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13-year-old girl found in Iberian cave was an Early Neolithic pioneer, predating funerary traditions by 1,000 years

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Summary

Researchers from the Universidad de Alcala in Spain have studied human remains and artifacts discovered in the Galeria del Silex cave in Spain's Sierra de Atapuerca cave system. Radiocarbon dating of the remains of two individuals from two different chasms in the cave revealed that one individual (I-5) was a 13-year-old female from the Early Neolithic era, predating funerary traditions by over 1,000 years. The other individual (I-4) was an adult male from ~4,000 years ago, suggesting he may have been an ill-fated explorer from the Bronze Age.

Q&As

What evidence suggests that the remains of a 13-year-old girl found in the Galeria del Silex cave in Spain's Sierra de Atapuerca cave system are from the Early Neolithic era?
Radiocarbon dating on three of the remains, one from the young girl (I-5) of Sima A and two from Sima B, has placed these remains to the latter part of the 6th millennium BCE, over 7,000 years ago, establishing them as some of the oldest Neolithic human remains ever found in the interior of the Iberian Peninsula.

What artifacts were found in the cave alongside the human remains?
Thousands of human and animal remains, dozens of fire hearth remnants, and fragments of ceramic vessels.

What is the age of the oldest Neolithic funerary site found in the Iberian Peninsula?
7,000 years ago.

What techniques were used to determine the age of the human remains?
Radiocarbon dating.

What is the age of the individual found in Sima A who was initially thought to be from the Bronze Age?
~4,000 years ago.

AI Comments

👍 This fascinating article provides a great insight into the study of Early Neolithic human remains and artifacts found in the Galeria del Silex Cave. I'm amazed by the discovery of the 13-year-old girl's funerary site, which is over 1,000 years older than other Neolithic sites.

👎 This article fails to mention the ethical considerations of studying human remains. It also fails to provide any meaningful discussion about the significance of the findings.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about research conducted by the Universidad de Alcala, Spain, which revisited Early Neolithic human remains found within the Galeria del Silex cave in Spain's Sierra de Atapuerca cave system. They found five individuals' remains, and one of them was a 13-year-old girl who predates funerary traditions by 1,000 years.

Friend: Wow, that's incredible. What are the implications of this discovery?

Me: Well, it suggests that there was burial and funerary traditions in the Early Neolithic period, which is much earlier than previously thought. It also shows us how far back people have been living and burying their dead in the Iberian Peninsula, and it could even provide us with more insight into the customs and beliefs of those people.

Action items

Research the archaeological sites in the Iberian Peninsula to learn more about the Early Neolithic period.
Visit the Galeria del Silex cave in Sierra de Atapuerca to explore the artifacts and remains found there.
Read more about the funerary traditions of the Early Neolithic period to gain a better understanding of the 13-year-old girl's burial.

Technical terms

Fact-checked: A process of verifying the accuracy of facts in a piece of writing.
Peer-reviewed publication: A publication that has been reviewed by experts in the field before being published.
Trusted source: A source of information that is considered reliable and accurate.
Proofread: The process of reading a piece of writing to identify and correct errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Radiocarbon dating: A method of determining the age of an object by measuring the amount of radioactive carbon it contains.