World’s Oldest Known Fort:
An international team of archaeologists has uncovered is believed to be the world’s oldest-known fort in a remote region of Siberia.
- The fortified settlement, named Amnya, is located along the Amnya River in western Siberia.
- It features around 20 scattered pit-house depressions divided into two sections, Amnya I and Amnya II.
- Radiocarbon dating of samples collected at the site places the fort’s construction around 8,000 years ago, making it the oldest-known fort in the world.
- This predates the prevailing notion that fortresses emerged with the advent of agriculture.
- The study challenges stereotypes depicting early societies as basic and nomadic, revealing the capacity of these hunter-gatherers to construct intricate structures.
- The fort’s construction suggests advanced architectural and defensive capabilities.
- Archaeological examinations and analysis of samples indicate that the inhabitants of Western Siberia led a sophisticated lifestyle based on abundant resources from the taiga environment.
- The site’s location provided access to fish, elk, and reindeer.
- The researchers propose that the strategic location overlooking the river made Amnya an ideal lookout point for potential threats.
- It would also allow the inhabitants to monitor fishing and hunting grounds.
- While the researchers are uncertain about the motivation behind fortifying the structures, they speculate that it could have been to protect people and valuables.
- The study does not determine whether the construction was ordered by an authority or a collaborative effort of the community.
- The discovery challenges the traditional view that permanent settlements with defensive structures only emerged with farming societies.
- It suggests that agriculture and animal husbandry were not prerequisites for societal complexity.
