Skull of the 'oldest Dutchwoman' and a 13,500-year-old carved bison bone

are found in an area of the North Sea that once formed a land bridge
between Britain and Northern Europe
 Dutch fishermen found the bones on separate occasions around Dogger Bank
 The shallow area of the North Sea sits 62 miles off the east coast of England
 It formed a land bridge between continental Europe and the UK 9,000 years ago
 Partial skull bone forms the oldest known modern human from the Netherlands
 Carvings in the bison bone are earliest artwork ever found in the North Sea
By Harry Pettit For Mailonline
PUBLISHED: 15:57 GMT, 28 February 2018 | UPDATED: 18:56 GMT, 28 February 2018

Part of a prehistoric human skull found beneath the North Sea has been dubbed
the 'oldest ever Dutchwoman'.

Alongside a carved bison bone found at a nearby site, the skull fragment is
around 13,000 years old, archaeologists found.

The finds form the oldest known modern human from the Netherlands and the
earliest artwork ever recovered from the North Sea.

The discoveries highlight a sunken treasure trove of human archaeology

beneath the body of water that was once a land bridge between Britain and
Northern Europe, researchers said.

Scroll down for video

 +9

Part of a prehistoric human skull found beneath the North Sea has been dubbed
the 'oldest ever Dutchwoman'

Dutch fishermen found the partial skull and bison bone on separate occasions
in recent years around Dogger Bank, a large sandbank in a shallow area of the
North Sea about 62 miles (100km) off the east coast of England.

The bank was not always underwater, forming a land bridge that linked
continental Europe and the British Isles until around 9,000 years ago.

Scientists believe the partial skull once belonged to a young or middle-age adult
woman who died when she was between 22 and 45 years old.

RELATED ARTICLES
 Previous
 1
 Next
  Falling into a black hole could wipe out your past

and give... World¿s most widely used pesticides are

likely to face a... Do you have a 'digital STI'? A third

of people have... Amazon buys smart doorbell firm

Ring for $1 billion ahead of...

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Share

13 shares

The prehistoric hunter-gatherer lived on the North Sea landmass when it stood
around 260 feet (80m) above sea level - a region scientists call Doggerland.

'These hunter-gatherers must have roamed these plains and perhaps one
season they visited what is now the UK and the next season stayed in what are
now the Netherlands,' study coauthor archaeologist Dr Marcel Niekus told Live
Science.
'This now-submerged landscape is of crucial importance to our understanding of
our past. It is, so to speak, a treasure chest of archaeological finds.'
 +9

Alongside a carved bison bone found at a nearby site, the skull fragment is over
13,000 years old, archaeologists found


Pictured is the carved decoration on the bison bone. The finds form the oldest
known modern human from the Netherlands and the earliest artwork ever
recovered from the North Sea

Chemical analysis of the skull suggests that meat from hunted animals made up
a significant portion of the woman's daily diet.
Human hunter-gatherers at the time were early 'pioneers' of pine forests that
spread across Doggerland before it was submerged, said study lead author Dr
Luc Amkreutz and archaeologist at the Netherlands' National Museum of
Antiquities.

As species like the woolly mammoth became extinct in the warming regions,
animals like elk and bison moved into the emerging forests, followed by human
hunters.

'It was a time of change, and these were the first new people that came with
that change, true hunters of the forest,' Dr Amkreutz told Live Science.

'As the forests expanded farther north and west, so did our ancestors.'
 Scientists believe the partial skull once belonged to a young or middle-age adult
woman who died when she was between 22 and 45 years old

+9

 The prehistoric hunter-gatherer lived on the North Sea landmass when it stood
around 260 feet (80m) above sea level - a region scientists call Doggerland

+9

Chemical analysis of the skull suggests that meat from hunted animals made up
a significant portion of the woman's daily diet

The bison bone fragment was found in 2013, several years after the partial
skull, which was captured in fishing nets in 2005.

The new radiocarbon tests show it is slightly older than the skull, at around
13,500 years old.

