Modern humans reached westernmost Europe 5,000 years earlier than previously known (Phys.org 09/28/20)

Modern humans arrived in the westernmost part of Europe 41,000—38,000 years ago, about 5,000 years earlier than previously known, according to Jonathan Haws, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Louisville, and an international team of researchers.

Researchers Uncovered a 5,000-Year-Old Crystal Dagger Buried in Spain (mymodernmet.com 08/24/20)

Archeologists have discovered many tools left behind by prehistoric civilizations. Most of these are made of stone, but in Spain, researchers have found incredible weapons made of rock crystal. Dating back to at least 3000 BCE, these weapons include an incredible crystal dagger that would have taken enormous skill to carve.

The oldest known cremation in the near east dates to 7000 BC (Phys.org 08/12/20)

Ancient people in the Near East had begun the practice of intentionally cremating their dead by the beginning of the 7th millennium BC, according to a study published August 12, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Fanny Bocquentin of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and colleagues.