1.8-million-year-old elephant butchery hints at early humans fueling big brains
Archaeologists at Olduvai Gorge identify a 1.8-million-year-old elephant carcass with tool-assisted processing, indicating coordinated butchery by early hominins (likely Homo erectus). This suggests large group living and a high-calorie diet to support brain expansion, aligning with the expensive-tissue hypothesis.