Tag: Ngách kho báu

A Deserted World: Here are Soмe Iмages We’ʋe Gathered:

#1 Wreck Of The Ten Sails. Shipwreck Eʋent Occurred Off The East End Of Grand Cayмan On 8 FeƄruary 1794

#2 Marton Mogyorosy Lake Iseo, Italy!

#3  A 14th Century AƄandoned Castle In Scotland

#4  The Most Isolated Lighthouse In The World, Þrídrangaʋiti Lighthouse, Perched Atop A Rock Pillar In The Westмan Islands, Off The Coast Of Iceland

Sits aƄout forty мeters aƄoʋe the raging Atlantic Ocean, was Ƅuilt in 1939

#5 Soloмon Islands

#6 Cinque Terre Italy island house

Is it a castle or a house? Whateʋer it is we’d loʋe to spend a week on this priʋate island in Cinque Terre Italy… guessing we can’t afford it though so Glaмping it is!

#7 Súgandisey, ʋiewing platforм – KRADS ARCHITECTURE

#8 A Berieʋ Be-6 aмphiƄious aircraft is pictured in Russia’s Murмansk region. The planes operated froм 1949 until the late 1960s in Russia and China.

Priмarily for мaritiмe reconnaissance and patrol, the aircraft were also inʋolʋed in torpedo/ƄoмƄing strikes, мine-laying, and transport operations

Scientists have always been captivated by the variety of family systems in prehistoric societies. The origins and genetic make-up of prehistoric family communities have recently been better understood thanks to research conducted by Mainz anthropologists and an international team of archaeologists.

A skeleton from the Nepluyevsky site. Credit: Svetlana Sharapova

The genomes of bones from an extended family from a Bronze Age necropolis in the Russian steppe have been examined by researchers Jens Blöcher and Joachim Burger from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU). On the boundary between Europe and Asia, the 3,800-year-old Nepluyevsky burial mound was discovered few years ago.

The family and marriage ties in this society have now been analyzed using statistical genomics. The research was done in collaboration with archaeologists from Frankfurt am Main and Ekaterinburg, and it was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The graves of six brothers, their spouses, kids, and grandkids were located in the kurgan (burial mound) that was under investigation. With two spouses, one of which was from the eastern Asian steppe regions, the brother who was apparently the oldest produced eight children. The other brothers appeared to be monogamous with much fewer offspring and exhibited no symptoms of polygamy.

Incredible image of a prehistoric family

“The burial site provides a fascinating snapshot of a prehistoric family,” explains Blöcher, lead author of the study. “It is remarkable that the first-born brother apparently had a higher status and thus greater chances of reproduction. The right of the male firstborn seems familiar to us, it is known from the Old Testament, for example, but also from the aristocracy in historical Europe.”

Even more is revealed by the genetic data. Immigrants made up the bulk of the women buried in the kurgan. The buried brothers’ sisters, meanwhile, relocated to new residences elsewhere. According to Burger, “female marriage mobility is a common pattern that makes sense from an economic and evolutionary perspective. While one sex stays local and ensures the continuity of the family line and property, the other marries in from the outside to prevent inbreeding.”

Compared to men, prehistoric women had a higher level of genetic diversity

Therefore, the genomic diversity of the prehistoric women was larger than that of the men, according to the Mainz population geneticists. As a result, the ladies who married into the family were not linked to one another and came from a wider region. They accompanied their husbands into the grave in their new country. The authors draw the conclusion that Nepluyevsky had “patrilineality,” or the transfer of regional customs through the male line, as well as “patrilocality,” or the idea that a family’s home is where the males live.

According to Svetlana Sharapova, an archaeologist from Ekaterinburg who is in charge of the excavation, “Archaeology shows that 3,800 years ago, the population in the southern Trans-Ural knew cattle breeding and metalworking and subsisted mainly on dairy and meat products. The state of health of the family buried here must have been very poor. The average life expectancy of the women was 28 years, that of the men 36 years.”

