What are "Sites" according to Gignos?
Gignos is a catalog of archaeological sites which are defined traditionally as a place of historic or prehistoric significance that contain specimens or evidence of human activity which is preserved. The Gignos catalog is focused on archaeological sites that are older than 10K years and classified as pre-historic.
Archaeological finds can consist of a single specimen to hundreds of thousands of specimens from a locality. The term Site is loosely used in our context to represent a very specific location where a single specimen was found as well as a broader grouping of locations where many specimens were found.[1]
Why 10,000 years old?
10,000 years old is a nice round number! It also signifies a period of time when the human world was in transition. At approximately 10,000 years ago the last ice age was coming to a close, and Homo sapiens were the last remaining hominid branch to make it through the gauntlet of our evolutionary human family tree.
How many 10,000 year old Archaeological Sites are there on planet earth?
The short answer is that so far Gignos knows about roughly 477 sites. Of those 477 sites we have published 15 with rich content pages. The long answer is that we don't know and there are likely thousands upon thousands of sites that are waiting to be discovered. We hope to help everyone discover more information about existing known sites, and we hope that those discoveries will lead us to more undiscovered sites.
What are Paleoanthropological Archaeology Sites?
Paleoanthropological archaeology sites are locations where evidence of early human activity and evolution has been found. These sites can include places where ancient human fossils have been discovered, as well as areas where stone tools and other artifacts from early human cultures have been found.
Paleoanthropological archaeology sites are often found in regions with a long history of human occupation, such as Africa, Asia, and Europe. These sites are important for understanding the development of human cultures and societies over time, as well as the physical and biological evolution of our species. Researchers who study these sites are known as paleoanthropologists, and they use a variety of techniques, such as radiocarbon dating and analysis of stone tools and other artifacts, to learn about the lives of our ancestors.