Top 10 Unsolved Prehistoric Mysteries

some of the lines are thousands of meters all the way up to 25 miles and this is quite incredible welcome to watch Mojo and today we're counting down enduring mysteries from The Mists of prehistory inevitably in archaeology if we don't know what something is for we think of ritual but really it's pure speculation number 10 the purpose of Stonehenge every year a million people descend on Stonehenge they ask the age-old questions about this mysterious Monument this famed prehistoric monument located in Wiltshire England was constructed around 5,000 years ago its Origins have been a topic of speculation with conjectures including an astronomical Observatory a religious site or a place for rituals recent archaeological findings suggest Stonehenge may have been part of a larger sacred landscape including nearby burial mounds and ceremonial Pathways nearly 60 human burials were excavated here many in that outer ring of 56 pits known as the Aubrey holes the transportation and erection of its massive Stones Some weighing up to 25 tons remains an impressive feat considering the limited technology of the time the alignment of the stones with solstices suggests a connection to celestial events stonehenge's design and construction exhibit sophisticated understanding of mathematics and astronomy by its Builders and what it's probably telling us is about a connection in people's minds between the Sun and the seasonal cycle and how by having the right ceremonials at the right time they could keep in harmony with the cosmos number nine the settlement of the Americas the timing and route of the first human settlement in the Americas have been the subject of extensive research and discussion among archaeologists and anthropologists while the traditional theory suggests migration from Asia to North America via the bearing land bridge around 13,000 years ago recent discoveries challenge this timeline there are plenty of unresolved questions about this though like when exactly the migration happened and why the ancient Native American and East Asian genomes are so different sites like Monte Verde in Chile and Bluefish caves in Canada suggest an earlier presence potentially predating the Clovis culture this gave rise to a new theory that humans may have traveled by boat starting in beringia and sailing down the coast some 16,000 years ago these findings imply alternative migration routes including Coastal or island hopping paths genetic Studies have added complexity to the debate indicating multiple waves of migration understanding the initial peopling of the Americas sheds light on migration patterns and the adaptation of humans to new environments number eight the tassili najer rock art numerous paintings some dating back 8,000 years give us a glimpse of how life changed and evolved in the Sahara over the centuries located in the Sahara Desert of Algeria the T C njir Plateau features one of the most important collections of prehistoric rock art in the world the art dating back to the Neolithic period includes thousands of paintings and Engravings depicting a wide range of subjects this 3M tall painting of a Godlike figure is the oldest painting in the area his biceps and horns are symbols of power and strength these Works illustrate a transition from a wetter climate with Savanah like environments to the current desert conditions the art provides Clues about the lifestyle beliefs and environment of the prehistoric inhabitants of the region the depiction of animals such as giraffes elephants and cattle indicate a once diverse and abundant wildlife paintings dating from around 6,000 years ago show people tending large herds of cows but there are also scenes of battles with bows and arrows number seven the extinction of meapa when in recent history the fossils of meapa began to emerge people were as intrigued as they were confused around 10,000 years ago the world witnessed the abrupt disappearance of large prehistoric animals known as meapa including the woolly mammoth saber-toothed cats and giant ground sloths despite its looming presence the giant sloth was a gentle her before not really Built For Speed it weighed in at over 2 tons the leading theories for their Extinction are over hunting and climate change but a definitive cause remains elusive some researchers suggest a combination of both factors along with other possibilities like disease and environmental changes the loss of these meapa had profound ecological impacts altering ecosystems and the biodiversity of regions worldwide their Extinction also coincides with the end of the last ice age adding complexity to the understanding of climate and environmental shifts during prehistoric times so one theory of why the mammoth went extinct is that as the climate warmed and the forest spread so the mammoth progressively lost its grassland habitat and then the mammoth is extinct number six the Lasco cave paintings this cave in Southwestern France is renowned for its Paleolithic paintings estimated to be over 177,000 years old these paintings depict a variety of animals human figures and Abstract symbols showcasing a high level of artistic skill for the time cave paintings were mostly created with red or black pigments made from rocks some artworks were painted directly onto cave walls while some were first engraved into the stone with tools the purpose of the paintings is unknown with potential explanations ranging from religious or ceremonial functions to expressions of early storytelling or documentation symbols repeated across artworks May indicate that those symbols had agreed upon meanings among the artists thus perhaps cave art also represents the earliest form of graphic communication the caves Discovery in 1940 provided invaluable insights into upper Paleolithic life and art the variety of animals painted including horses deer and large cats indicates a rich biodiversity in the region during that period the paintings also raise questions about the symbolic and communicative abilities of early humans and their relationship with their environment cave artists were prehistoric naturalists their detailed drawings may teach us about the appearance and behavior of animals that have long been extinct number five the origin of language language is it's probably the hardest problem in science nobody really knows how it works and nobody really knows where it came from and yet we can all do it how