This is an elephant rib bearing cutmarks associated with flint tools at the Revadim site. Credit: American Friends of Tel Aviv University (AFTAU)
Posted on 03/21/2015 6:02:42 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Tel Aviv University discovers first direct evidence early flint tools were used to butcher animal carcasses.
Some 2.5 million years ago, early humans survived on a paltry diet of plants. As the human brain expanded, however, it required more substantial nourishment - namely fat and meat - to sustain it. This drove prehistoric man, who lacked the requisite claws and sharp teeth of carnivores, to develop the skills and tools necessary to hunt animals and butcher fat and meat from large carcasses.
Among elephant remains some 500,000 years old at a Lower Paleolithic site in Revadim, Israel, Prof. Ran Barkai and his graduate students Natasha Solodenko and Andrea Zupanchich of Tel Aviv University's Department of Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern Cultures recently analyzed "handaxes" and "scrapers," universally shaped and sized prehistoric stone tools, replete with animal residue...
Through use-wear analysis -- examining the surfaces and edges of the tools to determine their function -- and the Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) residue analysis which harnesses infrared to identify signatures of prehistoric organic compounds, the researchers were able to demonstrate for the first time direct proof of animal exploitation by flint tools...
While the question of their function and production remained unanswered until now, there was little doubt that the handaxe and scraper, found at prehistoric sites all around the world, were distinct, used for specific purposes. By replicating the flint tools for a modern butchering experiment, and then comparing the replicas with their prehistoric counterparts, the researchers determined that the handaxe was prehistoric man's sturdy "Swiss army knife," capable of cutting and breaking down bone, tough sinew, and hide. The slimmer, more delicate scraper was used to separate fur and animal fat from muscle tissue.
(Excerpt) Read more at eurekalert.org ...
This is an elephant rib bearing cutmarks associated with flint tools at the Revadim site. Credit: American Friends of Tel Aviv University (AFTAU)
I think between now and 500,00 years ago we have had several civilizations that have prospered then died out to have evidence wiped away by glacial till.
I think people rise up, create civs and then decadence makes it all crash down.....
Time is repeat..
East African Fossil Finds Show Early Human Diversity
http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/spring-2015/article/east-african-fossil-find-shows-early-human-diversity
Elephant? no kidding.
we got a couple elephant bars locally.. good food.
I guess the technologies that they didn’t seem likely to develop on their own are still a stumper for me.
Somebody borrowed them some nifty tools or ??
We were never alone. (The Bill Clinton defense gone cosmic)
Life, a single life, the nation’s life, a civilization’s life is like a bell curve. Which is why Hemingway wrote ‘For whom the bell tolls’.
: )
I think this find definitely proves that these prehistoric men didn’t properly sterilize their tools after use.
Men never clean their dishes.
This kind of reminds me of the Far Side cartoon that shows a prehistoric father, son, and mother in the background. The father, upset, is holding the son’s report card and says, “Oh, look! Dis get better. F in history. You even flunk something not happen yet!”
That’s the premise of these books: http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Sword-Merovingen-Nights-Book/dp/0886771439/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=1WJC2MT6VDCQ726QK34H
They don’t know dinosaurs are millions of years old. Carbon dating only works for several thousands years back not millions. A good bit of info about it here::
http://www.angelfire.com/mi/dinosaurs/carbondating.html
I live near the margins of the last great ice sheet in North America. I have often wondered what existed to the north along rivers which have changed their courses since, now bulldozed by the glaciers and overlain by till. We may well find humans were here far longer than even the pre-Clovis cultures only now being noted.
Can I have something that resembles proof of that statement?
Tell a woman she’s pretty and she’ll remember it for a 100 days.
Tell a woman she’s fat and she’ll always remember because an elephant never forgets.
In between glaciations.
“As the human brain expanded, however, it required more substantial nourishment - namely fat and meat - to sustain it.”
Huh? Our brains acted alone and said to us, “I need fat. I need meat.”
And now that we’re all fatter and dumber than ever, our brains are telling us we need salad and fresh fruit?
Show of hands? Whose brain is telling them that these days?
Clearly, we are doomed as a civilization.
Prehistoric Poo-Stick. My guess is just as good as theirs.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
