Dig those ‘stone age’ dog bones
An archaeological dig in Ljungaviken, Sölvesborg, Sweden has uncovered a ‘stone age’ human burial along with the country’s oldest buried dog. The ‘date’ given, 8,500 years, is clearly inflated somewhat, exceeding the history in the Bible. The grave contained other burial goods, and was located in the middle of a village containing 51 dwellings.
Carl Persson, project manager at Sweden’s Blekinge museum said these discoveries “make you feel even closer to the people who lived here … . A buried dog somehow shows how similar we are over the millennia when it comes to the [sic] feelings like grief and loss.”
The settlement was buried beneath layers of sediment, from when the area was flooded. That was likely toward the end of the post-Flood Ice Age, when the ice sheets melted, raising the ocean level. This submerged much land, including any settlements built there. Noah’s Flood provided the conditions for the Ice Age that quickly followed (creation.com/what-caused-ice-age).
This ancient dog is a descendant of an original wolf-like canine pair, which boarded the Ark, some 4,500 years ago (creation.com/dog-origins). Following Babel, Noah’s descendants migrated, populated the earth, and eventually reached Sweden. By this time some of those dog descendants had become domesticated, as demonstrated by the dog buried with his owner.
- Geggel, L. Stone Age dog may have been buried with its master; livescience.com, 29 Sep 2020.
- Ström, S. 8,400-year-old dog found in Sölvesborg; blekingemuseum.se/news/1211, 24 Sep 2020.
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