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1.5-Million-Year-Old “Factory” for Bone Tool Production Reveals Unexpected Cognitive Leap in Early Humans
The Debrief ^ | March 05, 2025 | Ryan Whalen

Posted on 03/05/2025 11:38:57 AM PST by Red Badger

A prehistoric “factory” discovered in Tanzania could push bone tool-making back by more than a million years, indicating unexpected abstract reasoning capabilities human ancestors displayed in the remote past.

According to researchers at University College London (UCL) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), about 1.5 million years ago, hominin hands fashioned the 27 ancient bone tools now preserved as fossils. The find represents the earliest significant bone tool collection ever found, particularly notable for the systematic, factory-style production methods they display.

Previous evidence indicates that hominins produced stone tools for over a million years, although archaeologists had previously never discovered bone tool collections more than 500,000 years old. The researchers involved with the discovery were also surprised to locate such a collection of tools within the same geological layer.

The First Tools

A knapping technique was used to produce the tools, where their early hominin creators chipped away small flakes to create sharp edges, similar to how earlier varieties of stone tools were made. Repurposing old techniques and applying them to new mediums demonstrates advanced toolmaking knowledge, a discovery that prompted the research team to reconsider the cognitive skills these human ancestors possessed.

“The tools show evidence that their creators carefully worked the bones, chipping off flakes to create useful shapes. We were excited to find these bone tools from such an early timeframe. It means that human ancestors were capable of transferring skills from stone to bone, a level of complex cognition that we haven’t seen elsewhere for another million years,” said Dr Renata F. Peters of UCL Archaeology, co-author of a new study detailing the findings.

the Ancient Mind and Early Tool Use

“This discovery leads us to assume that early humans significantly expanded their technological options, which until then were limited to the production of stone tools and now allowed new raw materials to be incorporated into the repertoire of potential artifacts,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Ignacio de la Torre of the CSIC.

“At the same time, this expansion of technological potential indicates advances in the cognitive abilities and mental structures of these hominins, who knew how to incorporate technical innovations by adapting their knowledge of stonework to the manipulation of bone remains,” de la Torre added.

Researchers discovered the 27 bones in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, a location of many other impactful archaeological discoveries of ancient human ancestors. Most of those bones belong to large mammals like elephants and hippos, with the hominins selecting limb bones exclusively. The density and strength of limb bones likely led to their selection.

Archaeologists also discovered raw hippopotamus bones in the same geological layer, but not elephant bone. This suggests even more advanced planning skills, as the hominins must have transported the elephant bones to the location for toolmaking. These tools represent a time when early hominins experienced one of the first technological transitions on Earth, from the Oldowan to the Acheulean age.

Technological Ages in Prehistory

Hominins developed the first stone tools between 2.7 and 1.5 million years ago during the Olodwan age. These tools and their production were simple: human ancestors used a hammerstone to chip flakes off a stone core. Hominins advanced their toolmaking technology about 1.7 million years ago as they entered the Acheulean age. At that time, they adopted the standardized knapping technique to create more intricate handles with larger production volumes.

For the first time, these fossilized tools demonstrate that hominins used advanced Acheulean techniques on bone materials at such an early time, previously seen only in fossils that formed far more recently—as much as a million years closer to the present day.

Another notable element of the find was locating such a large, centralized deposit of bone tools at this remote age. Earlier finds were rare and isolated and did not provide enough evidence to indicate systematic stone tool production by human ancestors.

Reconsidering Prehistoric Discoveries

Archaeologists identified no clear evidence of the intended use for the tools recovered at the site. Still, their shape, size, and sharpness suggest that they were likely used for processing animal carcasses to obtain food and possibly other animal-based resources.

Exactly which human ancestors created the tools remains a mystery, as no hominin remains were found in situ with the fossilized bone tools. Based on earlier discoveries, two hominin species, Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei, are known to have inhabited the area.

The researchers suggest that reevaluating prior bone tool discoveries in light of the new findings may be warranted, as the unexpected nature of the findings suggests archaeologists may have missed some insights that otherwise may be gleaned from earlier work.

