
6,000-year-old temple with sacrificial altars discovered in Ukraine - diodorus
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/6000-year-old-temple-with-sacrificial-altars-discovered
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padobson
I find the culture itself interesting. There's a wikipedia page for the
Trypillians: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucuteni-
Trypillian_culture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucuteni-Trypillian_culture)

These were the biggest cities in Europe at the time, and I tend to believe the
altars were altars, because they also burned down their own cities every three
or four generations.

~~~
veddox
I was very surprised to learn about a city of that size in Europe that long
ago! And I've never heard of the culture either - got to do some more
reading... ;-)

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grardb
Out of genuine curiosity/confusion, could someone explain how something like
this gets "discovered?" It's a two story building that's 66 feet tall
according to the article. Is it something that locals have seen but never
cared about? Or have people just not been walking around that immediate area
for the past several thousand years?

Perhaps because I'm from a super dense urban metro area, I don't fully
appreciate how stuff like this works. I'd love to know!

~~~
egeekuk
Looks like it hasn't been that tall for some time, having been burnt down
after it was abandoned[0]

[0] - [http://www.livescience.com/48352-prehistoric-ukraine-
temple-...](http://www.livescience.com/48352-prehistoric-ukraine-temple-
discovered.html)

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transfire
How do they know it wasn't just a community kitchen?

~~~
troels
That doesn't sound as cool, so clearly can't be it.

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eponeponepon
When a developer doesn't have a clue how to fix a bug, he declares it "a
feature".

When an archaeologist doesn't have a clue what something is, he declares it to
have been "for ritual purposes".

~~~
jefurii
Like the part in "Motel of the Mysteries" where the discoverer tries to figure
out what the toilet set was for.

[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/108831.Motel_of_the_Myst...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/108831.Motel_of_the_Mysteries)

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veddox
Several people have been commenting on how the archaeologists "know" that the
raised structures were altars. Well, they don't. Not for sure, anyway. Here is
an excerpt from a paper describing the find:

"Three different interpretations have been proposed: as ‘altars’, as ‘hearths’
and as ‘platforms’ [...]. The notion of ‘altars’ presupposes some ritual
function and would be supported by differential concentrations of figurines,
or other so-called ritual objects. However, there is no such concentration of
ritual finds. The expected evidence to support the notion of ‘hearths’ would
be the identification of burnt fired clay fragments, allied to concentrations
of charcoal and/or ash close to the features. The absence of burning near
these features diminishes the likelihood that they were ‘hearths’.
Nonetheless, short-term, low-temperature fires in the middle of a raised
seating area for ritual participants may well have left few traces of ash or
charcoal. The term ‘raised area’ is a more neutral term, indicating a proper
concern with a feature that is raised from the ground-surface of the me- ga-
structure, on which people could have sat or ritual objects could have been
placed for short-term performances - objects which were then removed to other
contexts [...]"

Once again, the popular press slightly twists science to present a "more
interesting read"...

(Source: [http://www.jna.uni-
kiel.de/index.php/jna/article/view/110](http://www.jna.uni-
kiel.de/index.php/jna/article/view/110))

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beefman
Better links:

[http://www.archaeology.org/news/2650-141023-ukraine-
trypilli...](http://www.archaeology.org/news/2650-141023-ukraine-trypillian-
temple)

[http://www.jna.uni-
kiel.de/index.php/jna/article/view/110](http://www.jna.uni-
kiel.de/index.php/jna/article/view/110)

~~~
veddox
The second link is a very solid scientific paper - not yet done reading it,
but looks good.

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tibarun
What if it was just a slaughterhouse?

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progman
Quote: "With such a fascinating culture it would be a shame to remember them
just for a purported prophesy that failed to pan out."

A "fascinating culture"?

[http://mayaincaaztec.com/mateofhusa.html](http://mayaincaaztec.com/mateofhusa.html)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture)

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baldfat
> Sacrificial altars

I fail to see how this is news worthy. No sacrificial alters would be news
worthy.

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Cyph0n
Uhh 6,000 years old? It's a probably a historical goldmine.

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baldfat
Yes anything that is 6,000 years old is awesome. That there are sacrificial
altars in a temple is just a horrible title. That is like saying 6,000 year
old temple found with door ways and steps.

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meric
Anything involving human history 6000 years old is awesome. Otherwise I have a
million year old rock in the river to sell you.

