Humans hurled massive mammoth tusk boomerangs 40,000 years ago
Boomerangs are some of the oldest tools in humanity. In the most northern region of Australia, the art of the 50,000 -year -old caves seems to represent indigenous hunters throwing arms to the prey, including kangaroos. While most associated with Australia, boomerangs are also documented worldwide. A famous example was discovered in an old cave in southern Poland in 1985. Instead of using wood, these first upper Paleolithic ancestors made their tool from a defense of mammoth. And according to recent revaluations of radiocarbon and the modeling of Bayseian probabilities, researchers now believe that ivory weapons is even older than previously estimated. Their results are detailed in a study published in the journal Plos a.
The conclusion comes after an international research team examined the recovered artifacts from the ObĹ‚azowa cave, one of the most important Paleolithic sites in Poland. Originally identified in 1985, ObĹ‚azowa’s cave contains evidence of Neanderthal and Human activity covering at least ten times. Some of the most important discoveries relate to Homo sapiens who occupied the cave about 30,000 years ago. These included animal bone pendants, a potential whistle made from a snail shell and human remains. Archaeologists of the time also uncovered a Mammoth Tusk Boomerang estimated at the same time. For almost three decades, this specimen offered the oldest known example of the tool in Europe. But after a meticulous review using more precise radiocarbon dating methods, the origin of the boomerang is probably closer to 40,000 years ago.
As an interesting engineer Explains, the revised age can help researchers better contextualize an important period during the upper Paleolithic known as an early Arenacian, when humans began to migrate through Europe in large numbers. Even a long time ago, archaeological evidence clearly show Homo sapiens Already in creative, complex and symbolic projects. These include the manufacture of refined tools, decorative ornaments and jewelry, as well as participating in elaborate ritual burials.
About 2.36 feet wide, the ivory boomerang was not designed to tear up in the air and return to its user. Instead, the hunters almost certainly wanted the heavy weapon to be caught with precision in their prey and kill it – or at least stun a creature long enough to get closer to the target.
“From an economic point of view, the creation and transport of a considerable object as boomerang represents a unique commitment,” they wrote. “The intentional lighting of the defense of mammoth to reach symmetry reflects a notable investment in a context where mobility was essential. Given that no ivory fragment was found on the site, the boomerang must have been designed elsewhere and transported in the cave of ObĹ‚azowa, highlighting its special status. ”
According to archaeologists, their latest research not only reinforces their understanding of the first human adaptive strategies, but highlight “the nuanced interaction of technology, symbolism and environmental interaction during the first phases of human dispersion in central Europe.”
While experts previously confirmed the use of boomerangs in various places, notably Australia, Central Europe, North Africa and Ancient Egypt, the tools were in no way omnipresent in all cultures. This means that evidence of weapons – only those sculpted from mammoth defenses – can serve as vital information on human societal evolution.
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