In the most recent generation, the kurgan was almost exclusively used by newborns and young children. Furthermore, according to Sharapova, “it is possible that the inhabitants were decimated by disease or that the remaining population went elsewhere in search of a better life.”

The presumed firstborn son has had numerous partners and children

“There is a global connection between different family systems and certain forms of life-style and economy,” says Blöcher. “Nevertheless, human societies are characterized by a high degree of flexibility.” He adds, “in Nepluyevsky, we find evidence of a pattern of inequality typical of pastoralists: multiple partners and many children for the putative firstborn son and no or monogamous relationships for most others.”

The authors uncover more genomic proof suggesting groups with ancestries similar to those of Neplujevsky culture existed across the majority of the Eurasian steppe region. According to Burger, “It is quite possible that the local pattern we found is relevant to a much larger area.” The validity of the “Neplujevsky” paradigm at other prehistoric sites in Eurasia will be the subject of further research.

Ancient Europe’s history would not have been the same without the intriguing Celts. Irish people have long been thought to be closely linked to the Celts, although this hypothesis may not be accurate.

On Rathlin Island near Antrim, Bertie Currie discovered a sizable, flat stone buried beneath the ground in 2006. He was preparing the area to build a driveway for McCuaig’s Bar at the time.

Currie looked more closely after noticing a sizable gap beneath the stone.

What Carrie found has the potential to dramatically rewrite ancient Irish history. “I shot the torch in and saw the gentleman, well, his skull and bones,” Currie reportedly said to the Washington Post.

Finally, he discovered the remains of three people, and he immediately dialed the police.

Scientists in Ireland and Britain have now investigated the ancient relics, and their findings indicate that these individuals predate the Celts by about 1,000 years and are the forefathers of present Irish people, according to DNA evidence.

In essence, Irish DNA was there in Ireland long before the Celts arrived on the island.

“Radiocarbon dating at Currie’s McCuaig’s Bar found that the ancient bones date back to at least 2,000 BC, which is hundreds of years older than the oldest known Celtic artifacts anywhere in the world,” Irish Central reports.

According to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, the bones were very similar to those of modern Irish, Scottish, and Welsh people.

“The DNA evidence based on those bones completely upends the traditional view,” stated Barry Cunliffe, an emeritus professor of archaeology at Oxford University.

This implies that the finding might fundamentally alter how Irish ancestry is perceived.

A lost Maya city was found by archaeologists in the southern Mexican jungle. According to a statement from the Mexico National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the site is situated in the Balamkú natural reserve in the state of Campeche’s central region.

Archaeologists believe that the location, which has a number of substantial pyramidal buildings, was a significant center in the area during the Classic period of the Maya civilization (about 250–1,000 A.D.).

Up until the time of Spanish colonization, the Maya civilization ruled over what is now southeast Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and the western regions of El Salvador and Honduras for more than 3,000 years.

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They are known for their spectacular architecture and artwork, as well as their sophisticated calendar, mathematics, and astronomical system. They also devised the only fully developed writing system in pre-Columbian America.

Ivan Prajc’s group of archaeologists made the most recent find at the “monumental” Maya site at Balamkú.

Because of the numerous cylindrical stone columns that are sprinkled all throughout the prehistoric settlement, the study team has given the location the name “Ocomtn,” which means “stone column” in the Yucatec Maya language. The columns probably served as entrances to the upper rooms of the city’s structures.

The site was found as a result of an INAH-approved research initiative that sought to learn more about a vast, mainly unexplored region in the state of Campeche that was essentially unknown to archaeologists.

Researchers employed LiDAR technology and aerial surveys to identify many pre-Hispanic structures as part of their research in this region.

LiDAR uses equipment mounted on aircraft that fires laser light pulses at the ground at a rate of hundreds of thousands per second. The information gathered is then utilized to produce intricate 3D maps that depict the topography of the area and any previously hidden features created by ancient humans.

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Archaeologists also carried out fieldwork, traveling nearly 40 miles through dense vegetation to get to the location.

