Archaeologists say they have found the earliest ever example of a stone abrasion tool and dated it to 150,000 years before such tools were thought to have first been used.
Pre-historic hominids apparently used the dolomite cobble, found in the Tabun Cave at Mount Carmel, to wear down materials some 350,000 years ago, but exactly what it was they trying to produce remains unknown, a Haifa University research team assessed, according to a statement.
The dating puts the tool in the hands of human ancestors before the development of homo sapiens, and some 150,000 years earlier than the previously known oldest abrading tool.
A stone abrasion tool, dated to be some 350,000 years old, that was found in the Tabun Cave in Mount Carmel. (University of Haifa)
“While the tool is seemingly ‘simple,’ its early appearance and the fact that it has no parallel in such an early stage of human evolution give it world importance,” researchers Ron Shimelmitz, Iris Groman-Yaroslavski, Mina Weinstein-Evron, and Danny Rosenberg of the university’s Zinman Institute of Archaeology say in the statement.
Their findings will be published in the January 2021 issue of Journal of Human Evolution.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, December 27, 2020
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
