Ancient objects from our era. The oldest objects discovered by archaeologists

We present to you a list of examples of the oldest household items and note that these are only the oldest surviving examples - many of these items existed much earlier.

These Egyptian wool socks, designed to be worn with sandals, were made between 300 and 499 AD and were discovered in the 19th century. (Photo: wikipedia.org)

“Sumerian beer recipe from 3000 BC. The beer turns out to be very strong and contains pieces of bread floating in it.” (Photo: imgur.com)

The oldest glasses in the world were discovered on Baffin Island in Canada. They were intended to protect against glare from the sun's rays reflected from the snow. (Photo: canadacool.com)

The most likely age of the statue depicting a human figure is 40,000 years. This is the Venus from Hohle Fels Cave, Germany, carved from mammoth bone. (Photo: wikipedia.org)

This 5,500-year-old cowhide right moccasin was found in a cave in Armenia, preserved in grasses and dry sheep dung. (Photo: news.nationalgeographic.com)

This is a 40,000 year old bone flute from southern Germany. (Photo: nytimes.com)

The oldest pants in the world were found in Western China; they are 3,300 years old. (Photo: M. Wagner / German Archaeological Institute)

The ancient city of Ephesus, Türkiye, had flushable public toilets. Running water under the seats was carried into the nearby river. (Photo: chroniclesoflindsay.blogspot.com)

This bra was worn between 1390 and 1485 in Austria. There are earlier historical descriptions of this item, but no other examples survive. (Photo: theatlantic.com)

This prosthesis helped someone in Egypt walk again 3,000 years ago. (Photo: bbc.com)

Dog teeth are all that remains from a disintegrated 4,500-year-old wallet found in Germany. They were probably part of the outer door. (Photo: Klaus Bentele, LDA Halle)

This reusable sheepskin condom was used in 1640 in Sweden. It came with instructions in Latin, which recommended cleaning the product with warm milk to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. (Photo: genreauthor.blogspot.com)

This chewing gum from Finland has been chewed for at least 5,000 years. It is made from birch bark and was most likely used to cure oral infections or used as an adhesive. (Photo: metro.co.uk)

The oldest recorded melody was found in the ancient city-state of Ugarit, in what is now southern Syria. The music was written for the lyre. (Photo: ancientlyre.com)

The oldest known coin was found within the ancient Hellenic city of Ephesos (Ephesus) in Turkey. One side of it is decorated with an image of a lion's head. (Photo.

Ancient people couldn't exchange text messages or take glamorous selfies, but despite this, they willingly used flush toilets, chewing gum and cute handbags, just like you and me.

We enjoy many modern technologies, but most of the everyday items we use have been around for ages.

An extended list of the most ancient examples of everyday items has been compiled for you. It is worth noting that these are the oldest surviving objects, many of them existed earlier, but, unfortunately, there is no evidence of this.

The oldest socks (1,500 years old)

Oldowan tools

The most primitive human tools are called Oldowan (Oldowan) due to the fact that they were first found in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.
The most ancient tools were found in Ethiopia. During excavations in the Afar Desert (central Ethiopia), tools dating back 2.5 million years were found in the Hadar area. At excavations in the Omo River Valley in Southern Ethiopia, archaeologists found tools that are about 2.4 - 2.5 million years old. Sites of ancient people were also found here.
Archaeologists consider the characteristic features of processing to be proof of the non-accidentality of chips on tools: stone trimming on one or two edges, the presence of a striking tubercle, as well as the concentration of tools in places where they could not have formed naturally.
By the way, here in Ethiopia, American archaeologists found a spear tip, the age of which was determined to be no less than 280,000 years. The tip is made of volcanic glass and is still very sharp.

Spanish petroglyphs

The most ancient rock paintings are petroglyphs found in Spain on the territory of the El Castillo and Altamira caves. Among the most ancient images are handprints, animal figures and dots. They are made with charcoal, hematite and ocher.
Scientists were able to determine the exact age of one of the palm prints, and it turned out that the drawing is 37,300 years old. The large red dot near this drawing is even older - 40,800 years old.
To determine the age of the drawings, scientists used calcite, which covered the images. The fact is that during the deposition of calcite on the drawings, radioactive uranium atoms entered the mineral, which, upon decay, form thorium. Scientists used the ratio of elements as a time clock, and calculated the time when calcite began to form.
True, archaeologists are still arguing about who exactly left the drawings - Homo Sapiens or whether they belong to Neanderthals.

