skywizard
30th September 2013, 17:02
http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/blogs/dnews-files-2013-09-hyena-gallery-jpg.jpg
Human hair found in fossilized hyena poop suggests that our ancestors satisfied the hunger of others during prehistoric times.
The fossilized dung, part of a �hyena latrine,� will be described in the upcoming October issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science. The latrine was first found a few years ago at Gladysvale cave in the Sterkfontein Valley of South Africa, but it recently went through an additional barrage of testing.
Our ancestors there lived around a literally wild bunch about 257,000 years ago.
�Based on the fossil hairs identified here, this research has established that brown hyenas shared the Sterkfontein Valley with hominins, warthog, impala, zebra and kudu,� authors Phillip Taru and Lucinda Backwell wrote.
They continued, �Apart from humans, these animals are associated with savanna grasslands, much like the Highveld environment of today.�
It sounds like there are three ways in which the hairs could have wound up where they did:
1. The hyena ate a person(s). This happens even today, so it�s very possible.
2. The hyena scavenged a dead person�s body.
3. Somehow the hyena consumed a blob of human hair. Hey, you never know. If the hyena were hungry enough, it might have sampled all kinds of weird things.
What�s clear, at least, is that humans were at the site.
Read More At: http://news.discovery.com/animals/human-hair-confirmed-in-prehistoric-hyena-feces-130930.htm
peace...
skywizard
Human hair found in fossilized hyena poop suggests that our ancestors satisfied the hunger of others during prehistoric times.
The fossilized dung, part of a �hyena latrine,� will be described in the upcoming October issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science. The latrine was first found a few years ago at Gladysvale cave in the Sterkfontein Valley of South Africa, but it recently went through an additional barrage of testing.
Our ancestors there lived around a literally wild bunch about 257,000 years ago.
�Based on the fossil hairs identified here, this research has established that brown hyenas shared the Sterkfontein Valley with hominins, warthog, impala, zebra and kudu,� authors Phillip Taru and Lucinda Backwell wrote.
They continued, �Apart from humans, these animals are associated with savanna grasslands, much like the Highveld environment of today.�
It sounds like there are three ways in which the hairs could have wound up where they did:
1. The hyena ate a person(s). This happens even today, so it�s very possible.
2. The hyena scavenged a dead person�s body.
3. Somehow the hyena consumed a blob of human hair. Hey, you never know. If the hyena were hungry enough, it might have sampled all kinds of weird things.
What�s clear, at least, is that humans were at the site.
Read More At: http://news.discovery.com/animals/human-hair-confirmed-in-prehistoric-hyena-feces-130930.htm
peace...
skywizard