The artefact is a fragment of a metatarsal with a striking zig-zag decoration,

though its function remains unknown.
 +9

The bison artefact is a fragment of a metatarsal with a striking zig-zag
decoration, though its function remains unknown
 +9

The bison bone was possibly used as the handle of a tool, or as a ritual object,
according to the researchers. Pictured is a scan of its decorative carvings
 +9

Pictured is a scan of the bison bone carvings. It has been suggested that the
repetitive motifs have to do with streaming water, but another explanation is that
these zigzag patterns occur in [hallucinations] when shamans are in a trance,
researchers said

It was possibly used as the handle of a tool, or as a ritual object, scientists said.

'It has been suggested that the repetitive motifs have to do with streaming
water, but another explanation, which we intend to explore further, is the fact
that these zigzag patterns occur in [hallucinations] when shamans are in a
trance,' Dr Niekus said.

'So, perhaps shamanism became more important during the Federmesser

culture.'

Similar bone decorations have been found in Poland, France and the UK,
suggesting these groups had wide-ranging contact with other tribes.
 +9

Dutch fishermen found the partial skull and bison bone at separate locations
around Dogger Bank, a large sandbank in a shallow area of the North Sea
about 62 miles (100km) off the east coast of England

WHO WAS THE CHEDDAR MAN

AND WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT
HIM?
 Cheddar Man, unearthed in 1903 in a cave in Somerset, lived around 10,000 years
ago. A huge hole in his skull (pictured) suggests he died a violent death

Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, known as Cheddar Man, was

unearthed in 1903 in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset.

The prehistoric male lived around 10,000 years ago, and a huge hole in his skull
suggests he died a violent death.

Other remains found at Gough's Cave have been linked to cannibalistic rituals,
trophy display and secondary burial by prehistoric humans.

Cheddar Man, thought to have died in his twenties and have had a relatively
good diet, lived in Britain when it was almost completely depopulated.
Although previous populations had settled in Britain long before his arrival, they
were wiped out before him.

The Cheddar Man marked the start of continuous habitation on the island,
making him among the very first modern Britons.

Genetically, he belonged to a group of people known as the 'Western Hunter-

Gatherers', Mesolithic-era individuals from Spain, Hungary and Luxembourg.

His ancestors migrated to Europe from the Middle East after the Ice Age and
today, 10 per cent of White British people are descended from the group.

Scientists have reconstructed the Cheddar Man's face several times using the
shape of his skull and assumptions about the appearance of the first Britons.

Most of these analyses were not based on DNA data, and assumed he was
white with light hair.
 +9

 Cheddar Man, thought to have died in his twenties and have had a relatively good
diet, lived in Britain when it was almost completely depopulated. Pictured is a
reconstruction of the prehistoric male's remains as they were found in a Gough's
Cave a century ago

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5445551/13-000-year-old-skull-oldest-Dutchwoman-

found.html#ixzz58Y0fcVoK
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Having a big brain really DOES mean you have less muscle because the
organ steals energy from other parts of your body
 Researchers have found primates with larger brains have reduced muscle mass
 They looked at cadavers of ten primate species that died of natural causes
 They included a 130g Philippine tarsier and the crab-eating macaque
 This supports the idea human brains got bigger by stealing resources from other parts of the body
By Phoebe Weston For Mailonline
PUBLISHED: 15:34 GMT, 1 March 2018 | UPDATED: 21:52 GMT, 1 March 2018


 e-mail

69 shares

54
View comments

It might make you smarter, but having a bigger brain also means you're likely to
have less brawn.

That's according to a new study that looked at the brain size of ten primate
species and found those with larger brains have less muscle mass.

The results seem to support a theory put forward in the mid-1990s that brains
are able to grow larger by stealing resources from other parts of the body.

Scroll down for video

 +3


Researchers have found primates with larger brains have reduced muscle mass
- supporting the idea human brains got bigger by stealing resources from other
parts of the body (stock)

The research, reported in New Scientist, was undertaken by Magdalena

Muchlinkski at the University of North Texas in Fort Worth.
She looked at cadavers of primate species that died of natural causes.

'Primates, when compared to other animals, have very little muscle,' Dr

Muchlinkski told New Scientist.
'What I am seeing now is larger-brained primates have less muscle.'

RELATED ARTICLES
 Previous
 1
 Next
 Facebook keeps creepy secret files on the intimate habits of...

Terminator-like AI movie death scenarios are just 'one to... Bus-sized asteroid

will fly between the Earth and the moon... Scientists track 'gentle giant' whale
sharks off the...

