Oldest Known Bone Tools Date Back 1.5 Million Years, Found in Tanzania
Discovery of 27 bone tools at Olduvai Gorge pushes back systematic bone tool use by over a million years, showcasing early hominins' technological ingenuity.
- Researchers discovered 27 bone tools made from elephant and hippo leg bones at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, dating back 1.5 million years.
- The tools, likely used for butchering large animals, are the oldest known evidence of systematic bone tool production by early human ancestors.
- The tools were crafted by shaping bone fragments with stones, demonstrating advanced material selection and craftsmanship for the time.
- Hominins such as Homo erectus, Homo habilis, or Paranthropus boisei may have created these tools, though the exact species remains uncertain.
- This discovery highlights a technological transition from stone to bone tools and suggests a more complex toolkit than previously believed for early humans.
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