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Post by xXSpookyXx on Nov 6, 2008 19:19:53 GMT -11
Submitted by OctopusRex: The skeleton of a 12,000 year-old Natufian Shaman has been discovered in northern Israel by archaeologists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The burial is described as being accompanied by "exceptional" grave offerings - including 50 complete tortoise shells, the pelvis of a leopard and a human foot. The shaman burial is thought to be one of the earliest known from the archaeological record and the only shaman grave in the whole region. Dr. Leore Grosman of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University, who is heading the excavation at the Natufian site of Hilazon Tachtit in the western Galilee, says that the elaborate and invested interment rituals and method used to construct and seal the grave suggest that this woman had a very high standing within the community. Details of the discovery were published in the PNAS journal on November 3, 2008. What was found in the shaman's grave? The grave contained body parts of several animals that rarely occur in Natufian assemblages. These include fifty tortoises, the near-compete pelvis of a leopard, the wing tip of a golden eagle, tail of a cow, two marten skulls and the forearm of a wild boar which was directly aligned with the woman's left humerus. A human foot belonging to an adult individual who was substantially larger than the interred woman was also found in the grave. Dr. Grosman believes this burial is consistent with expectations for a shaman's grave. www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewnews.php?id=139850
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Post by bowl on Nov 7, 2008 1:10:12 GMT -11
Really interesting, there is also a link to the finding of Sodom and Gomorrah. I added that site to my favorites...
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