According to Prajc, investigators discovered three plazas in the southeast corner of the site that were dominated by massive structures. There is a complex made up of different low, elongated buildings that are grouped practically in concentric circles between the two main plazas. A ball court that was used for pre-Hispanic ball activities was also found by researchers.

Archaeologists estimate the height of one pyramid, which is situated in the northern portion of the site, to be about 82 feet (25 meters), while others can reach heights of up to 50 feet (15 meters).

The site’s location on a “peninsula” of high ground, encircled by vast wetlands, ended up being the biggest surprise. Its imposing core is more than 50 hectares in size and is home to a number of big buildings, including numerous 15-meter-tall pyramidal constructions.

Maybe throughout the classical era, the location operated as a significant regional center.

Architectural remains at the site suggest that the village experienced a fall during the Terminal Classic period (800–1,000 A.D.), a turbulent time for Maya civilization.

This data shows how ideologies and populations changed throughout times of crisis, which ultimately resulted in the breakdown of the intricate sociopolitical structure and a sharp fall in population in the Maya Central Lowlands by the 10th century.

A quarrelsome ancient Egyptian monarch left Thebes, his name, his religion, and his throne three thousand four hundred years ago. What followed is known to archaeologists: The short-lived city of Akhenaten was founded by the pharaoh Akhenaten, who ruled alongside his wife Nefertiti and practiced sun worship there. After his passing, his young son, Tutankhamun, ascended to the throne of Egypt and rejected his contentious father’s legacy.

Nestled within the sands of ancient Egypt lies an enigma that has confounded historians and archaeologists for centuries: the lost Golden City of Akhenaten. As the heretical pharaoh who upended Egypt’s traditional religious order, Akhenaten’s reign was as controversial as it was transformative. But beyond his religious revolution, there whispers a tale of a majestic city, splendid in its architecture and grandeur, glittering with gold—Akhetaten, the Horizon of the Aten. This fabled city, dedicated to the sun god Aten, became the epicenter of Akhenaten’s new monotheistic religion. Yet, as swiftly as it rose to prominence, it vanished, leaving behind only fragments of its former glory. Journey with us as we venture back in time, sifting through myths, hieroglyphs, and the sands of time to unravel the mystery of the lost Golden City of Akhenaten.

Akhenaten, originally named Amenhotep IV, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh who reigned during the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom period, approximately around 1353–1336 BCE. His reign is one of the most debated and analyzed in Egyptian history, primarily because of the radical religious transformation he instigated. Here are some key aspects of his reign:

1. Religious Revolution:

– Akhenaten is best known for introducing a form of monotheism to ancient Egypt. While the Egyptian pantheon consisted of numerous gods and goddesses, Akhenaten elevated the worship of the sun disk, Aten, above all others. This worship eventually evolved to a point where only Aten was recognized as the supreme deity.

– This shift led to Akhenaten’s infamous decision to suppress the traditional cult of Amun and other gods. The temples of these gods were closed, and their clergy lost their influence.

2. Akhetaten (Modern-day Amarna):

– Akhenaten founded a new city called Akhetaten, which means “Horizon of the Aten,” situated midway between Memphis and Thebes. Today, it’s known as Amarna.

– This city became the new religious and political capital during his reign, moving away from the traditional power centers, especially Thebes.

3. Artistic Innovations:

– The Amarna period, named after the city, is renowned for its distinctive art style. This style was more realistic and relaxed than the formal, traditional Egyptian art. It often depicted the royal family with elongated skulls, slanted eyes, and protruding bellies.

– This unique portrayal has led to numerous speculations, ranging from stylistic choices to potential medical conditions.

4. Family:

– Akhenaten was married to Nefertiti, one of the most famous queens of Egypt. Together, they had several daughters.

– Some scholars believe that Akhenaten might also have been the father of Tutankhamun, the boy-king, though this relationship is debated.

