Hundreds of prehistoric animal bones have been discovered by researchers in Poland's famous Paradise Cave. The findings include the remains of a mammoth and a cave lion.
Paradise Cave
Paradise Cave (Jaskinia Raj) is situated in the Świętokrzyskie region of Poland. It was formed within limestone rocks that used to be located at a shallow sea's bottom roughly 360 million years ago. It notably features roughly 47,000 stalactites.
Though Paradise Cave is relatively small, having a length of around 240 meters, the cave is considered one of Poland's most significant archaeological sites. However, Malgorzata Kot, who is from the University of Warsaw's Faculty of Archaeology, shares that despite the cave being an extremely famous and crucial archaeological site in the country, very little is known regarding it.
Shortly after the cave was discovered, research was conducted in the site in the 1960s. However, it has not been properly investigated since then.
According to Kot, back then, researchers found a sizable amount of animal bones and traces of Neanderthals who have visited the area at least two times. Ever since, not much has taken place when it comes to research.
However, in the last six decades, lab methods have become advanced to the point that much more can be said about the findings and the place's history.
Prehistoric Animal Remains Found
As for the latest research, one of its aims is to look into the changes in the prehistoric environment and climate across southern Poland and to relate these to strategies for human settlement from roughly 14,500 to 60,000 years ago. The researchers plan to look into several cave remains across southern Poland.
Though the excavations have been quite modest, covering an area of roughly five square feet, intriguing discoveries have already been yielded in the past few days. These findings include mammoth, cave lion, and bear remains. Some reindeer antler fragments were also retrieved by the researchers.
Overall, researchers were able to document around 200 well-preserved and large bones. Kot shares that the team is optimistic to find even more artifacts as the excavations go on, with hopes that numbers could even reach thousands.
The efforts to collect, sort, and clean cave soil samples is ongoing in the European Center for Geological Education research center, which is part of the university's Faculty of Geology.
Researchers are also keen on hypothesis validation regarding reindeer antler abundance found in the area. Kot shares that based on the hypothesis, Neanderthals made use of the antlers for protection and barricades for the entrances of the cave. Kot adds that they will try to confirm if this was a possibility and whether it matches the same period when Neanderthals lived.
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