Germanic ancient figurine

The oldest image of a person was found in Germany by archaeologist Nicholas Conard. This tiny female figurine, carved from mammoth ivory, was discovered in the Hole Fels karst cave in the Swabian Alb, which is located just a kilometer from the town of Schelklingen.
Figurine dimensions: 59.7 mm X 31.3 mm X 34.6 mm. Weight – 33.3 grams. The figurine was originally split into six pieces and is still missing an arm and a shoulder.
The age of the figurine was determined using radiocarbon dating, which was carried out on fragments of the remains of the animals next to which it was found. The spread of data turned out to be quite large. The age of the figurine is estimated at 44,000 years.
The author of the find, Conrad, believes that the figurine of a woman belongs to the Aurignac culture and determines its age as 40,000 years.

Stater of Gyges

The oldest coin in the world is the Lydian stater. The coin was gold and weighed 14 grams. The historian Herodotus wrote about the Lydians: “They were the first of the people to mint coins and engage in petty trading.”
The stater was minted from 685 to 652 under the Lydian king Gyges, the founder of the Mermnad dynasty. On the reverse of the coin there was an image of a lion, personifying the capital of Lydia, Sardis, and on the obverse there were incomprehensible rectangular symbols.
Later, staters spread throughout the Mediterranean and became widespread in Persia. The image of a running fox, which has a sacred meaning, appeared on the staters.

Donetsk sundial

Sundial dating from the 13th to 12th centuries BC. were found in 2011
in the Popov Yar II burial ground, which is located north-west of Donetsk and belongs to the so-called Srubnaya culture, whose representatives were the ancestors of the Scythians.
The clock is a carved slab measuring 100 by 70 centimeters, weighing 130 kilograms, with lines and circles on both sides. Unlike conventional sundials, which use a fixed vertical gnomon, the Donetsk clock was supposed to use a movable gnomon, which took into account the angle of inclination of the Earth's axis. Moreover, the watches were made for use exactly at the latitude at which they were found. Most likely, they belonged to a young man who was buried in the mound.

Antikythera Mechanism

The Antikythera Mechanism was found in 1900 by the Greek diver Lycopanthis among the wreckage of a sunken Greek ship in the Aegean Sea. The artifact consists of several bronze gears mounted inside pieces of limestone. Scientists, using X-rays and then a tomograph, managed to find out that this is a unique mechanical calculator, with the help of which the ancient Greeks determined the day of the week, year, time, and also calculated the paths of movement of the Sun, Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Saturn and Jupiter . The reverse side of the mechanism was used to predict solar and lunar eclipses.
Most likely, the ancient ship came from the island of Rhodes, where the Greek astronomer and mathematician Hipparchus of Nicaea once lived. Based on coins found at the site of the shipwreck by Jacques Cousteau, it was determined that the mechanism was created around 85 BC. It is believed that Archimedes himself invented the mechanism.

Antediluvian Shigir idol

The oldest wooden artifact was found in 1890 in the Shigir swamp in the Urals in Russia. At the second Kuryinsky mine, prospectors from under a four-meter layer of peat extracted fragments of a mysterious artifact, which went down in history as the Great Shigir Idol. In addition to him, more than 3,000 other finds were found - from arrowheads to wooden spoons and even the burial of a woman.
The larch idol is well preserved thanks to peat. Unfortunately, later the lower part was lost. The artifact is covered with geometric patterns that signify natural elements, and faces are carved on wide surfaces. It is crowned with a three-dimensional image of the head.
Now the idol is kept in the Sverdlovsk Regional Museum of Local Lore. In 1997, it began to collapse and urgent conservation was needed. Scientists decided to carbon analyze the wood. The analysis was carried out at the Institute of the History of Material Culture in St. Petersburg. He revealed that the artifact is 9,500 years old. That is, in accordance with the ideas of Christians, it could be created even before the Flood.

According to the interpretation of some fundamentalists, Bible tells that God created Adam and Eve several thousand years ago. Science reports that this is just a fiction, and that man is several million years old, and civilization is tens of thousands of years old. However, could it be that traditional science is just as wrong as bible stories? There is a large amount of archaeological evidence that history of life on earth may be quite different from what geological and anthropological texts tell us today.

