13,000-Year-Old Tools and Beads Uncovered in Turkey

KAHRAMANMARAŞ, TURKEY—Hürriyet Daily News reports that two bone awls and four beads dated to 13,000 years ago have been discovered in Direkli Cave in south-central Turkey. Cevdet Merih Erek of Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University said that differences between the awls suggests that one may have been used to pierce stone beads, while the other is thought to have been used in working leather or making clothing. The beads are thought to have been placed in burials to adorn the dead, he added. “The differentiation in this tool industry and the use of various materials in different fields point to a certain level of industrial development during that period,” Erek concluded. To read about a Roman mosaic recently unearthed in eastern Turkey, go to "A Day at the Hunt."