An international research team led by archaeologists from Yekaterinburg and Berlin has discovered prehistoric fortified settlements in a remote region of Siberia. The article was published in the scientific journal magazine Ancient ages.
Scientists examined the ruins of city walls discovered near the Amni River in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug. Radiocarbon dating showed that the buildings were built 8,000 years ago, making them the oldest known structures of this type in history.
The team discovered 10 fortifications consisting of bunkers surrounded by dikes and wooden fences.
“Our new paleobotanical and stratigraphic studies show that the inhabitants of Western Siberia maintained a complex lifestyle based on the rich resources of the taiga environment,” said archaeologist Tanya Schreiber, co-author of the study.
Stone Age people living in northwest Siberia fished in the Amnya River and hunted deer and reindeer using bone and stone-tipped spears. They made ceramic vessels to store excess loot.
According to scientists, such ancient fortifications indicate that there was competition between hunter-gatherer societies and led to conflicts. This refutes previous theories that suggested Stone Age people did not fight each other for resources and that permanent settlements with defensive structures appeared only after the transition to a sedentary lifestyle and agriculture.
Previous scientists refuted One of the myths about human settlement in Europe.
Source: Gazeta
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