Archaeologists have discovered a treasure trove of ancient stone tools at a dig near Azraq , Jordan , some of which still control traces of animal residue . A telephone number of food token on this bona fide paleolithic menu will be familiar to the modern eater , while others , well , not so much .
Anew studypublished in the Journal of Archaeological Science demonstrate that humanity who lived during the Middle Pleistocene ( 781,000 to 126,000 eld ago ) were extremely adaptable and capable of exploit a wide compass of prey , including wild oxen , horse , duck’s egg , and even rhinoceros .
research worker have love for decade that humans and other other two - legged hominins had been making putz to kill and fuckup fauna for as retentive as 2.5 million years ago . But now , for the first time ever , a enquiry squad conduce by April Nowell from the University of Victoria has discovered verbatim grounds point to the exact mintage of animals these early human race were hunting and consuming . The artifacts found at the Azraq site hold the oldest evidence of protein remainder ever found on stone putz . Prior to this study , the erstwhile creature residue establish on stone tools was dated at 11,500 years ago .
“ It is huge,”notedNowell in the Toronto Star . “ I think that ’s why we were so , so excited about this and there are bits and pieces of other evidence of the long - term survivability of organics that are starting to look . ”
Nowell ’s team , which let in member from universities in the United States and Jordan , excavated 10,000 stone tools at the site , in what is today an arid desert . Hundreds of thousands of years ago , during the Middle Pleistocene , it was the site of a wetlands , a regular oasis for a group of proto - humans who pre - dated Homo sapiens in Africa by thousands of days .
Of these prick , 7,000 were carefully examined , include scraper , flakes , projectile points , and hand axes . Seventeen of these implements still contained trace of protein rest , admit blood and other animal products . The parentage of this residue , which was found in the little fissures and crevasses of the putz , were confirmed through a matching process involving animal antibody .
Analysis revealed the identity of the butchered fauna , a list that includes gymnastic horse , gaga Bos taurus , duck’s egg , and rhinoceros . Based on this grounds , it ’s clear that the ancient humans who endure in this demanding habitat were highly adaptable and capable of taking advantage of a wide mountain range of available quarry . But as to how they were able to take down a rhino , or work its tough - as - nails carcase , the researchers admit they ’re dumbfounded .
“ What this secern us about their lives and complex strategies for selection , such as the extremely variable technique for quarry victimisation , as well as piranha shunning and protection of carcass for food , significantly diverges from what we might ask from this extinct species , ” noted Nowell in a loss .
Excitingly , the same proficiency develop by Newell and her colleagues could be used by other researchers to study other Harlan Stone implement , include those that are significantly older . Archaeologists could find out about the dietary habits of ancient hominids who lived even longer ago .
[ Journal of Archaeological Science ]
anthropologyArchaeologyearly humansPaleontologyScience
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