Was steel made in Europe 2900 years ago? It seems so ● People spend 16 part of their lives just to beautify themselves ● Parental care, the reason we have more brains

Was steel made in Europe 2900 years ago? It seems so

If you thought steel was a relatively modern invention, you’d be wrong. In fact, just a reference to the famous Damascus steel, which was already in use around the 10th century AD, would be enough to prove that this technique was already known in the Middle Ages.

But the origins of this invention are not even medieval. They are much older. In the region of Anatolia and southern India, the technique of steel production has been around for about 3,800 years, and it has been adopted by China for at least 2,500 years. The problem is that the production and use of steel was never proven in Europe that long ago.

However, a joint team of German-Spanish archaeologists claims to have evidence of the use of steel in the Iberian Peninsula as far back as 2,900 years. And this is completely consistent with the words of the old Roman chronicles, that in pre-Roman Iberia there were swords of the “falcate” type (pictured), made of steel, some of which Hannibal himself later took to his troops.

Tangible evidence comes from the analysis of engravings made on stone stelae dating from the late Bronze Age discovered in Rocha do Video, Portugal. Trying to recreate them with tools made of different materials (stone, bronze, iron or steel), archaeologists have discovered that the corresponding engravings made on extremely hard rocks can only be created with steel tools. Nothing else worked.

The second piece of evidence was the discovery of a 2,900-year-old chisel from the same area. Its chemical analysis showed that it had an impressive concentration of iron and carbon for the level of technology at the time. Or what we knew about technology back then. And there was only one conclusion, the Iberians already knew the technologies of steel production and processing almost three millennia ago.

People spend 16 part of their lives just to beautify themselves

Researchers from 93 countries, 93,158 people surveyed, a study published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, and a result worthy of the annals of science. Here’s the research we’re discussing today that shows the amount of time people spend trying to look their best.

So as not to hold you tight for the data of this study that you have been waiting for years, we will say that the results are not too far from what we also knew, without all the effort and expense of discussing and recording the data of approximately 100,000 people from all over the planet .

In particular, women spend about 4 hours a day (men only 3.6 hours) to look their best. And time wisely does not mean just standing in front of the mirror. no This includes body hygiene, going to the gym or other sports activities, time spent following all kinds of diets, choosing the clothes they will wear, and so on. All about improving your appearance.

What has been less known is that there is not much difference between these practices in older and younger people. Those who spend more time trying to look their best are those who are new to or looking for a relationship. What was to be expected. It was also expected that time spent on such activities would decrease after getting married or establishing a routine in a relationship.

So this goes a long way in explaining why people spend so much time trying to be more beautiful. Namely, to find your soul mate. Another reason, which has ancestral roots and with which it may have all started, is the masking of possible signs of some diseases. After all, a healthy person has more chances to find a partner of the opposite sex.

Interestingly, women in countries with a more “traditional” view of gender, so to speak, spend more time decorating than those in countries where there is an idea of ​​gender equality. Finally, the fact is that, despite all the hypotheses put forward by experts about the reasons for this behavior, the finality is about one thing… find a partner. Which, spinach, we also knew, there was no need for this study.

Parental care, the reason we have more brains

Not only humans, mammals in general and almost all warm-blooded animals (including birds) have larger brains than reptiles. This observation led to an interesting analogy that a group of researchers from the Max Planck Institute in Germany found in a study published in the journal PLOS Biology.

To do this, German experts used the paradox of “which came first: the egg or the chicken?”. In particular, a larger brain consumes much more energy than a small one. But the cerebrum is fully functional only when it reaches adulthood. In this sense, the descendants of large-brained species could not, at least in theory, provide the necessary energy for normal brain function if they had to consume their energy from the first hours of life to survive.

The conclusion is that the mentioned species developed a larger brain specifically to be able to take care of their young, to invest more energy in protecting them, thus allowing brain development. It is known that warm-blooded species spend more time incubating eggs, feeding the young, finding food for them, protecting them from cold or other weather, caring for them, etc. Reptiles just lay eggs and that’s it.

The connection between cause and effect in this case, at least on a hypothetical level, cannot be denied. This is an interesting prospect, but it still needs a lot of work to confirm.

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