Oh, snap! Did you know that the big blue ball that we call home is hiding a plethora of exciting secrets just beneath its surface? Yep, it’s not all shopping malls and Snapchat filters. So put down your Starbucks Frappuccino and make way for some major learning because these discoveries will have you thinking “Holy guacamole!”
Picture this: There was a time when our favorite pizza topping (cheese, duh) could’ve been considered a “high-tech” invention! Researchers from the University of Copenhagen recently analyzed the remains of clay pottery found in Croatia that were over 7,200 years old. The astonishing fact was that these remnants showed traces of cheese! Mind. Blown. That means that your great-great-great-great-great…(insert about a gazillion more greats) ancestors were enjoying a scrumptious dairy delight while living their best life. You could even say that our love for cheese runs deep in our veins.
Speaking of our ancestors, they may have had more in common with Batman than we ever knew. In what sounds like a weird prehistoric version of an escape room, archaeologists discovered a human-like skull alongside other fossils, deep in a South African cave system called the Rising Star Cave. What’s cool is that this “cousin” of the homo sapien was climbing and squeezing through the cave’s tiny, dark spaces over 250,000 years ago! So not only was this fella upping his spelunking game way before it was a thing, but we bet Bruce Wayne is feeling the heat from this capeless caveman!
Now hold on to your Sriracha sauce because our world’s love affair with chili peppers goes way back. Forget the classic Coke vs. Pepsi debate; the “pepper challenge” seems to be a competition humans have always been keen on. In 2007, a team of scientists in Oaxaca, Mexico, uncovered traces of a certain kind of chili on 6,000-year-old pottery. Those ancestors of ours knew how to spice it up, that’s for sure! And if you ever thought your mom was too enthusiastic with her secret hot sauce recipe, just remember, this obsession runs generations deep.
It’s always incredible to find new knowledge of our past hidden right beneath our noses. And honestly, the Earth is an absolute treasure trove of ancient secrets, just waiting for us to dig them up. While we can’t go full-on Indiana Jones every day, it’s pretty epic to know that the story of humanity is way cooler (and sometimes cheesier) than our day-to-day existence. So here’s to unearthing more ancient discoveries that will give us a high-five from the past!