BASHKIRIA, RUSSIA—Some 500 giant cave lion bones, ten stone spearheads, and the skull of a cave bear pierced by a spear have been recovered from Imanai Cave in the Ural Mountains. “Such a large quantity of giant cave lion bones at one site is really unique, the only one in the world so far discovered,” Pavel Kosintsev of the Urals Branch of the Russian Academy of Science told The Siberian Times. He says that the bones were found deep in the cave, which is unusual for lions, so the bones may represent the remains of sick or injured animals that were brought into the cave by humans. The spearheads are the only signs of human activity found in the cave so far, however. “The recent findings, from the lower layers, can be older, up to 60,000 years ago. If we will get older data, it could be the world’s most ancient sanctuary of this type. But of course we must wait for the exact data,” he said. To read about Paleolithic art, go to "New Life for Lion Man."
