-with-Pawe-Valde-Nowak-(left)-and-Adam-Nadachowski-(right)-pose-wit.jpeg%3Ftrim%3D29%2C0%2C29%2C0%26width%3D1200%26height%3D800%26crop%3D1200%3A800&w=3840&q=100)
Archaeologists discover what could be world's oldest boomerang in Europe
The tusk was found along with what seemed like a human little finger or toe bone fossil at the Obłazowa cave in Poland, and it could be nearly 40,000 years old, according to a study published in the journal PLoS One.
The previously oldest-known wooden boomerang came from the Wyrie Swamp in South Australia. It was dated to about 10,000 years ago, researchers, including from Jagiellonian University in Poland, said.
One of Europe's earliest wooden throwing sticks was discovered at Schöningen in northern Germany and dated back about 300,000 years.
In southeastern Australia, prehistoric Aboriginal people employed several kinds of such curved sticks for hunting birds, fish and small mammals.
Several types of 'non-returning boomerangs' have been found in central Australia as well. These were used for various tasks like 'butchering animals, digging wells or cooking pits, scraping hot ashes from cooking carcasses, retouching stone weapons, and even producing musical sounds'. This shows the significance of boomerangs as versatile tools across diverse cultural and economic contexts.
While most ancient boomerangs found so far, mostly in Australia, are typically made of wood, the new find made of ivory highlights the resourcefulness of our early Homo sapiens ancestors.
Researchers found it to resemble 'Queensland type of Australian boomerangs' with experiments hinting it could fly as a 'non-returning boomerang'.
Markings on the boomerang provide cultural context critical for understanding the emergence and variability of symbolic behaviors among early Homo sapiens groups in Europe.
The discovery of the boomerang along with artefacts like a pendant also underlines 'an emerging regional artistic identity' 40,000 years ago.
'This parallels the distinct regional traditions observed in Europe such as the ivory figurines and flutes of the Swabian Jura,' researchers said.
Archaeologists suspect the human digit fossil discovered along with the boomerang in the Obłazowa cave may be indicative of a shamanistic ritual.
'This interpretation draws parallels with rock art evidence of portrayed human hands with missing digits found in the Iberian Peninsula and France,' they said.
The findings offer insights into early human technological innovation, highlighting the creative solutions societies developed to suit their needs across time.
'The findings not only deepen our understanding of Homo sapiens ' adaptive strategies but highlight the nuanced interplay of technology, symbolism, and environmental interaction during the earliest phases of human dispersals in Central Europe,' the study concluded.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
22 minutes ago
- The Guardian
UK wasp numbers soar after unusually warm and dry spring
If dodging swooping gulls trying to steal your chips wasn't already enough, you might be spending your bank holiday trying to keep wasps away from your ice cream too. Britain is in the middle of a wasp boom. Not only have they arrived earlier than expected, but there are more of them than in recent summers. Experts say 2025 is an excellent year for them. Populations have soared across the UK thanks to an unusually warm and dry spring. The UK had its warmest spring for mean temperature on record, according to the Met Office. Cooler, wetter springs help keep wasp numbers regulated by wiping out young worker colonies before they can establish themselves. But not this year. With ideal conditions, more queens survived to establish nests, leading to the early appearance of significantly larger colonies. 'The warm, dry conditions have created the ideal environment for wasps to thrive,' says Prof Seirian Sumner, a behavioural ecologist at University College London that and author of Endless Forms: Why We Should Love Wasps. 'That means more colonies, more wasps and a longer season.' Wasps don't usually cause picnic chaos until late August, when they begin craving sugar, Sumner said, but the extended warm weather means they are already here. At the start of the season, wasps are on the lookout for protein to take back to their nests, usually other insects such as flies and caterpillars. This is not ideal if you are munching on a scotch egg, but it's great for the environment, she said. Wasps are natural pest controllers, and play a key role in regulating insect populations. As the summer goes on, their preferences shift. Once the larvae are fed and the colonies mature, adult wasps begin hunting for sugar instead. Their narrow waists make them less able to digest solid food, so they gravitate towards convenient liquids, which is when sweet drinks and ice creams become prime targets. Alcohol, in particular, appears to be a magnet. 'Volatile compounds released by drinks like cider, beer and wine are highly attractive to wasps,' said Dr Tilly Collins, a fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and researcher at Imperial College London. Despite their bad reputation, wasps are crucial to our ecosystem. As well as their role in pest control, they are vital pollinators. After decades of declining insect numbers, their return this year is a promising sign that experts welcome. So what should you do when one circles your sandwich? Andrew Whitehouse from the charity Buglife charity, which is devoted to the conservation of invertebrates, said: 'Don't swat, and definitely don't panic. Stay calm and move your arms in a slow and controlled manner. They should get the message.' Sumner, who carries out a Ham or Jam? survey that tracks wasp behaviour suggests a sacrificial morsel: 'Place a wasp-friendly, small portion of food a short distance away. Wasps are opportunists, and usually happy to accept a better offer.'
