Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A engraved boulder found in a cave in Israel has been analysed to see whether its carvings are anthropogenic or natural. Interestingly, researchers think that it's a depiction of a tortoise shell that was cerated by hunter-gatherers more than 35,000 years ago. This find is significant because it was discovered in a part of a cave separate from the domestic areas so was probably a part of group ritual practices. It's the first time that evidence for a separate ritual area has ben found in a palaeolithic site in the Levant. In this video I discuss the paper detailing this fascinating research.
#archaeology #paleolithic #prehistoric
✨ IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 Introduction
00:50 Early Palaeolithic Art
03:03 The Manot Cave
08:18 Tortoise Symbols
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✨ SUPPORT VIA PATREON
patreon.com/MegalithHunter
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BlueSky: @MegalithHunter.bsky.social
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✨ REFERENCES
Barzilai, O., Marder, O., Tejero, J.M., Ayalon, A., Bar-Matthews, M., Abulafia, T., Lavi, R., Goder-Goldberger, M., Shemer, M., Edeltin, L. and Wiegmann, A., 2024. Early human collective practices and symbolism in the Early Upper Paleolithic of Southwest Asia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(51), p.e2404632121.
✨ PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Images about the Manot Cave discovery, credit: Barzilai, O., et al in the paper referenced above.
CC BY 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Replicas of paintings at Lascaux Cave, credit: JoJan
CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Venus of Willendorf, credit: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen
Cave lion, credit: Rainer Halama
CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
An excavation at Manot Cave, credit: Manot Cave Expedition
A engraved boulder found in a cave in Israel has been analysed to see whether its carvings are anthropogenic or natural. Interestingly, researchers think that it's a depiction of a tortoise shell that was cerated by hunter-gatherers more than 35,000 years ago. This find is significant because it was discovered in a part of a cave separate from the domestic areas so was probably a part of group ritual practices. It's the first time that evidence for a separate ritual area has ben found in a palaeolithic site in the Levant. In this video I discuss the paper detailing this fascinating research.
#archaeology #paleolithic #prehistoric
✨ IN THIS EPISODE
00:00 Introduction
00:50 Early Palaeolithic Art
03:03 The Manot Cave
08:18 Tortoise Symbols
✨ JOIN MY CHANNEL
youtube.com/channel/UC0Hs5t0U6Uf993Tba22YmKA/join
✨ SUPPORT VIA PATREON
patreon.com/MegalithHunter
✨ FOLLOW ME ON SOCIALS
BlueSky: @MegalithHunter.bsky.social
X: @Megalith_Hunter
✨ REFERENCES
Barzilai, O., Marder, O., Tejero, J.M., Ayalon, A., Bar-Matthews, M., Abulafia, T., Lavi, R., Goder-Goldberger, M., Shemer, M., Edeltin, L. and Wiegmann, A., 2024. Early human collective practices and symbolism in the Early Upper Paleolithic of Southwest Asia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(51), p.e2404632121.
✨ PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
Images about the Manot Cave discovery, credit: Barzilai, O., et al in the paper referenced above.
CC BY 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Replicas of paintings at Lascaux Cave, credit: JoJan
CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
Venus of Willendorf, credit: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen
Cave lion, credit: Rainer Halama
CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
An excavation at Manot Cave, credit: Manot Cave Expedition
