Archaeologists Discover 400,000-Year-Old Flint Tools That Transformed Prehistoric Hunting

SciTechDaily ^ | June 10, 2024 | Tel-aviv University

[SunkenCiv]

A study reveals that 400,000 years ago, early humans developed Quina scrapers for hunting, adapting to the disappearance of elephants and forming a cultural link to the resource-rich Mountains of Samaria... These tools were first discovered at a site in France and are named after it. They have been found at the ancient sites of Jaljulia and Qesem Cave. Quina scrapers are distinguished by their scalloped, sharp working edges, which were utilized for butchering fallow deer and processing their hides.

The researchers explain that after the elephants disappeared from the region, the ancient hunters were forced to make technological adaptations enabling them to hunt, butcher, and process much smaller and quicker game – fallow deer. The study also found that the unique tools were made of non-local flint procured from the Mountains of Samaria... about 20km east of Jaljulia and Qesem Cave.

Consequently, the researchers hypothesize that Mounts Ebal and Gerizim (near Nablus of today) were considered a source of plenty and held sacred by prehistoric hunters as early as the Paleolithic period...

The researchers explain that for about a million years, starting 1.5 million years ago, early humans used stone tools called scrapers to process hides and scrape the flesh off the bones of mostly large game. In the Levant, they mainly hunted elephants and other large herbivores that provided most of the calories they needed. The study found, however, that about 400,000 years ago, following the elephants' disappearance, hunters turned to a different kind of prey, considerably smaller and quicker than elephants – fallow deer...

Reference: "The Stone, the Deer, and the Mountain: Lower Paleolithic Scrapers and Early Human Perceptions of the Cosmos" by Vlad Litov, and Ran Barkai, 23 February 2024, Archaeologies. DOI: 10.1007/s11759-024-09493-w

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TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: elephants; flint; flintknapping; godsgravesglyphs; jaljulia; paleolithic; qesemcave; quinascrapers

[SunkenCiv]

• Ancient quarries in Israel reveal where Homo erectus hunted and butchered elephants [04/07/2024]

[SunkenCiv]

[Carry_Okie]

A study reveals that 400,000 years ago, early humans developed Quina scrapers for hunting, adapting to the disappearance of elephants and forming a cultural link to the resource-rich Mountains of Samaria...

I'm guessing is that they haven't found evidences of wooden weapons. Dropping an elephant is very simple with the simplest of spears, as a gut-stab will have the elephand dead of peritonitis in about three days. One need only follow it after inflicting the wound.

[Magnum44]

[Magnum44]

Larson wrote extensively on the subject of prehistoric tools...

[Magnum44]

More on prehistoric tool development...

[null and void]

A study by Tel Aviv University reveals the earliest use of Quina scrapers 400,000 years ago, reflecting a shift in hunting practices due to the extinction of large game like elephants. The research indicates a significant cultural and practical evolution in early human societies, linking tool technology with the sacred geographical sources of resources. A close look at a Quina-like scraper from Jaljulia. Credit: Tel Aviv University

[lurk]

The year the knives were made was stamped on their blades.

[SunkenCiv]

398000 BCE

[SteveH]

when flint scrapers are outlawed, only outlaws will have flint scrapers