Cache of oldest bone tools reveals craftsmanship of early human ancestors
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Archaeologists discovered a group of bone tools in the north of Tanzania, which was formed by the ancestors of the old man 1.5 million years ago, making them the oldest bone tools known for about a million years, according to a new research.
Researchers have discovered stone tools dating back to at least 3.3 million years agoBut before this discovery, the oldest known bone tools are found in European sites that are believed to be 250,000 500,000 years old.
Fragments of 27 bones of the ends, most of them hippo and elephants, show evidence of sharpening and formation, most likely with the help of stone pieces. Some bones reach approximately 15 inches (38 cm).
Bone tools, which seem to be systematically produced in the same style produced in Tanzania in Olduvai Gorge. The site is also the place where archaeologists have been discovered by artifacts related to some of the first stone tools designed by the first homesins, or human grandparents who walked in a straight position.
The new results, presented in a study published on Wednesday in the magazine natureHe suggested that our old human relatives applied the same techniques that they used to make stone tools for specific bones they chose from large mammals. Researchers believe that the tools are evidence that hominins have long been able to think about abstract thinking, or the ability to think critically by identifying patterns and conducting links.
“This expansion of technological capabilities indicates progress in the cognitive capabilities and mental structures of these hominins, who know how to combine artistic innovations by adapting their knowledge of the stone work with the Institute of the Old Research Council and the archeology, a study author, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement, in a statement.
Windows in human development
Olduvai Gorge is located in East Africa, which is home to some of the first evidence of both tools production and their use among the first ancestors of man. This is part of the UNESCO World Heritage website, often referred to as “the cradle of humanity” and is “known for its unparalleled contribution to our understanding of early human development,” said Jackson Najo, the author of the study.
“As a Tanzanian citizen, it has been captured from my high school days through the pioneering discoveries that were conducted on the famous Olduvai Gorge site in northern Tanzania,” Najo said. “The iconic action of the famous archaeologists, Dr.. Louis and Mary Liki, who discovered early human fossils … and the first human stone tools in the world charm and nurtured the dreams of countless young students, including me, who reassured their footsteps.”
He said that the site has a schedule that extends two million to 20,000 years ago, and those looking for the remains of the ancestors of ancient human ancestors such as Homo Hablis, Homo Erictos and the Hoomo Hero, or modern humans. Najo added that the archaeological registry also includes cultural developments and the development of the tool industry.
During the Oldowan era, a period of time called the stone artifacts in the suffocating, the old humans used the tools created by hitting one rock against another to chip chip, a process that led to a basic form. These simple tools were made between 2.7 million and 1.5 million years.
The an ax appeared during a shift in early human innovation about 1.7 million years ago at a time called the Achelean era, which lasted up to about 150,000 years. De L -Tori said that large, heavy, and directed stones require a complex technical capacity called Knapping, or cut small chips to create sharp edges, to produce them.
Old handicrafts displayed
Olduvai Gorge Bone tools were monitored for the first time in 2018 during the excavations that were implemented between 2015 and 2022. Researchers narrowed a specific trick in the suffocating after they found Humin’s teeth first on the surface during a field survey between 2010 and 2011, which helped NJAO led Robert Bluminsin, an editorial professor from other rustic operations in Rutgers in New Jersies.
The elephant bones resulted in the largest tools, ranging from 8.6 to 15 inches (22 to 38 cm) and 3.1 inches to 6 inches (from 8 to 15 cm), while the river horse bones are made for tools slightly smaller from 7 to 12 inches (18 to 30 cm) and 2.3 to 3.1 inches (6 inches).
The same Knapping techniques are applied to the exclusive bones of long, large bones of large animals. The authors of the study said that the tools, mainly made of the newly collected bones of the bodies, have gave up “a new light on an almost unknown world of early homainine bone technology.”
The 27 bone tools discovered by archaeologists in Tanzania varied depending on the animals from which it originated. Csic
“The tools show evidence that its creators have worked carefully on the bones and cut the chips to create useful shapes,” said Dr. Renata Peters, co -author of the study. We were excited to find these bone tools from such an early time frame. This means that the ancestors of man were able to transfer skills from stone to bones, a level of complex perception that we have not seen anywhere for another million years. “
De La Tori said that the bones add new evidence that the early cultures of Humin were suffering from technological transition about 1.5 million years ago.
“Before our discovery, the technological transition from Oldowan to Achelean was limited to studying stone tools.” “This discovery leads us to the assumption that the first humans have expanded their technological options significantly, which until then was limited to the production of stone tools and now allowed the merged of new raw materials into potential artifacts ammunition.”
The researchers said that the advanced understanding of making tools and the ability to apply it to different materials indicates that the ancestors of ancient man have greater cognitive abilities than previously thought.
New secrets appear
The authors of the study said that previous discoveries of bone tools have occurred in isolated situations throughout Europe and Asia, but it seems that the 27 bones in Olduvai Gorge involve huge production. Najo said that while the later bone tool groups in Europe, dating back to 400,000 years, were more accurate, Olduvai Gorge tools were more effective in hard tasks.
Although there is no direct evidence to show how tools use, the researchers said they believed that homes used to strip animal bodies for food and produce new tools.
Huminins leave distinctive marks and create sharp edges by Kneed the Bones, or cut chips using stones. Csic
Researchers also do not know any specific human ancestors that made the tools because the hominin residue has not been found with the bones. But the previous research conducted on the site suggested Homo Erectus and Huminin Paranthropus Boisei types He lived in the region.
The ancestors of man are likely to be a source of inspiration for the creation of bone tools due to the abundance of the bodies of animals available throughout the scene, especially during seasonal migrations, although the rocks may have been difficult to obtain depending on the place where homesins lived. But bone tools are rare in the archaeological registry because organic matter such as bone can collapse more easily.
Dr. Briana Popiner, ancient scientist, scientist Research in the Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, said that the study confirms that the tools made of materials other than sixty for our ancestors – and how these artifacts can be “invisible in an archaeological point of view.” Popiner did not participate in the study.
“There is a group of 27 bone tools, not just one or a few, indicates that hominins 1.5 million years ago (at least in this place) have managed to successfully transfer their knowledge about how the stone knot to the bone bone.” “For me, these indications are that the tool industry has become an increasingly important part of our ancestors’ life. Once again, we must look at museum groups to get more evidence of Huminin’s behavior – in this case, manufacturing bone tools – earlier than we had previously expected.”
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