Many thousands of years ago life flourished in the Gobi desert

1/5. Flint deposits in Flint Valley. Photo by J. Szykulski

 
Many thousands of years ago life flourished in the Mongolian Gobi desert. Archaeologists from Wrocław discovered traces of a rich settlement from the period of the Stone Age. Prof. Józef Szykulski told PAP about the results of the excavations. 

Currently, the Gobi is the second largest desert area in the world. The area is completely devoid of road infrastructure and inhabited only by a few nomadic families. The study shows, however, that many thousands of years ago, the conditions in the area were more favourable to life than now.

Archaeologists found many traces of old camps - said in an interview with PAP Prof. Józef Szykulski from the Institute of Archaeology, University of Wroclaw, who leads the project together with Prof. Mirosław Masojć.

Camps were located on the shores of lakes - now dried. Based on the findings, researchers concluded that thousands of years ago richness of species of animals lived in the study area, benefiting the ancient inhabitants of the desert.

Archaeologists discovered mainly stone tools and the waste associated with their production. "Varied forms of discovered products and different techniques of processing raw stone confirm that the individual sites had been repeatedly inhabited in different periods of history" - added Prof. Szykulski.

The oldest finds are represented by a massive stone tools made by the Middle Palaeolithic communities (200 thousand - 40 thousand years ago). Archaeologists have also discovered smaller stone products from later periods, as well as millstones, stone grinders and fragments of pottery from the Neolithic. [...] Science & Scholarship in Poland