Hugging Fossils! - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

SecretMethod70 · 02-07-2007, 08:17 AM

I really don't mean to saturate this forum, but I *had* to share this. Pictures follow story.

Quote:

From Reuters
Eternal embrace? Couple still hugging 5,000 years on

Tue Feb 6, 1:28 PM ET

ROME (Reuters) - Call it the eternal embrace.

Archaeologists in Italy have discovered a couple buried 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, hugging each other.

"It's an extraordinary case," said Elena Menotti, who led the team on their dig near the northern city of Mantova.

"There has not been a double burial found in the Neolithic period, much less two people hugging -- and they really are hugging."

Menotti said she believed the two, almost certainly a man and a woman although that needs to be confirmed, died young because their teeth were mostly intact and not worn down.

"I must say that when we discovered it, we all became very excited. I've been doing this job for 25 years. I've done digs at Pompeii, all the famous sites," she told Reuters.

"But I've never been so moved because this is the discovery of something special."

A laboratory will now try to determine the couple's age at the time of death and how long they had been buried.

I can only imagine what may have led them to die that way.

tinfoil · 02-07-2007, 08:48 AM

One can only wonder about the circumstances surrounding their burial.

Crack · 02-07-2007, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinfoil

One can only wonder about the circumstances surrounding their burial.

Can you really look at a skelly and tell if it is a man or a woman without doing actual tests? I would laugh if it turned out to be 2 men or 2 women, and people have to rethink their assumptions!

Carno · 02-07-2007, 10:25 AM

Well, the article says that the gender still needs to be confirmed. So, I guess not.

JustJess · 02-07-2007, 10:26 AM

Crack... yes, you can tell just by their hip bones - specifically the pubic bone. It's angled differently if it's a man than if it's a woman.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, eh? What an in interesting find!

jorgelito · 02-07-2007, 11:07 AM

Too early to tell, otherwise, it's all speculation. It's quite amazing how we project our modern view and emotions on to a "scientific" find.

I must admit, I am curious too but we'll just have to wait and see what they come up with but I don't see how they can prove much beyond gender and cause of death.

*edit* I wonder as to the possibility of it being a hoax. It certainly is possible.

SecretMethod70 · 02-07-2007, 11:14 AM

The only explanation I can think of (and, not an unlikely one) that would not include the fossils "hugging" is that they froze to death in the winter and were trying to keep warm. Still an interesting find though. (Not sure why the sex matters exactly)

The_Jazz · 02-07-2007, 11:46 AM

The articles that I've read refer to the woman (who's on the right, btw) as a possible sacrafice victim. From what I've heard, the man has an arrowhead lodged in his spine and the woman has one in her ribcage.

There have apparently been examples of women buried embracing children but this is a first for adults.

ngdawg · 02-07-2007, 08:42 PM

Doomed lovers...adulterers or betrothed to others by their families...caught in love's embrace and executed on the spot for their crime of being in love...*Sigh*

or something....

souzafone · 02-08-2007, 10:17 AM

Me and Mrs Souzafone on almost any Sunday morning, around 6:00.

Brewmaniac · 02-08-2007, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ngdawg

Doomed lovers...adulterers or betrothed to others by their families...caught in love's embrace and executed on the spot for their crime of being in love...*Sigh*

or something....

That's exactly what I thought after seeing the pictures.

I hope it was good, it would be a waste if were just drunk sloppy sex.

Bill O'Rights · 02-08-2007, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ngdawg

Doomed lovers...adulterers or betrothed to others by their families...caught in love's embrace and executed on the spot for their crime of being in love...*Sigh*

or something....

Bit of a romantic are we?

ngdawg · 02-09-2007, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill O'Rights

Bit of a romantic are we?

Nah....just horny as hell...

02-07-2007, 08:48 AM	#2 (permalink)
tinfoil Fucking Hostile Location: Springford, ON, Canada	One can only wonder about the circumstances surrounding their burial. __________________ Get off your fuckin cross. We need the fuckin space to nail the next fool martyr.

02-07-2007, 10:26 AM	#5 (permalink)
JustJess Unencapsulated Location: Kittyville	Crack... yes, you can tell just by their hip bones - specifically the pubic bone. It's angled differently if it's a man than if it's a woman. Just in time for Valentine's Day, eh? What an in interesting find! __________________ My heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talkin'.

02-07-2007, 11:07 AM	#6 (permalink)
jorgelito All important elusive independent swing voter... Location: People's Republic of KKKalifornia	Too early to tell, otherwise, it's all speculation. It's quite amazing how we project our modern view and emotions on to a "scientific" find. I must admit, I am curious too but we'll just have to wait and see what they come up with but I don't see how they can prove much beyond gender and cause of death. edit I wonder as to the possibility of it being a hoax. It certainly is possible. Last edited by jorgelito; 02-07-2007 at 11:14 AM..

02-07-2007, 11:14 AM	#7 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	The only explanation I can think of (and, not an unlikely one) that would not include the fossils "hugging" is that they froze to death in the winter and were trying to keep warm. Still an interesting find though. (Not sure why the sex matters exactly) __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

02-07-2007, 11:46 AM	#8 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	The articles that I've read refer to the woman (who's on the right, btw) as a possible sacrafice victim. From what I've heard, the man has an arrowhead lodged in his spine and the woman has one in her ribcage. There have apparently been examples of women buried embracing children but this is a first for adults. __________________ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin "There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

02-07-2007, 10:25 AM	#4 (permalink)
Carno Junkie	Well, the article says that the gender still needs to be confirmed. So, I guess not.

02-07-2007, 08:42 PM	#9 (permalink)
ngdawg peekaboo Location: on the back, bitch	Doomed lovers...adulterers or betrothed to others by their families...caught in love's embrace and executed on the spot for their crime of being in love...Sigh or something.... __________________ Don't blame me. I didn't vote for either of'em.

02-08-2007, 10:17 AM	#10 (permalink)
souzafone Insane	Me and Mrs Souzafone on almost any Sunday morning, around 6:00.