language began is a complex and unresolved issue in the field of linguistics and anthropology the lack of direct evidence makes it challenging to pinpoint when and how humans developed structured symbolic communication theories on the origin range from a gradual evolution of language from animal calls to a sudden emergence due to genetic mutations the fossil record of our ancestors and relatives can still give us important clues about the time when we first talked the development of language is closely tied to the evolution of the brain particularly regions associated with speech and cognitive processing the appearance of symbolic artifacts such as cave paintings and carved figurines suggests the presence of abstract thinking and communication skills in early humans number four GOC Tee's purpose it's a real mystery here who built this place and more importantly how could they have done it located in Southeastern turkey GOC Lee is one of the oldest Temple complexes known dating back to around 11,000 years ago the site predates Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids challenging traditional views of the development of complex societies GOC Tepe consists of massive Stone pillars arranged in circles many carved with elaborate animal motifs and abstract symbols to Fashion those and carve them and set them up in these structures was just absolutely amazing the site's construction implies a high degree of social organization and communal effort suggesting that religious or ritual activities played a significant role in early societies kcle teepe remains a subject of speculation and possible explanations include a ceremonial site a center for a cult or a Gathering Place for hunter gatherers inevitably in archaeology if we don't know what something is for we think of ritual but really it's pure speculation number three the Venus figurines it's the earliest representation of a human being and it's the absolute root of figurative depiction as we know it the small prehistoric statuettes depicting female figures found across Europe and parts of Asia date back to between 30,000 and 10,000 years ago these figurines vary in style and detail but most share common features such as emphasized breasts and hips the widespread distribution of these figurines suggests a shared cultural or symbolic significance across different Paleolithic societies theories include representations of fertility or motherhood symbols of a mother goddess or simply artistic Expressions some researchers propose that the figurines may have been used in rituals or served as amulets we can see very clearly for instance that the figurine has no head right instead of a head the figurine has a ring it was perhaps worn at time suspended on a string of some sort the variation in their forms from realistic to highly stylized indicates A diversity of cultural practices and beliefs among prehistoric peoples the sexual attributes are key which clearly link this depiction to ideas of reproduction facundity sexuality ideas that are absolutely essential to all of humanity also today number two the nascal lines they lie neglected for more than a thousand years years and aren't rediscovered until the era of the airplane Peru is the location of the nascal lines a series of large geoglyphs created by the NASA culture between 500 BCE and 500 CE the designs visible only from a high vantage point or the air include various animals plants and geometric shapes some of the lines are thousands of meters all the way up to 25 miles and this is quite incredible the purpose of these lines is still debated with hypotheses ranging from astronomical markers to religious or ceremonial functions excavations suggest the nasca lines are sacred sites where people smash pots and make offerings for rain the geoglyphs were made by removing the reddish brown iron oxide coated Pebbles that cover the surface of the nasca desert and revealing the light colored Earth underneath the preservation of the lines despite being in a region prone to earthquakes and wind erosion is remarkable before before we continue be sure to subscribe to our Channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos you have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them if you're on your phone make sure you go into settings and switch on your notifications number one The Disappearance of neander tals neander talls a distinct species or subspecies of archaic humans lived in Ur Asia until approximately 40,000 years ago their disappearance coincides with the arrival and spread of anatomically modern humans in Europe and Asia if we look at evolution in some way and and ourselves as some kind of Pinnacle of evolution then everything else has to have a secondary position various attempts have been put forward to explain their Extinction including competition for resources climate change and a lower reproduction rate but I think the last neand were struggling we know genetically the neand were challenged they had very low diversity very low numbers genetic evidence shows interbreeding between neander s in modern humans with traces of neander DNA present in the modern Human Genome you know we've got something like 2% many of us in in our DNA of of neandertals the neander Tal's ability to create tools use fire and possibly have symbolic thought and language indicates a high level of cognitive and cultural complexity their disappearance marked a significant event in our Evolution what do you think is the biggest unsolved prehistoric mystery let us know in the comments a part of our never-ending quest to find out who we are and where we came from cave art May provide evidence of a time when humans were first able to Edge their thoughts in stone did you enjoy this video check out these other clips from watch Mojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos

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Keywords: Education, Göbekli Tepe, Megafauna, Neanderthals, Science, extinction, historical mysteries, list, mojo, mysteries, mystery, nazca lines, prehistoric, prehistoric mysteries, stonehenge, the lascaux cave paintings, the tassili n'ajjer rock art, top 10, unexplained, unexplained prehistoric mysteries, unsolved, unsolved historical mysteries, unsolved mysteries, unsolved prehistoric, unsolved prehistoric mysteries, watch mojo, watchmojo

Id: xPs0FRBjT_Q

Length: 13min 0sec (780 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 30 2024