People began to populate Central Asia earlier than previously thought, and even then they were drawn to beauty. He talked about this and much more Director of the Institute of Archeology and Ethnography SB RAS Corresponding Member of the RAS Andrey Krivoshapkin at a seminar within the framework of the Days of Science and Culture of Uzbekistan in the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok.

The historian gave a scientific report, the topic of which was the results of excavations of the Obi-Rakhmat grotto in the Tashkent region. Scientists are particularly interested in this archaeological site, because it forced them to rethink many traditionally established ideas in the scientific community.

Based on the findings, it became obvious that the ancestors of modern people lived there for about 90 thousand years, and not 40 thousand, as previously thought.

“Even then, the tools were advanced and even elegant,” noted Krivoshapkin.

He showed small, slightly larger than a fingernail, tips with notches.

“Now we understand that already 80-90 thousand years ago a person lived with something spiritual. The notches did not appear from cutting animals, but were applied with meaning. The image of signs such as arrows and birds is clearly symbolic behavior,” the scientist commented.

In addition, he spoke about the remains of a child who lived about 60 thousand years ago: “And here’s what’s surprising: the structure of the skull is almost modern, the labyrinth of the inner ear is typically Neanderthal, and the size of the teeth is simply huge, especially for a child of nine or ten years old. There is a combination of modern , archaic and atypical in one ancient individual.”

Unfortunately, it was not possible to extract DNA from the bones, but it is very likely that people of different species actively interbred with each other – it is not for nothing that archaeologists call Central Asia the “melting pot” of anthropogenesis.

“I am sure that Stone Age archeology will bring us more and more surprises,” the specialist concluded.