Tuesday, December 13, 2011

77,000 year old evidence for ‘bedding’ and use of medicinal plants uncovered at South African rock shelter

An international team of researchers, with the participation of the University of Tübingen, have discovered the earliest evidence for the intentional construction of plant “bedding”.

An international team of archaeologists, with the participation of Christopher Miller, Juniorprofessor at the University of Tübingen, is reporting 77,000-year-old evidence for preserved plant bedding and the use of insect-repelling plants in a rock shelter in South Africa. This discovery is 50,000 years older than earlier reports of preserved bedding and provides a fascinating insight into the behavioural practices of early modern humans in southern Africa.

Click here to read this article from History of the Ancient World