1.5 million years ago, human ancestors used hippo bones to make tools
New evidence uncovered in east Africa indicates ancient hominins began crafting tools from animal bones far earlier than previously thought. If confirmed, our human ancestors started shaping bones by striking them at specific angles in a process known as knapping as much as 1.5 million years ago.
The findings come after paleolithic archeologists led by Ignacio de la Torre at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) analyzed bone fragments from the Olduvai Gorge site in northern Tanzania. Located in the Great Rift Valley and stretching roughly 29 miles across the Serengeti Plains, Olduvai Gorge is considered one of the most important paleoanthropological troves to date, and has advanced our understanding of early human life since its discovery over a century ago.
In this discovery, paleoarcheologists uncovered 27 tools mostly derived from ancient hippopotamus and elephant bones measuring as much as 1.25 feet long. As the team explained in their study published on March 5 in the journal Nature, the new information implies hominin abilities for adaptation and creation stretch much further back in our evolutionary timeline.
Prior to the latest Olduvai Gorge finds, the earliest evidence of systematic production of bone tools crafted with knapping techniques came from European sites dating between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago. Meanwhile, those found in paleoanthropological pre-Middle Stone Age African contexts were 'widely considered as episodic, expedient and unrepresentative of early Homo toolkits.' The Olduvai Gorge bones, however, don't appear to have been shaped at random, but instead display a uniformity indicating a practiced methodology and strategy.
'Excellent understanding of bone fracture mechanics is shown by the preferential use of large mammal fresh bones and the application of recurrent flaking procedures,' wrote researchers, adding that: 'Mental templates are suggested by the production of morphologically similar, elongated, pointed and notched bone tools.'
It's not just the age of the bone tools that is striking to researchers, but their overall historical context. Study authors believe that integrating the material into ancient hominin toolkits at least 1.5 million years ago puts them at a 'pivotal time in the evolution of African cultural adaptations,' particularly the late Oldowan and the early Acheulean periods.
These developments 'may have had a profound effect on the complexification of behavioral repertoires observed in the latter period,' including enhanced cognitive abilities, tool curation, and raw material harvesting techniques.
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