Corrugated Spheres

For the past few decades, miners in South Africa have been digging up mysterious metal balls. These balls of unknown origin are approximately an inch (2.54 cm) in diameter, and some of them are engraved with three parallel lines running along the axis of the object. Two types of balls were found: one consisting of a hard bluish metal with white spots, and another empty from the inside and filled with a white spongy substance. Interestingly, the rock in which they were discovered dates back to the Precambrian period and dates back 2.8 billion years! Who made these spheres and why remains a mystery.

If you think that some of your things have already served their purpose and become dilapidated, then you should look at what scientists managed to dig up from the depths of history. According to research conducted on lice, humans began wearing clothing approximately 170,000 years ago. The oldest fibers used by humans are approximately 34,000 years old. Given that clothing is typically made from organic materials such as leather and cloth (which deteriorate quickly), there are very few ancient garments and accessories in the world.

10. The oldest jewelry in the world (130,000 years old)

In 2015, scientists announced that they had found the oldest jewelry in the world - eight eagle talons were found at the site of a Neanderthal settlement in Croatia. The eagle's talons came from three different birds. Several holes were made in them for stringing. There were also cuts and evidence of polishing, leading scientists to believe the claws were part of a necklace or bracelet.

This find supports the claim that Neanderthals were not stupid cavemen, but part of a complex, intelligent society that included religion and art. The researchers say it is likely that the claws were chosen for ceremonial purposes, demonstrating that Neanderthals understood the concept of symbolism. Given the fact that this jewelry dates back to approximately 80,000 years before the advent of modern humans, it was simply impossible for Neanderthals to have stolen or copied this design.

Before this discovery, the oldest jewelry in history was shells found in Israel and Africa, which were approximately 100,000 years old. The shells were found far from the coast and bore evidence of their use as beads strung on some kind of thread.

9. The oldest shoes (9300 years old)

The oldest pair of shoes in the world was discovered in the Fort Rock Basin in Oregon in 1938 and both shoes were found together. Fort Rock sandals were made from the twisted bark of Artemisia tree, they were without soles and had a closed toe. Several specimens have been discovered, the oldest being between 9,300 and 10,000 years old. Scientists believe that the straps on the sandals were tied around the ankle and then tied in a knot.

Well, the oldest leather shoe was discovered in the Areni-1 cave in southeastern Armenia in 2010. The shoe, estimated to be around 5,500 years old, is a brown leather lace-up boot for a small right foot (approximately size 37 or 38). This suggests that this shoe is a woman's. Researchers say the shoe was cut from a single piece of leather tanned with vegetable oil and tailored to fit the foot that would wear it. In addition, the shoe was stuffed with grass, either for insulation or to keep it from losing shape while not being worn.

The crown was discovered along with the Nahal Mishar Hoard. This treasure contained more than 400 items. The treasure was found in the Judean Desert, near the Dead Sea in 1961. The crown, dating from the Copper Age (4000-3300 BC), is made of blackened copper and measures approximately 18 centimeters in diameter (the New Yorker described it as a "little man's hat" in circumference). The top edge of the crown is decorated with five figures, including two long-necked birds (believed to be vultures), a pair of stylized doors or gates, and a T-shaped object thought to be the handle of a sword. It was discovered along with a scepter decorated with images of horned animals, a copper wicker basket and many clay bowls and vessels.

However, scholars do not think that the crown was worn by the real ruler of this area. They suggest that the crown was used for public ceremonies and during funeral rites for important people. It is also completely unclear how the crown and other treasures remained in a cave in the desert for so many centuries.

An Armenian cave became an ancient clothing storehouse for archaeologists, providing them with not only the oldest surviving skirt in the world, but also the aforementioned leather shoe. The skirt was discovered in the Areni-1 cave in southeastern Armenia. Only fragments remain of it, but this is enough to determine that the fabric is made of woven reeds with a ribbon woven in the opposite direction along the edge of the hem. It is impossible to say exactly what the skirt looked like when it was finished and whether it was worn by a woman or a man. However, scientists believe it represents the world's oldest example of clothing made from woven reeds.

Scientists were delighted to find in Areni-1, in addition to a skirt and a shoe, a mummified goat, which dates back to the same period as the skirt. If the scientists' calculations are correct, then the Armenian goat mummy is approximately a thousand years older than most mummified animals discovered in Egypt.

