Turkish researchers find bones of 350,000-year-old animal

ANTALYA - Anadolu Agency

Archeologists have discovered the bones of a large 350,000-year-old animal during excavations at the Karain Cave in the southern Turkish province of Antalya.

“We discovered the rib bones, teeth and skeleton bones of big mammals,” said Professor Harun Taşkıran of Ankara University’s Archaeology Department.  
     
“This year, we have discovered a giant animal’s hip bone, jaw and teeth. We believe that the 50-centimeter hip bone dates back approximately 350,000 years,” said Taşkıran, the head of the excavations at the Karain Cave.    
   
“It’s not scientifically proven, but these bones may belong to an elephant, rhinoceros or hippopotamus. We don’t know its species yet, so experts will come to find out,” he added, noting that they had come across bone masses of other animals in the same area.    
    
“As in the other cave excavations, the excavated soil is brought to the excavation house with buckets to be washed and then it passes through three different sieving methods. Every finding, even the tiniest [remnants], provides us with access to new information about the past,” Taşkıran said.        

He underlined the significance of Karain Cave excavations in uncovering the history of Antalya and Anatolia.        
“Thanks to the excavations at Karain Cave, we have dated the history of Antalya back 500,000 years.

 There are 500,000-year-old remnants here. Neanderthal bones of early humans have been unearthed in the cave. For this reason, this cave is really important for Turkey,” Taşkıran added.