Archaeologists believe that the 'world's oldest pyramid' might not have been built by humans.
The Djoser Step pyramid is said to be the world's oldest pyramid, with estimates claiming it was built in around 2,630 BC.
However, a couple of years ago, a paper published in Archaeological Prospection claimed that the Gunung Padang site in Indonesia could be the oldest, with researchers suggesting it dated back to 25,000 BC.
However, at the time, some fierce doubts over whether the structure was in fact man-made began to circulate, with many in the field disagreeing with the paper's claims over the site's origins.
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The paper's researchers claimed it could have originated from a natural lava hill 'before being sculpted and then architecturally enveloped’.
“This study sheds light on advanced masonry skills dating back to the last glacial period. This finding challenges the conventional belief that human civilisation and the development of advanced construction techniques emerged only... with the advent of agriculture approximately 11,000 years ago,” the paper explains.
“Evidence from Gunung Padang and other sites, such as Gobekli Tepe [in Turkey], suggests that advanced construction practices were already present when agriculture had, perhaps, not yet been invented.”
However, some researchers claimed there was no evidence to suggest the site was man-made at all.
Flint Dibble, from Cardiff University, said: “Material rolling down a hill is going to, on average, orient itself. There is no evidence of working or anything to indicate that it’s man-made.”
Dibble added to The Guardian: “If you went to the Palace of Westminster and dropped a core seven metres into the ground and pulled up a soil sample you might date it as being 40,000 years old. But that does not mean the Palace of Westminster was built 40,000 years ago by ancient humans. It just means there’s carbon down there that’s 40,000 years old. It is extraordinary that this paper has been published.”
Meanwhile, Bill Farley, an archaeologist at Southern Connecticut State University, said: “The 27,000-year-old soil samples from Gunung Padang, although accurately dated, do not carry hallmarks of human activity, such as charcoal or bone fragments.”
The debate led to the editors of Archaeological Prospection launching an investigation, which ended with the paper being retracted, alongside the comment: “Following publication of this article, concerns were raised by third parties with expertise in geophysics, archaeology, and radiocarbon dating, about the conclusions drawn by the authors based on the evidence reported.”
The retraction notice also explained that soil samples taken in the study were not associated with any man-made findings and therefore the conclusion of a pyramid on the site was incorrect.
Author of the paper, Professor Danny Hilman Natawidjaja, said he was 'disappointed' at the retraction, calling it 'a severe form of censorship, blatantly disregarding the fundamental principles of scientific inquiry, transparency, and fairness in academic discourse'.
Topics: Science, Environment, World News
Lucy Devine