5. End of His Reign and Legacy:

– Akhenaten’s reign lasted around 17 years. After his death, there was a concerted effort to restore the traditional polytheistic religion. This move was led by his successors, notably King Tutankhamun.

– Many of Akhenaten’s reforms were reversed posthumously. His city, Akhetaten, was abandoned, and many of its monuments were dismantled. The traditional religious order was restored, and the cult of Amun regained its preeminent status.

– Akhenaten became somewhat of a ‘heretical’ figure in later Egyptian history, with many records of him and his immediate successors (except Tutankhamun) being omitted or defaced.

Akhenaten’s reign stands out as a profound period of change in ancient Egypt’s long history. While his monotheistic revolution was short-lived, it provided a tantalizing glimpse into the complexities of ancient Egyptian society, religion, and politics.

Unveiling the tales of the past is often a task of connecting hidden threads. In this light, the Griffin Warrior grave in Pylos, Greece, reveals an intriguing tale of combat and craftsmanship in the Aegean Bronze Age. A key thread that connects the Griffin Warrior to the Minoans is the bronze sword with a gold pommel found in his grave—a weapon strikingly similar to that wielded by a warrior depicted on the Pylos Combat Agate.

THE GRIFFIN WARRIOR AND HIS GRAVE

Unearthed in 2015, the grave of the Griffin Warrior, so named for the mythical beast depicted on an ivory plaque found with the burial, dates back to around 1450 B.C. The tomb is of immense archaeological significance due to the remarkable preservation of the rich collection of grave goods.Among the multitude of artifacts discovered, a bronze sword with a gold pommel stands out. The sword’s ornate construction and precious metal adornment suggest that it was the possession of a high-ranking warrior or a nobleman.

University of Cincinnati/Pylos Excavations

THE MINOAN CONNECTION: THE HORNED HILT SWORD

The sword found in the Griffin Warrior’s tomb is not just any weapon; it is a Minoan-type sword with a distinctive horned hilt. This immediately draws parallels with Minoan Crete, an advanced civilization renowned for its art, architecture, and metalwork.The Minoans had a particular style of sword-making that distinguished their weaponry from others of the Bronze Age. The key distinguishing feature is the ‘horns, or projections, at the base of the hilt, forming a sort of guard for the hand. Such horned hilts are prevalent in depictions of warriors in Minoan art and have been found in archaeological contexts across Crete.

Well preserved Ci and Cii Types sword from Crete.

THE PYLOS COMBAT AGATE

Interestingly, this Minoan-type sword with a horned hilt makes a significant appearance in a tiny but highly detailed seal stone discovered within the Griffin Warrior’s tomb. This seal stone, known as the Pylos Combat Agate, depicts a fierce combat scene.A warrior on the Agate, presumably the Griffin Warrior himself, is portrayed as having already defeated one opponent and turning to engage another. In his hand, he wields a sword that bears a striking resemblance to the bronze sword with the gold pommel found in the tomb.

CONNECTING THE DOTS

This correlation between the Minoan-type sword found in the Griffin Warrior’s grave and the one depicted on the Pylos Combat Agate hints at a profound connection. It reflects a shared culture, or at least a strong cultural influence, between the Mycenaeans and the Minoans during the Late Minoan period.The presence of a Minoan-type sword in the Mycenaean warrior’s grave suggests that either the Griffin Warrior was of Minoan origin or, more likely, that he had strong connections with the Minoan culture. Perhaps he traded with them, fought with or against them, or admired their craftsmanship enough to acquire such a weapon.The parallels also underline the significance of swords during the Aegean Bronze Age. As symbols of power and status, they were part of the identity of the warrior elite. The fine craftsmanship and the use of precious materials for this particular sword show how high-ranking warriors in the Late Bronze Age Aegean sought to enhance their prestige and project their power through their weapons.

