In a groundbreaking revelation, researchers have uncovered evidence that early humans were utilizing animal bones to craft cutting tools as far back as 1.5 million years ago. A recent excavation at Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge site has yielded a significant cache of 27 carved and sharpened bones from elephants and hippos, pushing back the timeline for ancient bone tool usage by approximately 1 million years.
The new findings, published in the esteemed journal Nature, suggest that ancient humans possessed a more intricate toolkit than previously understood. According to William Harcourt-Smith, a paleoanthropologist at the American Museum of Natural History, who was not involved in the research, this discovery indicates that early humans incorporated a diverse range of materials into their tool-making practices.
The well-preserved bone tools, some measuring up to 16 inches (40 centimeters), were crafted by skillfully breaking off the thick ends of leg bones and using stones to knock off flakes from the remaining shaft. Study co-author Ignacio de la Torre, a researcher at the Spanish National Research Council, explained that this technique resulted in one sharpened edge and one pointed tip, creating tools that were likely used as hand axes for butchering dead animals.
De la Torre emphasized that these bone tools were probably used for processing meat from elephant and hippo carcasses, rather than for hunting. “We don’t believe they were hunting these animals. They were probably scavenging,” he noted. This assertion aligns with the evidence that some of the artifacts displayed signs of extensive use, having been struck to remove flakes more than a dozen times, indicating a level of persistent craftsmanship.
Mírian Pacheco, a paleobiologist at the Federal University of Sao Carlos in Brazil, who was not involved in the study, pointed out that the uniform selection of large and heavy leg bones from specific animals—along with the consistent alteration patterns—suggests that early humans made deliberate and thoughtful choices in their tool-making process. The bones show minimal signs of erosion, trampling, or gnawing by other animals, effectively ruling out natural causes for the tool shapes.
These ancient bone tools date back over a million years before the emergence of our species, Homo sapiens, around 300,000 years ago. During the era when these tools were crafted, three distinct species of human ancestors inhabited the same region of East Africa. Briana Pobiner, a paleoanthropologist at the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program, who was not involved in the study, mentioned that these tools could have been made and utilized by Homo erectus, Homo habilis, or Paranthropus boisei. “It could have been any of these three, but it’s almost impossible to know which one,” Pobiner remarked.
This remarkable discovery at Olduvai Gorge significantly enriches our understanding of early human technology and adaptation, highlighting the complex behaviors of our ancient ancestors.
