We cannot go back in time to study all the dark spots of history. We will never know much. But the studied bits of information are compiled into a whole, allowing us to learn more about the daily lives of our ancestors. From the found sticks and stones, archaeologists managed to find out interesting information about the lifestyle, diseases, nutrition and entertainment of an ancient person.
Recently, we wrote a fascinating article about facts from the life of a resident of the Golden Horde, which was a great success on our website TheBiggest.ru. Today we will again try to travel to ancient times and find interesting facts about many other ancient people.
1
The ancient Chinese made ice cream
Through the use of a chemical trick, the Chinese got delicious frozen goodies 3,000 years ago. They noticed that some minerals can lower the level of freezing water. In particular, when melting saltpeter, water can freeze by creating certain conditions. It is known that starting from 700 BC. e., the Chinese made a chilled mixture resembling ice cream, adding honey, cream or milk.
Over time, Chinese knowledge of ice cream came to Persia. They mixed the aromas of flowers and fruits with ice cream and called their resulting dainty “sharbet”. Translated from Arabic, “sharbet” means “fruit ice”. Over time, the name changed to the familiar “sherbet”.
2
Stones in the prostate tortured our ancestors
During excavations in Sudan at the al-Khidai cemetery, archaeologists discovered three strange smooth stones that lay next to the skeleton. Having carefully studied them, scientists came to the conclusion that these are not simple funerary or ritual stones. They most likely were inside the person during his life and, most likely, in the prostate.
As in the kidneys and gall bladder, the formation of stones in the prostate is due to the accumulation of excess calcium. In our modern time, surgery will help get rid of them, so we can assume that that ancient man suffered during his life. This finding showed that prostatic stones are not only a disease of modern man, it has quite ancient roots. People had such an ailment already 12 thousand years ago.
3
Various parasites were carried along the Silk Road
The Silk Road not only allowed the exchange of goods, but also was through the delivery and spread of diseases and other infections. Evidence of this was found in the ancient parking lot of Dunhuang in China. Scientists have found ancient toilet paper, which was 2000 years old. People of that time took a simple, soft cloth, wrapped around a special stick and the ancient toilet paper was ready. Even after so much time, traces of feces were found on the tissue. Arid conditions contributed to this.
After analyzing the material, scientists discovered various parasites from an unknown traveler, such as tapeworms, simple roundworms, and Chinese fluke, whose habitat was over 2 thousand kilometers.
By the way, we have on TheBiggest.ru an interesting article about the most amazing finds of archaeologists. We strongly recommend that you study it!
4
Women had to travel long distances to start a family
German archaeologists studied 84 skeletons that died between 2000 and 1500 BC. As a result, it turned out that most women had to overcome a minimum of 500-600 km. to create a family, while the deceased men were from the same places where they were born.
This "female-local" trend was observed throughout the entire period between the Late Stone Age and the beginning of the Bronze Age. This historical nuance allows us to change our views on gender relations of that time. Not always women sat around the hearth, but men fought, got food and robbed. Women also traveled long distances, sharing observations, customs, culture and their knowledge, and also started families.
5
The Romans built huge libraries
When construction work was carried out in one of the districts of Cologne, a wall built by the Romans was discovered. At first they took her for a part of the meeting room, but then they noticed peculiar shelves inside the wall. It turned out that the oldest library in Germany was found.
It is known that in about 38 BC the modern territory of Germany was ruled by the Romans. They also spread their culture and achievements. They built sewers, aqueducts, theaters and libraries, like the one that was discovered in Cologne. It was the height of a two-story building, to the brim full of parchment scrolls. According to scientists, there could be up to 20,000 scrolls. Roman curators kept strict records of parchments and sorted them into volumes.
6
Armenians made wine in huge jugs
Armenians are considered masters of winemaking due to the fact that they have been perfecting this art for more than 6 thousand years. Families of modern Armenians still hold relics associated with the winemaking traditions of this generous region. We are talking about a huge clay vessel called a crucian. It contained 910 liters of wine.
Now they are no longer used, but in ancient times in these giant vessels ancient wine wandered and stored. Winemakers of that time really loved their job. Evidence of this is the old cellar with crucian carpets, which could accommodate almost 400 thousand liters of wine. Karas were not lost for evidence of history. Even today they can be found in the cellars of Armenian families. Due to the large weight, they cannot be budged, and the huge size does not allow them to be carried out.
7
Cavemen made fire in tricky ways
Modern research has shown that Neanderthals not only relied on lightning to get fire. They had their own ways. They beat a piece of silicon on the mineral pyrite, from which sparks arose. Over time, they thought that dark, inert stones help to get fire.
Another find from the site of the French Pécs de Lazes indicates an even higher development of Neanderthals. Archaeologists have found boulders of manganese dioxide, on which man-made traces of friction were clearly visible. Their age is approximately 50 thousand years. When scientists examined the substance from the composition of boulders, they found that it allows the wood to ignite from 250 ° C, and not from 350 ° C.
8
Ancient people boxed
People have always enjoyed watching spectacular fights and fights. Boxing is over 5,000 years old, which originated in Egypt. In 688, this sport became Olympic in Ancient Greece, and in the Roman army they were engaged in boxing to increase the combat readiness of soldiers. Regular competitions and boxing tournaments were held, where one could watch the spectacle and throw out emotions.
Archaeologists have discovered many records and bronze sculptures of boxers, and in England a pair of boxing gloves were found, which are almost 2000 years old. They are made of leather and stuffed with fragrance inside. Most likely, these gloves were not intended for real combat and were used for training. The first real boxing gloves were supplied with a killer metal border.
9
Already 9 thousand years as a man tamed a dog
Engravings of the Holocene era tell us that we tamed dogs almost 9 thousand years ago. These engravings are in Saudi Arabia and are considered the oldest found images of domestic animals. One of the engravings depicts a hunter, around which a flock of dogs and some of them animals on a leash. Scientists suggest that the image of dogs in engraving is similar to the Canaan breed.
It was a close and mutually beneficial relationship between a dog and a person. Dogs were bred, trained and formed into groups to assist in hunting. In one of the cave paintings you can count 21 dogs.
By the way, on our site Thebiggest.ru there are many interesting articles about dogs. For example, the largest, most dangerous, smallest and smartest dog breeds! There is also an article about the richest dogs in the world.
10
Children accompanied adults on a hunt
With very scarce information, scientists can put together a global historical scene together and reveal a fact. The following evidence relates to parenting in ancient society, which was obtained on the basis of traces of 700 thousand years ago. Ancient traces are not easy to find, but they were found in Ethiopia at the site of a volcanic formation in the Melka Kuntur area.
Small traces most likely belong to children 1-2 years old. Among the tracks also found adult prints and prints of animals that came to the watering hole. In the same place they found traces of a hippo killed by people and left meat cutters. All this indicates that the children did not stay at home, but went hunting together with adults, so that from an early age they could learn vital skills.
And what interesting facts about the life of ancient people do you know? Please share in the comments.
Article author: sergej1984