All articles tagged with #boxgrove
Archaeologists discovered a roughly 11 cm elephant bone fragment from Boxgrove dating to about 500,000 years ago, used as a retoucher to strike, reshape, and sharpen stone tools; the oldest elephant bone tool found in Europe, it suggests early humans (likely Neanderthals or Homo heidelbergensis) had advanced, selective material use and sophisticated toolcraft.
New analyses of a 500,000-year-old elephant bone hammer from Boxgrove, England, using 3D scanning and electron microscopy, reveal deliberate wear and flint residues showing it was a crafted tool used to shape stone, indicating advanced planning by Homo heidelbergensis or early Neanderthals and making it the oldest known elephant bone tool in Europe.
A 4.3 by 2.3 inch elephant bone tool from Boxgrove, in southern England, has been identified as a retoucher used to knap and sharpen lithic hand axes about 480,000 years ago. This makes it the oldest known elephant-bone tool found in Europe and highlights early humans’ sophisticated material knowledge and craftsmanship, likely belonging to Homo heidelbergensis or early Neanderthals.
Archaeologists describe a 500,000-year-old hammer carved from elephant bone found at Boxgrove, the oldest elephant bone tool in Europe and likely made by Neanderthals or Homo heidelbergensis; about 11 cm by 6 cm by 3 cm, it shows shaping marks and contains embedded flint fragments, indicating it was used as a soft hammer to knap stone and revealing sophisticated toolcraft in early Europeans.
A ~500,000-year-old elephant bone hammer was found at Boxgrove, England, identified as a soft-hammer retoucher used to sharpen stone tools. It’s Europe’s oldest known bone tool and suggests sophisticated toolcraft and cognitive abilities in early human ancestors such as Homo heidelbergensis.