Archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery at the Olduvai Gorge site in northern Tanzania, unearthing a collection of bone tools that date back to around 1.5 million years ago. This finding is significant because it pushes the timeline for bone tool creation by about 1 million years.
The 27 fragments of limb bones, mostly from hippopotamuses and elephants, show signs of being sharpened and shaped, likely with the aid of stone pieces. Researchers believe that these tools are evidence that early human ancestors were capable of abstract reasoning and critical thinking.
Dr. Ignacio de la Torre, lead study author, said that the discovery indicates advances in cognitive abilities and mental structures among ancient humans. The same knapping techniques used to create bone tools as stone tools suggest a high level of complexity in toolmaking.
The bones found at Olduvai Gorge are much larger than those previously discovered in isolated instances across Europe and Asia. While there is no direct evidence on how these tools were used, researchers believe that hominins employed them for heavy-duty tasks such as stripping down animal carcasses for food and producing new tools.
The discovery highlights the importance of considering materials other than stone when studying ancient toolmaking. Dr. Briana Pobiner, a paleoanthropologist, said that this collection of 27 bone tools suggests that early human ancestors were able to transfer their knowledge from knapping stone to knapping bone, signaling an increasing importance of toolmaking in their lives.
This finding adds new evidence to the understanding of ancient human cultures and technological transitions. It underscores the significance of studying artifacts like bone tools, which can be “essentially archaeologically invisible,” according to Dr. Pobiner.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/05/science/oldest-bone-tools-hominins/index.html