Discovery of the oldest human fecal fossils, some 50,000 years old, suggests that Neanderthals balanced their meat-heavy diet with plenty of veggies. Ancient human cousins of our own species, Neanderthals disappeared from Europe some 30,000 years ago, around the time that modern humans arrived there.
The fossilized human feces found in Oregon's Paisley Caves have been radiocarbon dated to 12,300 B.C. Archaeologists are abuzz over the discovery of several 14,000-year-old pieces of fossilized human excrement found in Oregon.
The large, “precious” poop — officially known as the Lloyds Bank coprolite, the formal term for fossilized turds — is a 1,200-year-old log that is thought to be the largest recorded in human history.
The massive human turd is 20 cm in length and five cm in width. It dates back to the ninth century and is attributed to a Viking man in Jorvik which is now called York. As bizarre as it may sound, the world has documented the largest known human poop.
Description. The coprolite was found in 1972 beneath the site of what was to become the branch of Lloyds Bank on Pavement in York, and may be the largest example of fossilised human faeces (palaeofaeces) ever found, measuring 20 centimetres (8 in) long and 5 centimetres (2 in) wide.
Dated at about 50,000 years old, based on the layer in which it was found, this is the oldest human excrement ever identified. Ms Sistiaga said her samples easily pre-date other fossilised faeces, belonging to modern humans (Homo sapiens) and found in Egyptian mummies and ancient Greek latrines.
However, experts believe Vikings were quite large, muscular people, capable of striking fear into the hearts of their enemies as a result of their strength and size. The physical build of the Vikings was likely to be somewhat similar to our own, but with significantly more mass and muscle.
Vikings worked long hours, carrying, and using heavy equipment which contributed to the formation of muscles, even from an early age. Another reason for the significant strength of the Vikings was their diet. Vikings were mostly hunters, not gatherers, due to their cold, harsh environment.
1. With all the pillaging and murdering, the common perception is that Vikings were rugged, dirty and smelly, but actually Viking men were surprisingly clean. Not only did they bathe once a week, but tweezers, combs, ear cleaners and razors have been unearthed at Viking sites.
Viking teeth were often subject to a great deal of wear, which is largely attributed to their diet. Study of the skeletal remains of Vikings has also shown evidence that they suffered from periodontal disease and tartar buildup.
The ship's one toilet is a small transportable camp-toilet which is placed under deck in the bow. Under deck does not mean that you can go UNDER deck and hide. It just means that you will have to remove a few deck planks to reveal the toilet. The other toilet will be mounted when the ship is anchored t.
The Vikings typically lived to be around 40-50 years old. But there are also examples of upper class Vikings who lived longer – for instance Harald Fairhair, who was King of Norway for more than 60 years.
The long-lost turd was excavated from a now-abandoned Viking settlement – and measures in at a whopping 20cm, or 8 inches. If that wasn't enough, it's also a girthy number at 5cm wide, or 2 inches. The poo – or “coprolite” as scientists will call it – was found way back in 1972.
In 2013, a 28-year-old woman from Chembur, India, had to have surgery to remove a “football-sized faecal mass” after 45 days without a bowel movement.
An unidentified US man went 13 years without defecating due to Hirschsprung's Disease which causes intestinal blockage. Albeit he did die at the young age of 29. Post-death his fecal matter was recovered and it ended up filling 3 entire buckets and weighing in at more than 40 pounds of matter.
The bras were often made of metal and until now scientists had thought they were used as collar-bone protection. But it is now clear these pads were worn much further down by female Vikings, according to the work in Birka, Sweden's oldest Viking centre.
Excavations of Viking sites have turned up tweezers, razors, combs and ear cleaners made from animal bones and antlers. Vikings also bathed at least once a week—much more frequently than other Europeans of their day—and enjoyed dips in natural hot springs.
They were particularly nervous in the western sea lochs then known as the "Scottish fjords". The Vikings were also wary of the Gaels of Ireland and west Scotland and the inhabitants of the Hebrides.
Ahmad Ibn Fadlan, an Arab lawyer and diplomat from Baghdad who encountered the men of Scandinavia in his travels, wrote that Vikings treated their female chattel as sex slaves. If a slave died, he added, “they leave him there as food for the dogs and the birds.”
The Viking reputation as bloodthirsty conquerors has endured for more than a millennium but new research shows that some Norsemen approached the British islands with more than a little trepidation.
The purpose of the Vikings' violence was to acquire wealth, which fed into the political economy of northern Europe, notably in the form of gift-giving. Viking warriors were motivated by a warrior ideology of violence that praised bravery, toughness, and loyalty.
King Alfred and the Danes
King Alfred ruled from 871-899 and after many trials and tribulations (including the famous story of the burning of the cakes!) he defeated the Vikings at the Battle of Edington in 878.
Turns out they didn't much resemble Thor or Ragnar Lothbrok.
It turns out most Vikings weren't as fair-haired and blue-eyed as legend and pop culture have led people to believe. According to a new study on the DNA of over 400 Viking remains, most Vikings had dark hair and dark eyes.
"The examination of skeletons from different localities in Scandinavia reveals that the average height of the Vikings was a little less than that of today: men were about 5 ft 7-3/4 in. tall and women 5 ft 2-1/2 in.
When excavating settlements from this period, usually many traces of pits are found, but in most cases it is impossible to see what exactly they were used for, for storage, garbage or something else. Perhaps when nature called, people simply went into the bushes, at some distance from the settlement.