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Share

69 shares

Researchers looked at a range of species including the 130g Philippine tarsier

and the crab-eating macaque, which weighs several kilograms.

A kilogram of brain tissue needs around 240 kilocalories each day to function at
full capacity.

'We collected body mass, muscle mass, and biopsied four muscles from each
specimen for histological procedures', researchers wrote in the paper published
in Wiley.
'Results show that larger brained primates have less muscle and fewer Type I
fibres than primates with smaller brains. '

Type I fibres - also known as slow twitch muscles - are used in sustained
activities, like running for a long time.

However, these results are still preliminary and experts say a more complete
analysis that includes chimps, gorillas and humans, will be published in the next
year or so.
 +3


Researchers looked at a range of species including the 130g Philippine tarsier
and the crab-eating macaque (pictured), which weighs several kilograms

WHAT IS THE EXPENSIVE TISSUE

HYPOTHESIS?
The expensive tissue hypothesis (ETH), which was first put forward in the
1990s, suggests our selfish brains are prioritised when we have to think fast
and work hard at the same time.

Researchers believe that a kilogram of brain tissue needs around 240

kilocalories each day to function at full capacity.

Our ability to allocate more glucose to the brain could have helped our species
survive and thrive by becoming quick thinkers, experts believe.
The ETH theory has previously been disputed. For example in 2011
researchers from the University of Zurich questioned the theory animals with big
brains really had smaller guts.

Now, researchers led by Magdalena Muchlinkski at the University of North

Texas in Fort Worth have explored the theory by looking at ten cadavers of
primate species.

The cadavers studied had lived in captivity and died of natural causes.

'Results show that larger brained primates have less muscle and fewer Type I
fibres than primates with smaller brains', researchers led by Magdalena
Muchlinkski at the University of North Texas wrote in their paper.

Type I fibres - also known as slow twitch muscles - are used in sustained
activities, like running for a long time.

Last year researchers found evidence that also corroborates the 'selfish brain'
hypothesis.

Scientists from the University of Cambridge's PAVE (Phenotypic Adaptability,

Variation and Evolution) research group tested 62 male students drawn from
the university's elite rowing crews, with an average age of 21.

Although both our brains and bodies are impaired, findings suggest we have
evolved to prioritise quick thinking over fast moving.

'This enhanced investment in brain size can be considered a defining trait of

what it means to be human (along with standing upright on two legs)', Dr Danny
Longman, the study's lead author, told MailOnline.

Last year researchers found evidence that also corroborates the 'selfish brain'
hypothesis.

They found the 'selfish brain' is always prioritised over the rest of our body.

Scientists from the University of Cambridge's PAVE (Phenotypic Adaptability,

Variation and Evolution) research group tested 62 male students drawn from
the university's elite rowing crews, with an average age of 21.

Although both our brains and bodies are impaired, findings suggest we have
evolved to prioritise quick thinking over fast moving.
 'This enhanced investment in brain size can be considered a defining trait of
what it means to be human (along with standing upright on two legs)', Dr Danny
Longman, the study's lead author, told MailOnline.

'There is a theory that says that, in our past, humans transitioned from 'soldier
to diplomat' i.e. from a relatively more muscle dependent to a more brain
dependent lifestyle.'

Video playing bottom right...

ExpandClose

+3


Pictured is the lead researcher Danny Longman rowing. The team found rowing
and remembering at the same time reduced physical and mental performance

During this time humans began to invest fewer resources in developing and
maintaining high levels of muscularity, and instead began to achieve status
through the development of enhanced social skills.
'In this way, humans made the switch to acquiring status through cognitive
means, rather than through physical means', he said.

The rowers performed two separate tasks: one memory, a three minute word
recall test; and one physical, a three minute power test on a rowing machine.

They then performed both tasks at once, with individual scores compared to
those from previous tests.

As expected, the challenge of rowing and remembering at the same time

reduced both physical and mental performance.

However, the research team found that change in recall was significantly less
than the change in power output.

Their mental performance fell by 9.7 per cent while their physical performance
fell by 12.6 per cent.

Across all participants the drop in physical power was on average 29.8 per cent
greater than drop in cognitive function

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5450025/Having-big-brain-really-DOES-mean-

muscle.html#ixzz58Y1ZAkCo
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook