- 03 October 2013 by David Robson
- Magazine issue 2937. Subscribe and save
- For similar stories, visit the The Human Brain and Human Evolution Topic Guides
WHEN Steven Mithen's team began to dig through the desert soil, his
expectations were low. "We thought it was just a big rubbish dump," he
says.
Still, even the prospect of rifling through trash was cause for some satisfaction. Mithen, an archaeologist at the University of Reading, UK, initially raised a few eyebrows when he told colleagues of his plans to dig for Stone Age ruins in south Jordan. "They said we'd never find anything there – it was a backwater," says Mithen. He proved them wrong by finding the remains of a primitive village. By sifting through its rubbish, he hoped to gain a glimpse of day-to-day life more than 11,000 years ago.
But as they dug through the detritus, one of his students came upon a polished, solid floor – hardly the kind of craftsmanship to waste on a communal tip. Then came a series of platforms engraved ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.
Still, even the prospect of rifling through trash was cause for some satisfaction. Mithen, an archaeologist at the University of Reading, UK, initially raised a few eyebrows when he told colleagues of his plans to dig for Stone Age ruins in south Jordan. "They said we'd never find anything there – it was a backwater," says Mithen. He proved them wrong by finding the remains of a primitive village. By sifting through its rubbish, he hoped to gain a glimpse of day-to-day life more than 11,000 years ago.
But as they dug through the detritus, one of his students came upon a polished, solid floor – hardly the kind of craftsmanship to waste on a communal tip. Then came a series of platforms engraved ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.
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