Found among the Griffin Warrior’s many grave goods, the Combat Agate depicts a scene among three warriors. Two are locked in deadly combat and one has fallen to the ground.PHOTOGRAPH BY J. VANDERPOOL, DEPARTMENT OF CLASSICS, UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

The Griffin Warrior and the Minoan-type sword with a horned hilt form an intriguing archaeological puzzle. Their shared presence in the grave and the depiction on the Pylos Combat Agate speak volumes about the interconnectedness of the Aegean world during the Bronze Age. It is a fascinating tale of warriors, craftsmen, and civilizations woven through the lens of archaeology, revealing the splendors and complexities of our human past.

Baia was the Las Vegas of the Roman Empire – the place where the rich and powerful came to carry out their illicit affairs.

Rome’s ultra-wealthy took weekend trips here to party. Powerful statesmen built luxurious villas on its beach, with heated spas and mosaic-tiled pools where they could indulge their wildest desires. One resident even commissioned a nymphaeum – a private grotto surrounded by marble statues, dedicated solely to ‘earthly pleasure’.

More than 2,000 years ago, Baia was the Las Vegas of the Roman Empire – a resort town approximately 30km from Naples on Italy’s caldera-peppered west coast that catered to the whims of poets, generals and everyone in between. The great orator Cicero composed speeches from his retreat by the bay, while the poet Virgil and the naturalist Pliny maintained residences within easy reach of the rejuvenating public baths.

It was also the place where the rich and powerful came to carry out their illicit affairs.

“There are many tales of intrigue associated with Baia,” said John Smout, a researcher who has partnered with local archaeologists to study the site. Rumour has it that Cleopatra escaped in her boat from Baia after Julius Caesar was murdered in 44BC, while Julia Agrippina plotted her husband Claudius’ death at Baia so her son Nero could become emperor of Rome.

“She poisoned Claudius with deadly mushrooms,” Smout explained. “But he somehow survived, so that same night, Agrippina got her physician to administer an enema of poisonous wild gourd, which finally did the trick.”

Mineral waters and a mild climate first attracted Rome’s nobility to Baia in the latter half of the 2nd Century BC, and the town was known to them as the Phlegraean (or ‘flaming’) Fields, so named because of the calderas that pockmark the region.

“I visited the site as a boy and the guide poked an umbrella into the ground and steam and lava came out,” Smout recalled.

The calderas were revered by the ancient Greeks and Romans as entrances to the underworld, but they also fuelled a number of technological advancements: the local invention of waterproof cement, a mixture of lime and volcanic rock, spurred construction of airy domes and marbled facades, as well as private fish ponds and lavish bath houses.

But given Baia’s sinful reputation, it is perhaps fitting that the abundance of volcanic activity in the area was also its downfall. Over several centuries, bradyseism, the gradual rise and fall of the Earth’s surface caused by hydrothermal and seismic activity, caused much of the city to sink into a watery grave, where it still sits today.

Tourist interest in the once-popular coastline was only renewed in the 1940s when a pilot shared an aerial photo of an edifice just below the ocean’s surface. Soon, geologists puzzled over boreholes left by molluscs on ruins found near the shore, tell-tale signs that parts of the hillside had once dipped below sea level. Two decades later, Italian officials commissioned a submarine to survey the underwater parts of the city.

What they found was fascinating: since Roman times, underground pressure has caused the land surrounding Baia to continuously rise and fall, pushing the ancient ruins upwards towards the sea’s surface before slowly swallowing them again – a kind of geological purgatory.

The ruins beneath the sea’s surface were the province of just a few intrepid archaeologists until recently. The underwater archaeological site was not formally designated a marine protected area and until 2002, which is when it opened to the public. Since then, 3D-scanning technology and other advances in marine archaeology have offered first-time glimpses into this chapter of antiquity: divers, historians and photographers have captured submerged rotundas and porticos, including the famed Temple of Venus (not a temple, but a thermal sauna) – discoveries that have in turn provided clues to Rome’s most outrageous debauchery.

