Arrowheads for hunting; ivory was the preferred material for these weapons. Credits: Taisiya Soldatova
Modern Humans Used Ivory and Bone to Create Tools 30,000 Years Ago [Slide Show]
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DAILY USE All the tools of this image are for domestic use--and most likely, were used daily. Marked with numbers 1 through 6 are punches made of bone to make holes in soft materials such as skin. Number 7 is a shovel made of horn bone, probably used to dig into the ground. Numbers 8 and 9 correspond to chisels made from bone, used for carving stone. Credit: Taisiya Soldatova
ARROWHEADS All tools in the image are arrowheads for hunting. Ivory was the preferred raw material for these weapons.Credit: Taisiya Soldatova
SHAFT STRAIGHTENERS These pieces were found during the excavation of a child's grave. The first two tools (left to right) are shaft straighteners--tools used to shape pieces of ivory. The third object's use is unknown. Credit: Taisiya Soldatova
WHEELS? These objects were found in children's tombs and are perforated ivory discs. Researchers still do not know what their purpose was but one hypothesis suggests they were used as wheels.Credit: Taisiya Soldatova
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IVORY In this image, you can see two pieces of solid ivory. From them, prehistoric men obtained plates that were used to mold various tools.Credit: Taisiya Soldatova
TO CREATE FIRE Fire has always been a necessity for humans. Using these two tools, the inhabitants of Sungir were able to start fires that allowed them to cook and warm up.Credit: Taisiya Soldatova
MORE SHAFT STRAIGHTENERS A finished shaft straightener (right) and one in progress, similar to those found in the child's tomb in previous images. Credit: Taisiya Soldatova
A set of pieces found in the archaeological site of Sungir, located 200 kilometers east of Moscow, offers a rich trove of clues on how Homo sapiens managed to dominate hard materials and transform them into useful tools, about 30,000 years ago.
Archaeologists from Lomonosov Moscow State University analyzed 171 objects of bone and ivory. Their findings showed that during the upper Paleolithic period modern man had already developed several complex techniques for processing hard materials, including the transverse fracture, scraping and cutting.
Taisiya Soldatova, an anthropologist at Moscow State and lead author of the research, told Scientific American that the objects not only help us to better understand the daily life of early modern humans but also offer insights on cultural ties between that area of Russia and what is now Europe. “In some areas of France, for example, techniques similar to those found in Sungir for toolmaking were used. Comparing these objects—the kind of instruments, materials and how they were created—helps us know the place Sungir occupied as a community in the region,” Soldatova says.
The work was published by the Erlangen, Germany–based Hugo Obermaier Society for Quaternary Research and Archaeology of the Stone Age.
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