Cave-fill

Caves hold many secrets to the past of humans. Stone tools unearthed at the Jebel Faya rock shelter in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE) suggest the migratory route and life of the early humans.

Dated by researchers at 80,000 years old, the new archeological discoveries are the oldest in the region, suggesting the presence of humans in the Arabian Peninsula at the time, MSN reports.

Meanwhile, in a cave known as Dargan Shelter in Australia’s Blue Mountains, Ice Age artifacts were found that establishes it as the oldest known site of human activity on the continent.

Dug up from a depth of two meters between April 2022 and March 2023, the 20,000-year-old artifacts suggest that the cave with a ceiling 25 meters high, width of 22 meters, and depth of 20 meters was used as a settlement despite being exposed to harsh weather during the Pleistocene period, according to ABC.

Among the artifacts was a piece of basalt that had been split and shaped for use to crack open hard seeds or nuts around 9,000 years ago, scientists said.

In China, several cave explorers posted in March video clips showing the inside of ancient caves in the Zhangjiajie Forest Park in the southwestern Hunan province.

The clips went viral in May but not because of the karst caves’ visible and hidden streams, as well as dramatic limestone formations, CNN reports.

The shocking video showed trash stacked “as high as seven to eight floors” that sparked outrage and prompted an investigation by local authorities, according to CNN.

The trash was so thick that one trekker videoing it was walking on it.

Between 2010 and 2015, when the local government banned trash burning, garbage trucks dumped the village trash in the karst caves.

A mass cleanup was ordered by the local government and on 9 June, officials reported that 51 tons of garbage had been removed from two of the worst-hit caves, according to CNN.