Because of the undulation of the Earth’s crust, these ruins actually lie in relatively shallow water, at an average depth of 6m, allowing visitors to see some of its eerie underwater structures from a glass-bottomed boat, or videobarca. Local diving centres such as the Centro Sub Campi Flegreo (who partnered with the BBC on a recent documentary about Baia) also offer snorkelling and scuba tours of the submerged city a few kilometres out in the Tyrrhenian Sea. On a calm day, visitors can spot Roman columns, ancient roads and elaborately paved plazas. Statues of Octavia Claudia (Emperor Claudius’ sister) and Ulysses mark the entrance to underwater grottos, their outstretched arms flecked with barnacles.

There’s plenty to see above the water line, as well. In fact, many of the submerged sculptures are actually replicas; the originals can be found up the hill at the Baia Castle, where the Archaeological Superintendency for Campania manages a museum of relics pulled from the sea. Many above-ground Roman ruins are also visible nearby at the Parco Archeologico delle Terme di Baia, the portion of the ancient city still above sea level.Excavated in the 1950s by Amedeo Maiuri, the archaeologist who also unearthed Pompeii and Herculaneum, the on-land historical site features the remains of mosaic terraces and domed bathhouses.

Surrounding the Parco Archeologico delle Terme di Baia, modern Baia is a shadow of its former magnificence, though it still captures the spirit of idleness and pleasure. These days the coastline that was once peppered with mansions and bathhouses features a small marina, a hotel and a handful of seafood restaurants lining a narrow road running north-east toward Naples.

Time may be running out to see this lost relic of ancient Italy’s opulence: seismologists predict further volcanic activity along Baia’s coast in the near future, rendering the city’s fate uncertain once again. Twenty small earthquakes were recorded in the area this past year alone, and talk in recent years has touched on permanently closing the sunken ruins to visitors.

For now, however, visitors can search this underwater city for a hidden entrance – if not to the underworld, then at least to some spectacular subterranean treasures.

According to academics, one of the earliest depictions of male sexuality ever discovered is a polished and carved phallus discovered in a German cave.

The 20 cm long by 3 cm wide stone artifact, which is thought to be roughly 28,000 years old, was discovered buried in the renowned Hohle Fels Cave in the Swabian Jura region, close to Ulm.

14 pieces of siltstone were used to put the ancient “tool” back together.

Because of its lifelike size, scientists speculate that its Ice Age creators may have used it as a sex aid.

It was occasionally employed for knapping flints as well as being a symbolic representation of male genitalia, according to Professor Nicholas Conard of the Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology department at Tübingen University.

He emphasizes, “There are some locations where it has some pretty characteristic scars from that.”

There can be little debate about the object’s symbolic origins, according to researchers, because of its unusual design and the engraved rings that surround one end.

It is extremely polished and easily recognizable, according to Professor Conard.

The phallus’ 13 broken pieces were previously stored by the Tübingen team working at Hohle Fels, but it wasn’t until the discovery of a 14th component last year that the team was finally able to put the “jigsaw” back together.

The various stone pieces were all found in a well-dated ash layer in the cave complex linked to current human activity (not their pre-historic “cousins”, the Neanderthals).

One of the most amazing excavation sites in central Europe is this one. Thousands of Upper Palaeolithic artifacts have been found at Hohle Fels, which is located in the Ach River Valley and is more than 500 meters above sea level.

Some of them have been genuinely stunning in their intricacy and detail, like a 30,000-year-old mammoth-ivory bird figurine. It is said to be among the oldest examples of a bird in the historical record.

Some slightly older stone artifacts that are plainly phallic emblems are known to science; of special note are those from France and Morocco. Yet, it is quite difficult to find any depictions of male genitalia from this historical period.

Male representations are quite uncommon, according to Professor Conard. “Female images with highly accentuated sexual features are fairly well documented at several sites,” he said.

According to the most recent research, the Swabian Jura in southwest Germany was one of the key areas for cultural innovation after modern humans first arrived in Europe approximately 40,000 years ago.

Scientists discovered an incredibly rare baby dinosaur egg that is estimated to be a 70-million-year-old fossil.

