The skull fragment of human bone (a) with a close-up view (b) of the area used for retouching stone tools. Credit: F. d'Errico, C. Verna.
Posted on 12/16/2010 12:41:36 PM PST by SunkenCiv
Until now, the first evidence that human bones were used either symbolically or as tools were 30,000-to 34,000-year-old perforated human teeth found at excavations in southwest France. These were apparently used as ornaments.
Now scientists have identified a human skull fragment dating back at least 50,000 years that bears signs it was used as a sharpener. It was found in a Neanderthal deposit -- the first time our relatives were discovered making tools from human bone. (Neanderthals are an extinct kind of human that were anatomically distinct from us modern humans.)
The bone was first unearthed in 1926 at the La Quina site... with artifacts from the Mousterian industry, a method of making flint tools linked with Neanderthals. These fragments did not yield much information about the anatomy of these individuals, so they were mostly ignored at the museum at Lyon, France, for years.
Then paleoanthropologist Christine Verna at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, reinvestigated all the human remains at La Quina. Using microscopic analysis of the bone fragment, she and her colleague Francesco d'Errico at the University of Bordeaux in France found evidence it was used to retouch stone tool edges. They also detected scraping marks on the fragment, possibly resulting from cleaning of the skull before it was broken into pieces. The bone likely came from a Neanderthal, as only they were found at Mousterian deposits at La Quina...
Future research should look carefully at old collections of Paleolithic human remains to look for possible traces of use, as well as ancient animal remains, to look for any human bones possibly hidden among retouchers, "with the hope of finding more examples like this one," Verna said.
(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...
The skull fragment of human bone (a) with a close-up view (b) of the area used for retouching stone tools. Credit: F. d'Errico, C. Verna.
The Neandertal EnigmaFrayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe." [pp 126-127]
by James Shreeve
in local libraries
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the earliest tools were probably rocks and sticks.
Maybe Obama is good for something after all?
>>the earliest tools were probably rocks and sticks.<<
Which is what makes this so interesting...
Zog’s Tool Works.
If the former, this could go a long way to explain why Neanderthal died out: Homo sapiens got sick of the Neanderthal's terror and wiped them all out.
If the latter, then Neanderthal man seemed destined fo destruction.
Mrs. Zog was grateful.
On the back it says “Made in China.”
“Zog Jones cooks his meat.” - The Farside
How or why did they move from that to human bones... that is the question.
Science fiction MUST be very logical else whats the point..
Reality need not be logical at all.. because it has nothing to prove..
Adam and Eve is another very good Yarn..
Being a human is very entertaining..
“Now scientists have identified a human skull fragment dating back at least 50,000 years that bears signs it was used as a sharpener.”
Hnce the popular expression, “He’s a really sharpe guy”.
It was widely reported about six months ago that European and some Asian peoples have up to 3% Neanderthal genes. Africans have none. I don't think anyone really challenged this data, so it is 'the best available science' that Europeans are part Neanderthal.
A Neanderthal Named Trom, Fashioned Earliest Musical Instrument Made From His Own Human Bones, called the Trombone
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