Cyprus 2007 – Cyprus through the ages
1) Photo
2) Links
3) Name
Cyprus through the ages
4) Informations
Issue Date: 2/10/2007
5) Description
There is not an official description on the web site of Cyprus post, however the figured fossil is a specimen of:
Hippopotamus minor Desmarest, 1822, (Cyprus, Pleistocene).
Additional info about this fossil can be find at these links:
Gibraltar 2007 – Prehistoric life of Gibraltar
1) Photo
2) Links
http://www.gibraltar-stamps.com/gibraltar-stamps.aspx?cat=36&pro=176
3) Name
Prehistoric Wildlife of Gibraltar
4) Informations
Technical Description
Illustration: Christian Hook
Design: Stephen Perera
Printer: Cartor
Process: Offset Lithography
No. of Colours: 4
Stamp Size: 40mm x 52mm
Min Sheet Size: 156 x 100mm
Values: 8p, 40p, 42p, 55p, 78p, £2
Issue Date: 26th September 2007
Set £2.23Miniature Sheet £2.00Prestige Booklet £8.46FDC set £2.FDC Miniature Sheet £2.40Pack Set £2.68Pack Min. Sheet £2.45
5) Description
The excavations that the Gibraltar Museum has been conducting in Gorham’s and Vanguard Caves since 1991 have revealed the richness of the flora and fauna of Gibraltar in prehistory. These caves hold a unique fossil, pollen and charcoal record of the last 120 thousand years on the Rock and its surroundings. For 90% of the time global climate was cooler than today and sea levels were lower by as much as 120 metres. A large sandy plain, with lakes and savannahs, surrounded the Rock. This was the time of the Neanderthals who brought back animals to the caves for food. The information obtained from these caves allows us a unique vision into Gibraltar’s prehistory and its animals and plants. The set of six images depicts Gibraltar’s prehistoric landscapes, at times of lowered sea level and also during periods of global warming when the sea reached up to 8 metres above present levels, making the Rock an island. Most of the species in the fossil record still exist but many are restricted to reserves in Africa or the more remote parts of Europe. Others are now extinct. The particular climatic conditions of Gibraltar meant that, even in the coldest moments when Europe was engulfed in ice, many species survived in this refugium. Olives grew and tortoises lived here at the height of the last Ice Age showing that the climate was mild. Animals of the Ice Age, like Woolly Mammoth, never reached this far south either. The Neanderthals themselves lasted here much longer than anywhere else on the planet. This set gives an impression of the ecology and landscape of this Eden in the Mediterranean.
Andorra 2007 – La Balma de la Marginada & El Cedre
1) Photo
a 
b 
2) Links
a) http://timbres.laposte.fr/detailarticle.jgi?index=3&idArticle=1407110
b) http://timbres.laposte.fr/detailarticle.jgi?index=3&idArticle=1407111
3) Informations and Description
a) Timbre d’Andorre – La Balma de la Marginada : 0,60 €
Ref: 1407110
Data d’emissione: 12.11.07
Formato:
30×40mm – Feuille de 40 timbres valables uniquement au départ d’Andorre.
Tecnica di stampa: Offset
Autore: Francesc Ribó
Tematica : Natura
Ce timbre est valable uniquement au départ d’Andorre. La grotte de la Margineda est un abri naturel sis dans le défilé faisant communiquer Aixovall et Santa Coloma. Cette enclave préhistorique, compte tenu de sa situation dominante sur les berges de la rivière Valira, constitue un excellent lieu pour contrôler le passage vers les vallées intérieures.
a) Timbre d’Andorre – El Cedre : 0,85 €
Ref: 1407111
Data d’emissione: 05.11.07
Formato:
30×40 mm – Feuille de 40 timbres valables uniquement au départ d’Andorre
Tecnica di stampa: Offset
Autore: Francesc Ribó
Tematica : Natura
Ce timbre est valable uniquement au départ d’Andorre. Emplacement préhistorique datant de l’âge du bronze, la zone du Cedre est située sur les terrains de la soulane qui se trouve entre Santa Coloma et Andorra la Vella, actuellement recouverts par les éboulis de la chaîne d’Enclar. Les hommes commencèrent à s’y installer vers l’an 2000 avant J.-C. et ce sont des vestiges de leur séjour qui y furent découverts. Le gisement du Cedre comporte sept petites stations, à la chronologie différente, sur le versant de la Soulane d’Enclar, dans la zone de Santa Coloma, dans la vallée centrale de l’Andorre.
Slovenia 2007 – Archeological Finds – The oldest flute
2) Links
http://www.posta.si/Namizje.aspx?tabid=700&artikelid=9033
3) Name
Archeological Finds – The Oldest Flute
4) Informations
Date of issue: 23/11/2007
|
Design: |
Tamara Korošec (Znanstvenoraziskovalni center SAZU, Inštitut za arheologijo) |
| Motif: | Bone Flute from Divje Babe Cave |
| Printed by: | Oriental Press, Bahrain |
| Printing technique: | 4-colour offset |
| Sheet: | miniature sheets of 1 stamp |
| Paper: | GSM 102 g/m2 |
5) Description
The Oldest Flute
In 1995, the excavations of the archaeologists of the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovene Academy of Sciences and Arts (SRC SASA) unearthed a perforated thigh bone (femur) of a juvenile cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) from the cave bear bone accumulations of the Divje Babe I Cave Site situated over the hamlet of Reka in western Slovenia. The artefact discovered was later recognised as possibly the oldest flute in the world, dating back to the middle of the last Ice Age, which began 115,000 years ago and ended with a long-lasting warming 10,000 years ago. Slovene and American scientists determined its age by analysing the succession of cave sediment layers containing other artefacts from that period and climate records, and by using the Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dating. The sediment layer housing the bone flute was thus estimated at about 55,000 years. The last Glaciation was the age of Neanderthal man. Until the arrival of modern humans 45,000 years ago, Neanderthals were the only human occupants of Europe, which means that the flute could only be produced by them. This sheds new light on Neanderthals and their cultural capacity, bringing them closer to our direct ancestors – fully modern humans – who manufactured and used similar bone flutes after their arrival to Europe. While the capacity of modern humans to manufacture musical instruments is an uncontested fact, many doubt that the Neanderthal man possessed the same ability. This is the reason why the Slovene archaeological find, which is 10,000 years older than the oldest uncontested bone flute, unleashed a long national and international debate among scholars, shaking the very foundations of some of the common perceptions of the Neanderthal man. The status of the artefact as a flute became disputable. Doubts were voiced about the explanation of the artificial (human-made) origin of the holes. It was suggested that they are more likely to be the result of natural causes, in particular bites from ancient carnivores rather than Neanderthal construction, which is a complete nonsense in this case. Still, no matter how we interpret this unexpected find, which is admittedly unique both in time and place, it is the fact that it is truly the oldest of its kind, and the possibility that the find could be the flute cannot be ruled out based on the current evidence. Ivan TURK, Institute of Archaelogy, SRC SASA, Ljubljana
Contacts from 01-10-08
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