The world’s oldest mattress revealed: archaeologists discover traces of 200,000-year-old bedding made of grass and ashes in the South African cave
- Archaeologists have found the bedding near the border between South Africa and Swaziland
- The bedding was made with a mixture of grass and ashes to keep bugs away
- Is found in a cave that saw 230,000 years of continuous human occupation
- The researchers say the findings suggest ‘an early potential for the cognitive, behavioral and social complexity’ of Stone Age humans.
There was no train rating on the duvet and an electric blanket was definitely not out of the question.
But stone age mattresses were far more comfortable as the name of the era would suggest – and they were even designed to keep the bedbugs at bay.
Archaeologists have discovered traces in a cave of anti-bedding from 200,000 years ago, made with a mixture of grass and ash.
Until now, the oldest known use of people using plants to sleep on was dated to about 77,000 years ago.
Archaeologists have discovered traces in a cave of anti-bedding 200,000 years ago. Image: Archaeologists are working on the site of the discovery in the caves
The cave where the discovery was made is near the border between South Africa and Swaziland, and is home to a well-preserved record of on-off human occupation spanning 230,000 years.
The cave, near the border between South Africa and Swaziland, contains a well-preserved record of on-off human occupation that lasts about 230,000 years, researchers said.
They found that the real Flintstones used a variety of lead grass for beds, including the maximum tufted grass Panicum that still grows for the cave.
The researchers also found burnt remnants of camphor forest, an aromatic plant still used in East Africa to repel cruel crawlies.
They said: ‘Ash was possibly removed from the stoves to create a clean, odor-controlling base for bedding.
‘Ash repels creeping insects, which cannot easily move through fine powder, because it blocks their respiratory and biting apparatus and eventually causes them to dry out.’
Researchers found that the real Flintstones (pictured) used a variety of lead grass for beds, including the maximum tufted grass Panicum that still grows for the cave
Dr Lyn Wadley, an archaeologist at Wits University’s Evolutionary Studies Institute in Johannesburg, said she, like the Stone Age bedding, ‘found stone tools and, possibly ground red and orange ocher, to remove objects and perhaps their skin. colors.
The scientists used a variety of techniques, which performed microscopic and chemical analysis, to examine the fossil grass samples from the Border Cave site.
Dr Wadley added: ‘People also used medicinal plants to repel insects. Sometimes they burned their grass bed and this would have killed pests and cleaned up the grounds. ‘
The researchers also found burnt remnants of camphor forest, an aromatic plant still used in East Africa to repel cruel crawlies.
The scientists used a range of techniques, which performed microscopic and chemical analysis, to examine the fossil grass samples from the Border Cave site.
The researchers said the findings suggest “an early potential for the cognitive, behavioral and social complexity” of the Stone Age, which became clearer from about 100,000 years ago.
Dr Wadley said: ‘Before 200,000 years ago, near the origin of our species, humans could produce on fire.
‘They used fire and medicinal plants to keep clean, pest-free camps.
‘The simple strategies we’ve seen at the Border Cave give us a glimpse into the lifestyles of people in the deep past. ‘
Image: The materials found 200,000 years ago were used as bedding by humans on a microscopic level
The cave has been the site of a number of archaeological discoveries that provide insight into ancient people. In 2015, the South African government proposed that the sign be added to the list of World Heritage Sites
.