The paper “Systematic Bone Tool Production at 1.5 Million Years Ago” appeared on March 5, 2025, in Nature.

Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.


TOPICS: Education; History; Military/Veterans; Society
KEYWORDS: africa; godsgravesglyphs; ifhfakescience; paleolithic; tanzania
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1 posted on 03/05/2025 11:38:57 AM PST by Red Badger
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To: SunkenCiv

PinGGG!..........................


2 posted on 03/05/2025 11:39:15 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

“AI”! Hello!


3 posted on 03/05/2025 11:39:55 AM PST by rktman (Destroy America from within ? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this💩? 🚫💉! 🇮🇱👍!)
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To: Red Badger

So if we’re bringing back woolly mammoths, maybe we should whip up some of these clever folks too?


4 posted on 03/05/2025 11:40:10 AM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: Red Badger

Humans significantly expanded their technological options.

It was a do or die deal you have to make your options.

However it’s believed some have returned back beyond that era by their actions.


5 posted on 03/05/2025 11:44:12 AM PST by Vaduz
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To: Red Badger

Yikes. I was already freaked out enough about gobekli tepe


6 posted on 03/05/2025 11:45:59 AM PST by MNDude
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To: 9YearLurker

“So if we’re bringing back woolly mammoths, maybe we should whip up some of these clever folks too?”

I don’t know about that. What if they have a really bad attitude?


7 posted on 03/05/2025 11:47:25 AM PST by MNDude
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To: 9YearLurker
So if we’re bringing back woolly mammoths...

Probably a really bad idea but I'm all for it anyway.

8 posted on 03/05/2025 11:49:12 AM PST by Damifino (The true measure of a man is found in what he would do if he knew no one would ever find out.)
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To: MNDude

If I could take my 375 H&H magnum back in time, I bet I could trade it for a bunch of mammoth steaks.


9 posted on 03/05/2025 11:50:58 AM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MNDude

Did you see the Dems last night?


10 posted on 03/05/2025 11:51:16 AM PST by 9YearLurker
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To: Red Badger
Too bad all the bone tools came from slave Hominids who were murdered at the "Factory."
11 posted on 03/05/2025 11:58:09 AM PST by zeestephen (Trump Landslide? Kamala lost the election by 230,000 votes, in WI, MI, and PA.)
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To: Red Badger

It seems their measurement of the time period listed as “more than a million years,” does not include any acknowledgment of the fact that the outcome of this measurement is dependent on its location relative to the initial point of expansion of the early universe; that space and motion seem to stretch time.


12 posted on 03/05/2025 12:02:11 PM PST by reasonisfaith (What are the personal implications if the Resurrection of Christ is a true event in history?)
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To: MNDude

we already have they are identified as DEMOCRATS


13 posted on 03/05/2025 12:16:23 PM PST by bdfromlv (Leavenworth hard time)
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To: Red Badger
I see an upcoming Netflix series....The Neanderthals ...

Even a Cave Man can do it....


14 posted on 03/05/2025 12:25:56 PM PST by spokeshave (Proud Boys, Angry Dads. Grumpy Grandads & Curmudgeons)
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...
Thanks Red Badger.
The following has been on deck since January at least:

15 posted on 03/05/2025 12:27:44 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: Red Badger

Another example of how main stream archeology has gotten everything wrong, underestimating early humans by many thousands of years.


16 posted on 03/05/2025 12:36:27 PM PST by Omnivore-Dan (Shut)
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To: Red Badger

wonder if the people that made bone tools were known as boners...


17 posted on 03/05/2025 12:43:19 PM PST by heavy metal (maga... make asylums great again...)
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To: All
Aliens helped ancient man with the tools obviously.


18 posted on 03/05/2025 12:43:56 PM PST by BipolarBob (My goal is to lose 10 pounds this year. So far, only thirteen more to go.)
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To: Red Badger

Clearly, they had help from aliens.


19 posted on 03/05/2025 12:44:05 PM PST by Nachoman (Proudly oppressing people of color since 1957.)
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To: BipolarBob

Damn, beat me by a minute.


20 posted on 03/05/2025 12:45:06 PM PST by Nachoman (Proudly oppressing people of color since 1957.)
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