6. The oldest dress (5000 years old)

The Tarkhan dress, often considered the oldest piece of clothing in the world, was discovered in an ancient Egyptian cemetery, about 48 kilometers from Cairo. This dress, dating from the First Dynasty of Ancient Egypt or the Old Kingdom, is made from linen (and is the oldest piece of clothing made from textiles). The sleeves of the dress are ruffled, and a yoke is sewn to the hem. Researchers say the garment was clearly worn, as it clearly shows folds at the elbows and armpits. It was also found inside out, although some believe it was deliberately placed in the grave to impart funerary significance.

The dress was originally found in 1913, but the significance of the find was not realized until 1977. The tunic was part of a heap of flax that was removed from the grave but had not been properly cleaned or examined for 60 years. Curators at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London attached the dress to a base of fine silk so it could be displayed as it was worn in real life.

5. The oldest pants (3000 years old)

The oldest pants in the world were discovered in the Yanghai necropolis in China in 2014. Despite their obvious use they are still in very good condition. Researchers believe the pants were made to order by stitching together three pieces of material - the legs and crotch area - which were sewn together using matching threads. The pants also feature an intricate geometric pattern that has been woven directly into the fabric to create a comfortable pair of pants. Researchers believe the pants most likely originated among horse-using tribes that lived in the region approximately 4,000 years ago. They were used for protection and convenience when riding horses.

The desert surrounding the Yanghai necropolis has helped preserve a huge amount of fine textiles and fabrics. Items such as colored sheepskin boots, feathered hats, a fringed skirt and a tiny loincloth were also found there.

This bag can be called the first bag with a dog tooth decoration. In 2012, archaeologists unearthed the world's oldest bag from a grave near Leipzig, Germany. The bag was made of leather or fabric that had since decomposed and was covered in more than a hundred teeth from dozens of animals. Scientists say that what is left of the bag is very similar to an ordinary modern bag with a hinged lid with all the teeth pointing in the same direction. Dog teeth have also been found in hair ornaments and necklaces, leading scientists to speculate that they "were quite fashionable at the time."

A huge number of artifacts from Stone and Bronze Age settlements were discovered at the excavation site. Among them were stone chairs, bone buttons and an amber necklace. The researchers also discovered a later burial of a woman (circa 50 BC) with approximately 450 grams of gold jewelry.

3. The oldest sweater (1700 years old)

The world's oldest sweater was found on a Norwegian glacier in 2013. A greenish-brown crew-neck sweater made from sheep's wool with a diagonal diamond pattern was knitted for a man approximately 175 centimeters tall. This design may well have been fashionable in Iron Age Europe. The cut and size of the sweater are very similar to another item of clothing discovered in a swamp more than 150 years ago.

The sweater appears to be well preserved and has obviously been well looked after as it has been sewn twice. It may also be one of the oldest examples of reuse - some scholars suggest it was originally a sleeveless vest, with sleeves added during a second repair. More than 50 textile fragments were discovered in the glacier, many of which are still undergoing age determination and analysis. Researchers believe that global warming will lead to the discovery of more ancient clothing and accessories in the coming years.

2. The oldest socks in the world (1600 years old)

Less old than the rest of the items on this list, the world's oldest socks are still quite old, dating back to between 250 and 420 BC. These socks, of Romano-Egyptian origin, were discovered in the necropolis of an ancient Greek colony in central Egypt in the late 1800s.

Some observers have called them "alien socks" or "lobster socks." These are knitted wool socks of a bright red color with a separate big toe, which, according to scientists, was made for comfortable wearing with sandals. They are considered a very rare example of a knitting technique known as "Nålbindning" or single needle knitting - which is described as a very slow technique, more similar to embroidery than modern knitting. It starts with tying the big toe and ends at the ankle.

1. Oldest bra and panties (600 years old)

They're practically new compared to the rest of the list. The oldest underwear in the world was discovered under a floorboard in an Austrian castle in 2008. Four linen lace bras were discovered in a pile of more than 2,700 different textile fragments under the floor covering at Lengberg Castle. Researchers believe the bras date back to between 1390 and 1485 (when they were charmingly called "breast bags"). All four had distinctive cups and straps, while two of them appeared to be more of a bra and crop top combination, including a series of loops on the left side for lacing.

Also found in the mountain of clothing were several pairs of surprisingly modern-looking underpants, worn by men rather than women. If you are wondering what the world's oldest bra would look like on you, then you can sew your own version by looking at its patterns on the Internet.