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
UK independent space agency scrapped to cut costs
The UK Space Agency will cease to exist as an independent entity to cut the cost of bureaucracy, the government said on will be absorbed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in April government says this will save money, cut duplication and ensure ministerial one leading space scientist said the move would lead to disruption in the short term and the UK losing ground to its international competitors over the long run. Dr Simeon Barber of the Open University feared that scrapping UKSA would lead to Britain's space sector "losing focus"."Around the world countries have been recognising the importance of space by setting up national space agencies, and for the government to be scrapping ours seems like a backward step," he said. UKSA was created 2010 in response to the growing importance of the sector to the economy. The development of small spacecraft, satellites and space instrumentation is a field that the UK excels at, thanks in part due to the agency. Its role is to develop the country's space strategy, coordinate research and commercial activities and liaise with international partners. During its tenure UKSA saw a UK astronaut, Tim Peake launched into space to work on the International Space Station and the development of Britain's own capability to launch small satellites and other small payloads into space from space sector generates an estimated £18.6bn a year and employs 55,000 people across the agency, its budget and activities will now be absorbed into DSIT. It follows a commitment from Prime Minister Keir Starmer to reduce costs and cut the number of arms length government bodies, known as quangos (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations), starting with the abolition of NHS England announced in minister Sir Chris Bryant said: "Bringing things in house means we can bring much greater integration and focus to everything we are doing while maintaining the scientific expertise and the immense ambition of the sector."The merger will see the agency become a unit within DSIT, staffed by experts from both organisations and retaining the UKSA supporters of the space agency, such as Dr Barber fear that this will mean a loss of the agency's dynamic, proactive approach which has proved to be so successful for the UK's space science and its space industry. He said there was a danger of moving to more bureaucratic, less incentivised ways of working, which he said were more typical of government departments, and were the reason the agency was created in the first place."It feels like we're going to get stuck in the mud again," he told BBC News.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Boys and girls should be taught about periods together in school, academics say
Girls and boys should be taught about periods in mixed-sex groups in school to improve their understanding of menstruation, researchers have said. A study by University College London (UCL) academics has suggested that pupils in schools are being given insufficient information around periods. For many pupils they are given just two lessons about periods in their whole school career – one in primary and one in secondary, researchers have said. They have called for lessons on menstruation in schools to be much 'more comprehensive'. Since September 2020, relationships and sex education has been compulsory in secondary schools in England, while relationships education has been compulsory in primary schools. Professor Joyce Harper, from UCL Institute for Women's Health, said: 'Educating pupils about periods may now be compulsory in schools in England and Wales, but we know that for many of them that still only amounts to two lessons in their entire school career.' The researchers suggested that periods should be taught among mixed-sex groups, as well as single-sex groups, which some schools do not currently do. Prof Harper said: 'Our focus groups were also of the view that boys need to be part of that education. 'It was agreed that classes should not be segregated by gender, believing mixed sessions are crucial for boys' education. 'Although some saw value in single-sex classes to allow students to speak more freely, they still felt mixed sessions were essential to improve overall understanding. 'They suggested this could help boys understand and support their friends and future partners through menopause.' Overall, 55 women took part in the study divided into two groups based on age (18 to 25 and 26 to 40) and five focus groups were conducted for each group. They were recruited via social media, and many of the women were educated before the topic on menstruation became mandatory in English schools. The academics said menstruation is 'highly stigmatised' and a 'lack of education' about difficult periods restricts individuals from seeking help. Co-author Caroline Musulin, from UCL Institute for Women's Health, said: 'Many women endure menstrual problems longer than they should due to the inability to speak openly about uncertainties, fears of being dismissed by healthcare professionals, the view that it's 'just' a painful period or feelings of shame. 'Stigma, secrecy, and the expectation to 'cope' with painful periods contribute to the systemic dismissal of menstrual discomfort.' The latest statutory Government guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in schools says pupils should be taught about menstruation in primary and secondary school. The guidance, which was published last month, says pupils should learn the facts about the menstrual cycle, including physical and emotional changes, by the end of primary school to help them understand what to expect. By the end of secondary school, pupils should learn about menstrual and gynaecological health – including period problems such as premenstrual syndrome, heavy menstrual bleeding, endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome – as well as menopause, the guidance adds. The latest Department for Education (DfE) guidance says: 'RSE lessons should ensure that both boys and girls have opportunities to practise respectful communication and understand experiences which are different from their own, including menstruation and menopause.' Schools in England will have to follow the statutory RSHE guidance from September 2026. Sarah Hannafin, head of policy for school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'Teaching about periods is a vital part of health education for all pupils. 'Although many schools may separate classes to create a safe space for discussions on topics like this, mixed-sex groups should also be planned as it is vital that pupils understand others' experiences. 'Schools need freely available high-quality resources to support them to do this. 'Education about periods needs more than a single lesson but the curriculum in both primary and secondary schools is overcrowded and the new RSHE guidance has added a lot of new content without any additional time being created.' Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'We fully support the need for boys and girls to be taught about menstruation in a comprehensive manner which goes beyond biological facts and covers the wider effects on wellbeing. 'It is essential to be able to discuss this topic openly without misinformation or embarrassment. 'While it is covered in the RSHE curriculum we would welcome consideration of how teaching of this topic might be strengthened.' A DfE spokesperson said: 'Understanding menstruation is an important part of growing up, which is why we have brought in a new relationships, sex and health education curriculum to take effect next year, with clear guidance that pupils should be taught about both physical and emotional changes, as well as topics from endometriosis to heavy menstrual bleeding. 'As part of our plan for change, we're providing teachers with new resources to help them run great lessons on these issues, tackle stigma head-on and support every child to achieve and thrive.'