They named it the Baby Yingliang after the name of the Chinese museum where it’s currently housed. The fossil egg preserves the embryonic skeleton of an oviraptorid dinosaur. Researchers published their findings on Tuesday and said the baby dinosaur’s posture is similar to that of a late-stage modern bird embryo.

The baby dinosaur is estimated to be about 70 million years old and a type of oviraptorosaur, a group of beaked therapod dinosaurs closely related to modern birds that lived about 130 million to 66 million years ago, according to National Geographic.

The egg was exceptionally preserved at around 7 inches long, and the baby dinosaur inside was estimated to be about 11 inches long from head to tail. Researchers believe that if it had lived, it would have grown to be about 2 to 3 meters long.

The baby fossil egg was found in China’s Jiangxi province and acquired in 2000 by Liang Liu, director of Yingliang Group, a Chinese stone company. The egg wound up in storage and wasn’t analyzed until about 10 years later during the construction of the Yingliang Stone Nature History Museum.

Skeletons of dinosaurs are rarely preserved in the embryonic stage, while the animal is unhatched from its egg. Through the discovery of Baby Yingliang, researchers from China, the U.K. and Canada were able to study the positions of the dinosaur with other previously found oviraptorid embryos. According to CNN, they concluded that they were moving and changing poses before hatching in a way similar to baby birds.

Baby birds typically move in a way called tucking, which is controlled by the central nervous system and critical for a successful hatching. Beyond the pre-hatching behavior, Zelenitsky told CNN that dinosaurs were also known to sit on top of their eggs to incubate them, similar to the way birds do.

All birds evolved directly from a group of two-legged dinosaurs known as theropods, which include the Tyrannosaurus rex and smaller velociraptors.

Age-old bat skeletons, which are thought to have existed 53 million years ago, provide new insight into early mammalian flight and show a newly identified species.

Two of the oldest bat fossils are described in a new study that was just published in PLOS ONE and may help researchers understand how these flying mammals spread all over the world.

The roughly 1.5-inch-long bat skeletons were discovered in a fossil deposit close to Kemmerer, Wyoming. They were discovered in a fossil-rich geologic deposit of prehistoric marshes and lakes from the Eocene period, which lasted for about 50 million years. The region, known as the Green River Formation, includes portions of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. Researchers estimate the age of the fossilized bats to be roughly 53 million years old, making them the oldest bat fossils ever found. This estimate is based on the age of the sediment layers that surround the fossils. During this time, it is considered that bats initially diverged from non-flying mammals.

Fig 1. Skeleton of Holotype of Icaronycteris gunnelli (FM.145747A) A) Dorsal view; B) Counterpart (FM.145747B).

The bones were then compared to those of other species, leading paleontologists to the conclusion that they belonged to the extinct Icaronycteris genus of bats. The newly discovered bats differed from other Eocene bats in a number of ways, including the existence of claws on the first and second digits of the wings, relatively short forearms, and large wings. It was named Icaronycteris gunnelli, after the late Duke University paleontologist Gregg Gunnell, who made significant contributions to the study of bat evolution, by the researchers.

RIETBERGEN ET AL., PLOS ONE, DOI: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0283505 (2023)

Bats are a diverse group of mammals with over 1,400 living species worldwide. They play a vital role in healthy natural ecosystems and provide essential ecosystem services for human economies. Bats are the only mammals capable of true powered flight, an adaptation that evolved early in the chiropteran lineage. Early bat records date back to the early Eocene, with bats found in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australasia. The fossil record of early bat evolution is relatively poorly understood, with most skeletons consisting of isolated teeth.

The oldest known articulated bat skeletons come from mid-shore deposits of the Green River Formation in southwestern Wyoming. Two fossil bat species have been described from the Fossil Lake Sediments, but no other species have been described from other lakes. The high taxonomic and functional diversity of living bat faunas today suggests that the area and habitats reflected in the Green River Formation hosted more bat species than previously discovered.