Ancient boomerang found in Poland challenges beliefs on early human settlement
The artifact, discovered in Podhale Obłazowa Cave, was estimated to be between 30,000 and 23,000 years old and believed to originate from Pavlovian culture, according to a June 28 news release from Science in Poland.
Thanks to DNA and isotopic analyses, researchers have confirmed the artifact may be up to 42,000 years old, predating the oldest known Aboriginal boomerang by tens of thousands of years, according to a study published June 25 in the journal PLOS One and Australian archaeological records.
The new finding makes the mammoth ivory boomerang the oldest ever discovered in Europe and possibly the world, according to the study.
'While today the boomerang is commonly associated with Aboriginal culture in Australia, historical evidence suggests its use across different continents,' researchers said.
The boomerang, measuring about 28 inches long, flies but does not return to the thrower, similar to some Aboriginal boomerang designs, experts said. It bears 'notable wear and polish' indicating frequent handling.
The artifact was found alongside a bone from a human thumb, a Conus shell, pendants made from arctic fox teeth, stone artifacts and boulders intentionally moved into the cave, suggesting it may have been used in a 'shamanistic ritual,' according to experts.
Researchers said no ivory fragments were found at the site, so the boomerang must have been carved somewhere else and taken to Obłazowa Cave, 'underscoring its special status.'
The age of the ivory boomerang and other artifacts also challenges beliefs that no one permanently lived in what is now Central Europe during that time, according to researchers.
Until now, many experts believed Homo sapiens did not settle in the region until after 35,000 B.C., leaving it 'uninhabited for millennia following Neanderthal extinction.'
The new findings provide evidence of sustained human settlement during the Early Aurignacian — a culture associated with the first modern humans, according to the study.
The research team included Sahra Talamo, Nicole Casaccia, Michael P. Richards, Lukas Wacker, Laura Tassoni, Adam Nadachowski, Anna Kraszewska, Magda Kowal, Jakub Skłucki, Christopher Barrington, Monica Kelly, Frankie Tait, Mia Williams, Carla Figus, Antonino Vazzana, Ginevra Di Bernardo, Matteo Romandini, Giovanni Di Domenico, Stefano Benazzi, Cristina Malegori, Giorgia Sciutto, Paolo Oliveri, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Mateja Hajdinjak, Pontus Skoglund, Andrea Picin and Paweł Valde‑Nowak.
Obłazowa Cave is about a 60-mile drive south from Krakow.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Science in Poland.
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