5 Early Human Mysteries Lost to Time

Human history, archaeology, and paleontology are some of the largest puzzles known to man. Every now and then, a new piece will be uncovered in the form of a fossil, new antiquity site, or historical source, meaning that we are one step closer to unlocking one small part of that puzzle. But it is one that will never truly be complete. As such, there are insurmountable number of mysteries that have proven particularly difficult for those studying early humans and ancient civilizations to solve. Millions of years of evolution and thousands of years of human development and technological progress have placed a great deal of intrigue in the scientific record. And today we will be exploring some of the largest mysteries that have plagued researchers of early humans over the years. Sit back and relax as we explore some of the strangest mysteries concerning our own ancient ancestors. In 1923, the bones of a hominin were discovered in a cave just outside the village of Zhoukoudian, not too far from Beijing, China. The ancient human in question is thought to have been a potential subspecies of Homo erectus, and its remains were mixed in with the huge, extinct apex predator Pachycrocuta brevirostris, a giant, powerful, short-faced hyena. Peking Man is believed to have inhabited the cave anywhere between 200,000 to 700,000 years ago, with great degrees of separation between estimations. The excavations of the cave yielded over time mandibles, skulls, teeth, femurs, two humerus, and a tibia from sites across central and eastern China. Studies were carried out extensively on the remains of these ancient people throughout the course of the 1920s and 1930s, but soon disaster would strike. Japan's invasion of China in 1937 would mean that many Chinese historical artifacts, including those from prehistory, were at risk of destruction as Japanese forces advanced through the country. It was decided that the best course of action would be to ship these artifacts, including the remains of Peking Man, far away from China, where they would be in significantly less danger. In 1941, following the outbreak of World War II, the decision was made to ship Peking Man's remains to the United States. The fossils were wrapped, boxed, and prepared for shipping, but would never reach their destination. What happened to Peking Man's remains is a mystery to this day. Several theories have been put forward as to what happened to the bones. It has been suggested that perhaps Peking Man's remains were sunk by poor weather or by Axis forces on their way to their destination, or perhaps they were buried somewhere near Beijing before they were even shipped. They may have been seized and destroyed by invading forces, or perhaps they simply went missing in the process of transporting them across the Pacific. The scope of where these fossils could be is so wide that it seems highly unlikely that we will ever gain access to them again, unless they miraculously turn up in the right location. As tragic as the loss of Peking Man's remains are, we may not have to worry for long. New fossil content attributed to the hominin is being reliably and consistently found to this day, including not only bones, but tools that may have been used to craft objects and prepare food for family groups of Peking Man or men. Watch this space as scientists may be able to reveal more before too long. Surprisingly, there is much we still need to learn about the physiology and evolution of our human species, including, perhaps even more surprisingly, how we evolved our appearance. As the only human species alive today, Homo sapiens are unmistakable as the world's only bipedal, relatively hairless ape. But how did we go from tree-climbing quadrupeds to this? What happened to cause that evolutionary step? Theories are widespread, but we're still not sure if any of them have actually hit the nail on the head. Walking upright is one of our most notable traits. The classic image defining evolution shows this clearly, as ancient man freezes his arms from the clutches of the earth, for them to hang by his side as he walks progressively taller into the future. We evolved to walk on two legs long before we evolved the means of creating complex tools, and even before our brains started to grow exceptionally large. While the apes around us were climbing through the trees and walking on four legs, we were beginning to run for short distances with our heads held high. This may have been an evolutionary response to the widespread growth of grasslands across sub-Saharan Africa in the late Cenozoic era. As the forests became more sparse and huge plains of tall savanna grass started to grow, our ancestors were able to exploit the new environment by growing to be tall and lean, adapted to running and peering over the tall grass rather than clambering through foliage. The mystery arises when we consider that there were plenty of other reasons why humans may have adapted to walk upright. Walking on two legs freed up the hands to be able to manipulate objects and help you carry food back to where you intend to eat it. It also means that as long as you're walking or jogging and not sprinting, you're using less energy than if all of your limbs were involved in locomotion. There is also a theory that explores the idea of bipedal hominids being able to better reduce their exposure to sun, meaning that they can regulate their temperature more freely. It is not known how many or to what degree these factors were involved in the development of the modern human being, but extensive research is continuing to press forward. A similar argument can be seen in our loss of body hair. What benefit does being a relatively hairless ape have when every other species of primate is almost entirely covered in a layer of fur? As some of the first apes to venture away from the safety of the trees, our ancestors would have spent more time in direct contact with the heat of the Central African sun for extended periods of time. Fur would have been a big hindrance here, which would have led to overheating in the scorching, dry environments we had evolved to live in. As such, the fur possessed by archaic humans such as Homo habilis was quick to disappear in later species such as Homo erectus, leaving only a few regions with a thick covering of hair. A second theory poses the idea that we may have lost our hair to keep us safe from parasites such as ticks and fleas that would have lived out on the African savannah. These insects would find it much harder to climb around the human body if it was not covered in a thick layer of fur, and in the event that a parasite did latch on, it would be much easier to pick off if hair was absent. This in turn would have prevented the spread of diseases associated with parasites and dangerous insects. These are the two leading theories, but as is the same with bipedalism, we don't have a concrete answer as to why these traits evolved, and to what extent which environmental features played the part to help us attain them. All over the world, our ancestors chose to express themselves through the creation of art. Ancient art may have been a way to record information for others, express religious or spiritual beliefs, or simply pass the time. Many of these pieces of art were, in the earliest years, plastered onto the walls of caves and rock faces with the use of red ochre, which allowed the artist in question to add color and outline their work. Hundreds of cave paintings still stand to this day, which depict amongst other things environments, early people, and the animals they hunted or were hunted by. Many cave paintings are simple to decipher, clearly showing a bear, a mammoth, or a person for example, but some of them have proven to be quite the challenge for scientists attempting to interpret them. The Lascaux cave paintings in the southwest of what is now France are some of the best examples of Paleolithic rock art, showcasing a huge collection of animals, human figures, and symbols that have been painted in shades of red, black, and orange against the pale brown face of the rocky cave wall. Amidst the collection can be seen very clearly defined pictures of cattle, horses, deer, big cats, and people, with an almost exceptionally good degree of artistic skill for the tools and knowledge that was available to these humans at the time. Where the majority of these paintings seem to show large herds of herbivorous animals, some of the images in the rock are a little more abstract. Amorphous characters, swirling lines, and strange symbols permeate the recognizable pictures, creating an eerie window into the long-lost minds of ancient Europe. The largest mystery here is what exactly some of these paintings show. Could they be religious symbols, images of perceived deities, or simply abstract creative symbols and figures? The world's oldest known figurative art depicts a mystery in itself. Discovered gradually in a limestone cave in Borneo's East Kalimantan province between 2014 and 2018, one section of art shows an animal that cannot be identified. Painted at least 40,000 years ago, it showed a horned, hoofed, bull-like animal, but scientists have not been able to pin down exactly what species it shows. It is believed to be a wild cattle species, but no remains from the time or place of the discovery can be linked with it. Painted in an orange-red color, amidst hand stencils and abstract patterns, this unknown wild cattle is the oldest known example of non-abstract art, a freely drawn figurative piece that shows a depiction of something that definitely exists. Hopefully, with more research in the region, we will eventually be able to pin down the exact species and know more about the wildlife that shared the land with these early humans. At ancient archaeological and paleontological sites across Europe and Asia, one of the most common art forms found within the ancient remains of settlements and communities is the Venus figurine. You'll likely have seen these before, nude female figures from the Paleolithic era, rotund in form and dating between 21 and 26,000 years ago. Named after the Roman goddess of beauty, the first of these carved figures to be discovered was the Venus Ampudique, unearthed at the rocks of Logerie Basse in France's Vizere Valley. The sculpture is about 8 centimeters long, made from ivory, and shows a feminine figure, minus its arms and head, with pronounced reproductive features, leading many to believe that this may have been some kind of fertility symbol. This is where the mystery begins, however. We don't actually know why these Venus figurines were created. The most popular running theory with the Venus figurines is that they're depictions of a fertility goddess. Perhaps by owning one or creating one, the deities would grant you children or a good harvest, which could explain why they were so widespread across Europe and parts of Asia. The rotund build of many of these figurines is what has led researchers to come to this conclusion, which could represent pregnancy or nutrition. They may also have been constructed by people who had been blessed with good health, a strong harvest, or healthy children, perhaps as a way of saying thanks to the divine powers that blessed the crops or child. Another theory states that they may have been made as portraits with no religious symbolism, perhaps by artists who wanted to create a likeness of themselves or of their families. Until more evidence is found, we cannot say for sure which of these theories are correct, however. Until around 40,000 years ago, Homo neanderthalensis lived alongside us, Homo sapiens, as our closest relatives on a seemingly endless mammoth step of northern Europe and Asia. So similar yet so different were we to our cousins, that today artists can reliably reconstruct the appearance of a Neanderthal. Yet we know relatively little about how they lived. The Neanderthals' disappearance is surprisingly yet to be fully explained. The most likely theory, and the one that has been put forward most often to explain the decline of our strong, stocky brethren, is the idea that Neanderthals were simply out-competed by Homo sapiens for resources and territory. We were generally more adaptable than the Neanderthals and were able to craft more advanced tools, which meant that Neanderthal populations may have begun to decline as ours rose. Another theory states that we simply interbred the Neanderthals to extinction. Interspecies couplings are confirmed to have happened, given the presence of Neanderthal DNA in the human genome today. But to what extent? Could we really have wiped Neanderthals from the fossil record with our own lineage unintentionally? There is also the possibility that Neanderthals became extinct upon coming into contact with Homo sapiens, who were carrying diseases to which Neanderthals were not immune. As we began to encroach more into Neanderthal territory with the use of insulating clothing and fire, we would have spread our germs and bugs into their lands. The Neanderthals may simply have been unable to cope with the rapid spread of disease, and succumbed to it in turn. Other theories take modern humans out of the equation. Perhaps climate change brought about by the decline of the Ice Age took its toll on Neanderthals, wiping away the colder environments they held dear. Or worse still, a series of catastrophic natural disasters. We may never know exactly how the last days of the Neanderthals played out, but it is certainly one of the most interesting topics in human prehistory and evolution. As frustrating as the lack of answers to these mysteries are, there is always hope that we will be able to crack individual pieces of the puzzle in time. Every day new discoveries are being made regarding animals that walked the Earth millions of years ago. Given the right circumstances, we may one day be able to unravel our own species' most complex mysteries as well. Until then however, all we can do is wait and wonder.