An 8,000 - year - erstwhile skull remainder was recently bring out at an archeological site in Norway . While the skull could have belonged to a human child , this has not been support . It may have come from an creature . improbably , research worker noticed gray , clay - same material within the skull , which they believe could be tincture of preserved wit affair . If the skull does plow out to be human , this would be one of the erstwhile human brain ever recovered . Gaute Reitan , who led the dig squad , discussed the preliminary finding with Norwegian Broadcasting ( NRK ) .

While preliminary testing dated the skull back to about 5900 BCE , Reitan ’s crew has cry for help from paleoanthropologists for identify the coinage of the skull found at the Stokke situation . The crew has been search the site for two months , working ahead of plans to build a convention centre over the land . Information gathered here will help identify what life was like in Norway during this late fortune of the Stone Age .

“ It ’s seldom enough that we get to grind in a bivouac from a part of the Stone Age that we really do n’t screw much about,”Reitan recount NRK . “ But the fact that we ’re uncovering a whole slew of thing that are exceeding on a national basis , makes this very peculiar . ”

The gang has identify several bone fragment already , but ask help identifying what part of the body they are and from what species . include in this collection are the oldest unburned os ever pick up in Norway , which Reitandescribedas a “ once in a calling ” discovery . Of naturally , the analysis of the skull and potential learning ability issue could make the get hold much more awful . If mentality matter has been preserved all this time , scientists will be capable to learn a caboodle about what disease may have been present in the area .

The current record - holder for previous preserved wit is 4,000 years erstwhile and come from Western Turkey . Four burnt human skeletons were found inter in sediment , which was potential the resultant of architectonic activity . A fire likely spread throughout the area , run out the atomic number 8 from around the body and boil bodily fluid . This stopped the enzyme within the brain from breaking down the tissue paper , allow it to be preserved .

Reitan ’s team has afew more weeksto excavation at the site before construction crews take over to build the convention center .

[ chapeau summit : io9 ]