Stone tools discovered made to a common design and template across thousands of kilometres in southern Africa.Photograph: Australian Museum
Posted on 06/11/2022 6:20:00 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
A 65,000-year-old tool – a kind of ancient Swiss Army knife – found across southern Africa has provided scientists with proof that the ancestors of modern homo sapiens were communicating with each other.
In a world first, a team of international scientists have found early humans across the continent made the stone tool in exactly the same shape, using the same template, showing that they shared knowledge with each other...
These tools were produced in enormous numbers across southern Africa roughly 60-65,000 years ago.
Because the people across southern Africa all chose to make the tools look the same, it indicates they must have been socially connected, said Amy Way, the project’s lead archaeologist, from the Australian Museum and the University of Sydney...
The question that really baffles archaeologists is why the big exit from Africa, which took place 60-70,000 years ago and involved the ancestors of everyone who lives outside Africa today, was so successful when previous excursions out of the continent were not...
The tool was used for numerous things, including cutting, drilling, and skinning.
Previous research has shown that in southern Africa, the artefacts were used as barbs in hunting technology and in Australia, in addition to forming armatures in spears, they were also used for working bone and hide and drilling and shaping wooden objects.
In Africa they have now been found 1,200km apart, Way said...
Way said another fascinating fact about this particular tool – the backed artefact – is that it was made independently by many different groups of people across the world, including in Australia...
This article was amended on 10 June 2022 to remove quotes from another researcher involved in the study after the Australian Museum said they had been supplied in error.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Stone tools discovered made to a common design and template across thousands of kilometres in southern Africa.Photograph: Australian Museum
I was looking for a harbor frieght grade tool. It’s a sharpened rock Jim. There’s no conspiracy, thats all.
Where are the toothpick and scissors?
Who knew harbor freight was started 70,000 years ago. And in africa not china!!!
Having found stone tools.
Comparing them to stone tools found other place the shapes are very similar.
Guess they didn’t have to worry about patent infringement.
I suspect the overall shape of stone tools is dictated by the ergonomics of the hand and it only makes sense to incorporate as many usable functions, like scraper, slicer and drill into one stone instead of carrying three separate ones.
So use is the determining factor and not shared knowledge. Shared knowledge is the result of intermingling...not the catalyst for ideas.
“Guess they didn’t have to worry about patent infringement.”
Actually, each tribe using the pattern had to pay royalties of 2 baboon teeth to the original inventor, UGH-NAZ, and then to his descendants.
Growing we found many arrowheads and “tools”.
If it has a sharp edge, it’s a scraper. If it has A round then flat surface, it’s a corn grinder. If it’s round and heavy, it’s a hammer.
I remember being taught in elementary school about the different shapes. Later, in junior high (they’re back to using that term now!) in geometry, shapes became a little more complex.
I do agree with your idea about usage versus shared knowledge, though. I hadn’t given that much thought, but it makes perfect sense.
‘Face
;o]
“... early humans across the continent made the stone tool in exactly the same shape, using the same template,...”
The authors of this study have a very loose definition of “exactly”.
Everyone knew SW and everyone had a 3D printer too
And fork
Meanwhile, the time machine guy is checking his pockets.
Not after 20 years.
And a patent is required to teach anyone skilled in the art to do/make whatever the patent claims...
So Muddlethough Middle School has to go back to being Juniorhy Junior High school?
The question that really baffles archaeologists is why the big exit from Africa, which took place 60-70,000 years ago and involved the ancestors of everyone who lives outside Africa today, was so successful when previous excursions out of the continent were not...
—
Because they were, but it would go against standard group think, cost too many their careers build on it, trying to explain the sites that date back over 320,000 years ago in South America and elsewhere.
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