later uncovered stone tools, including some dating back 32,000 years, which are among the oldest artifacts found in the region.
The site is now being excavated by scientists with BHP and Scarp Archaeology, headed by Michael Slack, one of the leading experts on ancient indigenous sites in the region. So far, the team has uncovered hundreds of stone tools as well as the remnants of a campfire with associated kangaroo bones.
Since the charcoal can be radiocarbon dated, it can give the researchers a date for when the ’roo feast took place. Researchers have sent samples for analysis, but based on its positioning and surrounding stones, Michelmore reports, Slack estimates the remains are at least 20,000 years old.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-uncover-20000-year-old-kangaroo-cook-out-180969204/#OmIrEXHMrI1R4KcE.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
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The site is now being excavated by scientists with BHP and Scarp Archaeology, headed by Michael Slack, one of the leading experts on ancient indigenous sites in the region. So far, the team has uncovered hundreds of stone tools as well as the remnants of a campfire with associated kangaroo bones.
Since the charcoal can be radiocarbon dated, it can give the researchers a date for when the ’roo feast took place. Researchers have sent samples for analysis, but based on its positioning and surrounding stones, Michelmore reports, Slack estimates the remains are at least 20,000 years old.
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-uncover-20000-year-old-kangaroo-cook-out-180969204/#OmIrEXHMrI1R4KcE.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter
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