WOW, these baskets are about 9,500 years old! 🤯 Look like they were made yesterday rather than by hunter-gatherers during the Mesolithic! Made of esparto grass, they were found inside the Cueva de Los Murciélagos (Cave of bats), Spain. Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid 📷 by me #Archaeology - ThreadSky

alisonfisk.bsky.social • 15 days ago

WOW, these baskets are about 9,500 years old! 🤯

Look like they were made yesterday rather than by hunter-gatherers during the Mesolithic!

Made of esparto grass, they were found inside the Cueva de Los Murciélagos (Cave of bats), Spain.

Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid 📷 by me

#Archaeology

Comments

tomkimmerer.bsky.social•15 days ago

That they exist at all is surprising, let alone in such fine condition.

forestflora.bsky.social•15 days ago

Really incredible! 😵‍💫

carolawrence.bsky.social•14 days ago

Gotta love an ancient basket! 🥰

merryn02.bsky.social•15 days ago

I've seen those. They are really nice. Thanks for the information.

chrisannad.bsky.social•14 days ago

How wonderful!

paulssnow.bsky.social•15 days ago

amazing...

tepowell.bsky.social•15 days ago

Staggering! They're in such good condition.

amyelizabeth.bsky.social•15 days ago

I saw the photo first and thought, “those baskets are the perfect size for storage, where did they get them?” I love humans.

alisonfisk.bsky.social•15 days ago

The baskets are exceptionally well-preserved as a result of the unique conditions in the cave; a combination of low humidity and cooling winds. Read more in the research article on this link:

Read more: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adi3055

alanclarke.bsky.social•14 days ago

What I want to know is what are the conditions in the cave to preserve those baskets for 9500 years - ie exactl how dry and cold does it have to be? (thinking caves tend to be damp and cold, and dry goes with deserts and warmth)

jeaneells.bsky.social•15 days ago

Looks like twining for main part of basket? Very cool!

nelefinn.bsky.social•14 days ago

Given how the few mistakes look like, they probably are twined.

treesand.bsky.social•15 days ago

Has there ever been a comparison of Old World and New World techniques?

alisonfisk.bsky.social•15 days ago

Great question! I too would like to know!

nelefinn.bsky.social•15 days ago

There is some, but not much. In general there are only so many ways of crossing multiple elements, that the basic techniques are similar all across the world, but materials, use, shape, embelishing and how common something is varies a lot.

treesand.bsky.social•14 days ago

Yes, it was a question of concurrent versus convergent evolution. To borrow from biology.

pamelabanting.bsky.social•15 days ago

I just love your Bluesky feed. Thank you for all the gorgeous and amazing photos and information about their contents. You are transforming our sense of who our human predecessors were.

alisonfisk.bsky.social•15 days ago

Thank you so much Pamela! Lovely to hear your kind comments! 🥰

irenehi.bsky.social•15 days ago

Wow!

bou-dicca.bsky.social•14 days ago

So amazing!!! Isn't it??! If they ever dreamed about that their baskets would still be admired in 9000 years by people who pay money to see them ... ? ? 😅

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