How the discovery of an ancient stone tool could rewrite human history
This discovery disputes the idea that the Middle Stone Age (between 300,000-30,000 years ago) was a period of stagnation in East Asia, while Europe and Africa saw significant advancements.
A Quina stone scraper, thick and asymmetrical with a broad and sharp working edge, was found with clear signs of use and resharpening.
Researchers are uncertain whether this technology was introduced to East Asia by westward migration or developed independently.
Further investigation, including the search for ancient human remains, may reveal whether this technology is linked to Neanderthals, Denisovans, or even an unknown human ancestor.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The secret to living longer may be the immune system's 'fountain of youth' - but it comes at a price
If you want to reach your 100th birthday and receive a telegram from the King, the answer may be in your immune system. For some over 60s with 'immune youth' have specialised white blood cells that restore strength and muscle mass, scientists have discovered. According to US researchers, who tracked more than 100 older adults, these cells known as Stem-like T cells, give people younger immune systems. But they also discovered those with the cells, also called stem-like memory T cells or TSL, could spread disease more easily. Instead, those with such cells were more likely to have autoimmunity—when the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues and organs instead of defending it. Dr Cornelia Weyand, a rheumatologist, expert in immune cell function at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and study co-author, said: 'We observed that these patients have very young immune systems despite being in their 60s and 70s. 'But the price they pay for that is autoimmunity.' Dr Jörg Goronzy, an immunologist at the Mayo Clinic and study co-author, added: 'Contrary to what one may think, there are benefits to having an immune system that ages in tandem with the body. 'We need to consider the price to pay for immune youthfulness. That price can be autoimmune disease.' In the study, researchers tracked the 100 over 60s who attended the Mayo Clinic to receive treatment for giant cell arteritis, an autoimmune disease that affects the arteries, including the aorta. Writing in the journal Nature Aging, they said they found stem-like T cells in the diseased tissue of these patients. They also discovered the immune checkpoint inhibitors that regulate the immune system were not working properly. The scientists said they are now in the process of developing new diagnostic tests that will help find patients and healthy individuals who carry high numbers of immune stem cells and may be predisposed to autoimmune disease later in life. Last year, research suggested life expectancy across the world will rise by almost five years by 2050, with the average man forecasted to live to 76 and woman, past 80. Global average life expectancy is forecast to increase to around 78.1 years of age in 2050, a rise of 4.5 years, The Lancet Public Health study also found. At the time, experts said the trend was largely driven by public health measures both preventing and improving survival rates from illnesses including cardiovascular disease, nutritional diseases and maternal and neonatal infections. Commentators also said the figures present an 'immense opportunity' to 'get ahead of rising metabolic and dietary risk factors' such as high blood pressure and BMI. The oldest living person in the world is now believed to be Ethel Caterham, from Surrey, who was born on August 21, 1909 and is 115 years old. The title of the oldest person to have ever lived belongs to French woman Jeanne Louise Calment whose life spanned 122 years and 164 days. Ms Caterham, who died in 1997, attributed her longevity to 'never arguing with anyone, I listen and I do what I like'. Experts who have studied centenarians agree. Physical activity, faith, love, companionship, and a sense of purpose make up the backbone of so-called 'Blue Zones,' or areas of the world where people typically live to 100 and beyond. Maintaining an active lifestyle, even simply walking around town every day, has been shown to improve longevity. Companionship has been shown to have a similarly positive effect on a person's lifespan, with studies consistently showing loneliness is toxic.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
The hybrid human-Neanderthal fossils that shocked scientists
For decades, experts believed Homo sapiens and Neanderthals never interbred, until a groundbreaking 2002 discovery in Peştera cu Oase, Romania, changed that. Join Ella Al-Shamahi as she examines the remarkable Oase fossils, where genetic studies proved these species not only coexisted but also shared DNA, reshaping our understanding of human ancestry. This clip is from Human (2025). Find out how you can watch the series where you live here:
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Scottish Sun
New clues to mysterious extinct & ancient ‘Hobbit' humans that roamed earth 1 million years ago uncovered by scientists
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SCIENTISTS have found new clues about a mysterious ancient human species - indicating they roamed around the earth a million years ago. The species called "Hobbit" was first discovered in 2004 when archaeologists searching a cave on an Indonesian island found a 60,000-year-old skull no bigger than a grapefruit. 6 Stone tools are pictured at the site where archaeologists found small, chipped tools, used to cut little animals and carve rocks Credit: Reuters 6 Archaeologists from Australia and Indonesia work at the site where they found small, chipped tools Credit: Reuters 6 A reconstruction sculpture of Homo floresiensis who lived tens of thousands of years ago Credit: Alamy And after some digging, archaeologists uncovered some very well-preserved fossil remains in the Liang Bua cave on Flores Island, Indonesia. The diminutive size of this new human species, scientifically called homo floresiensis, earned it the nickname "Hobbit". Shockingly, researchers believe the three-foot-tall hominin had survived until the end of the last Ice Age, some 18,000 years ago. That was much later than Neanderthals lived, later than any human species other than our own. But a new reseach has now found new stone tools that date back to at least a million years - near the place where homo floresiensis once existed. This suggests that the "Hobbit" species may have arrived far earlier than scientists previously estimated. The seven stone tools were found at an Early Pleistocene (Ice Age) site called Calio, located southern Sulawesi. Researchers from Griffith University and Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) dug up small, sharp flakes which early humans would have used as knives and blades. And through advanced dating techniques, the experts were able to confidently place the age of these tools at over 1.04 million years old. Gerrit van den Bergh, a vertebrate paleontologist from the University of Wollongong in Australia, told National Geographic: "At least one million years ago, there were tool-producing hominins on Sulawesi." Mystery Solved: The Story of 'The Screaming Woman' Mummy (1) Professor Adam Brumm, who led the study added: "This discovery adds to our understanding of the movement of extinct humans across the Wallace Line, a transitional zone beyond which unique and often quite peculiar animal species evolved in isolation." However, mystery still remains if the tools were used by "Hobbit" or members of a yet-undiscovered Human species. The homo floresienis were ancient humans that lived between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago. Adults stood just three-and-a-half feet tall and their brains were roughly one-third the size of our own, about the size of a chimpanzee's. 6 Researchers believed the three-foot-tall hominin had survived until the end of the last Ice Age 6 The Liang Bua cave on Flores Island where scientists found remains of 'hobbits' Credit: Alamy Scientists are still debating where they came from. One theory states the Hobbits may have arrived on the island from Java after being washed out to sea by a tsunami. Over time, they could have shrunk on their new island home – a strange yet common phenomenon known as island dwarfism. Their extinction happened around the time modern humans arrived, but the exact reasons are unknown. Who were the homo floresiensis? Homo floresiensis, nicknamed "the Hobbit", was a tiny human species discovered in 2003 on the Indonesian island of Flores. Fossils found in the Liang Bua cave revealed they were about 1 metre tall with very small brains, much smaller than modern humans. Despite this, they lived successfully on the island. They existed from around 100,000 to 50,000 years ago, at the same time as modern humans arrived in the area. They made stone tools, hunted small elephants and large rodents, and adapted to life alongside predators like Komodo dragons. Their ability to survive in such conditions was remarkable. Scientists are still debating where they came from. Some think they evolved from larger humans like Homo erectus, becoming smaller over time due to island living. Others believe they descended from much older ancestors. What's clear is that they were a completely unique species. The discovery of Homo floresiensis changed how we understand human evolution. It showed that brain size doesn't always equal intelligence and that humans were much more varied than previously thought.
