Experts often explain dog domestication as something that happened because humans realized that they could put dogs to work as hunters or herders, Grandal-d’Anglade said. But the D. avus skeleton at Cañada Seca and other fox burials hint that an animal didn’t need to be a useful worker to be nurtured by humans — it could simply be a friend.

5,000-Year-Old Ancient Burials Covered in Red Dye Found in Serbian  

Archaeologists excavating two barrow mounds in Vojvodina, in the northern part of the Republic of Serbia, have uncovered the burials of two men covered with red ochre dye.

Ochre is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. When mixed with a large amount of hematite, or dehydrated iron oxide it creates a pigment with a reddish tint.

The burials were discovered by the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IAEPAN) in two large barrow mounds first excavated between 2016-2018, of which the results of the study have only now been published.

Dr. Piotr Włodarczak from IAEPAN who led the excavations noted the lack of grave goods, but suggests that the ochre dye was seen as a ‘sacred colour’ for important funeral rituals.

The unusual height of those buried, suggests that the deceased originally came from the steppes of southern Russia or Ukraine, who found their way to Vojvodina around 5,000 years ago as part of a nomadic community.

“The ritual use of ochre and the placement of individual burials in large mounds suggests that they are associated with communities inhabiting the Eastern European steppe areas ” said Włodarczak.

I tried this! The cookies were good! Here is my take:

Add a little oil, a tablespoon or two, as well as using the butter. These get rock-like quickly, though they still taste fresh. The next week, I mean. I don’t know how they’ll taste in 1,300 years.

These have to cook longer than the recipe says. The first batch took 25 MINUTES to get that toasty color on the bottom.

Use more than two tablespoons of apricot jam. Be brave. You can put any leftovers on toast.