CAVE IN SAUDI ARABIA REVEALS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ANIMAL, HUMAN BONES

Mon 02 August 2021:

Hundreds of thousands of animal and human remains have been discovered in a cave in northwest Saudi Arabia, which scientists believe were gathered by striped hyenas over the past 7,000 years.

The discovery was made in the Umm Jirsan lava tube, a 1.5-kilometer tunnel filled with “beautifully preserved” remains located in the Kingdom’s Harrat Kaybar lava field, the scientists wrote in a published study.

The discovery included bones of cattle, caprids, horses, camels, rodents, and even humans.

Happy to introduce the Umm Jirsan lava tube, Saudi Arabia, in our new paper just out in AAS.

This 1.5 km long lava tube is chock-a-block with hundreds of thousands of beautifully preserved animal remains. But why? (1/n)https://t.co/BMTYTxR4da pic.twitter.com/ubCTLHVyPX

— Stewie Stewart (@StewieStewart13) July 21, 2021

The bones’ collection over thousands of years demonstrates that the lava tube provides “excellent conditions for bone preservation,” according to scientist Stewie Stewart in a Twitter thread.

“In a region where bone preservation is very, very poor, sites like Umm Jirsan offer an exciting new resource,” he added.

“These critters are avid collectors of bones, which they transport to dens to be consumed, fed to young, or cached,” Stewart said.

The assemblage includes a variety of animals, including cattle, caprids, horses, camels, rodents, and even humans! (3/n) pic.twitter.com/S7LF434psF

— Stewie Stewart (@StewieStewart13) July 21, 2021

Despite the study focusing on hyenas, the scientists concluded in their published article that “donkeys have been an important livestock in the region for thousands of years.”

“Umm Jirsan (and other similar sites in the region) is likely to hold valuable insights into the ecologies and environments of Holocene Arabia. This study is just the tip of the iceberg,” Stewart said.

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