Tallando hueso en cueva Qesem (Israel) hace 300.000 años

Zupancich, A. et al. / Scientific Reports

Documentan la talla de hueso con fines distintos a la alimentación

Durante mucho tiempo se ha mantenido la hipótesis de que Homo sapiens era el único homínido capaz de transformar el hueso con herramientas específicas con fines diferentes a alimentarse de él. Sin embargo, una serie de hallazgos en cueva Qesem (Israel) vienen a apoyar que este tipo de conductas fueron ya desarrolladas por homínidos más antiguos. Se acaba de publicar en Nature el estudio de dos útiles de sílex y un fragmento de tibia de gamo que muestra que hace más de 300.000 años, probablemente casi 400.000, los homínidos que ocupaban la cueva ya usaban los huesos para fabricar útiles y lo hacían con herramientas específicas. Ya sabéis, no hemos inventado nada. [...] arqueologiaenred.paleorama.es


Scientists Find Signs of Intelligent Tool Use 300,000 Years Ago | RealClearScience
Sixteen years ago, road workers detonated a controlled explosive to remove a large limestone boulder blocking a planned roadway outside of Tel Aviv in Israel. Soon after the dust settled, it became clear that the road would need to be rerouted.

The workers had stumbled upon a vast cave, one that had been sealed off for more than 200,000 years! For the researchers who soon began exploring the cave's expansive interior, it was the find of a lifetime.

Now called Qesem Cave, the site has delivered a number of discoveries that live up to its explosive origin. Archaeologists found a 300,000-year-old fireplace, along with tortoise shells that showed signs of burning. Apparently, whoever live there had a taste for roast tortoise.

Exactly who lived there remains a mystery, however. While archaeologists have uncovered a handful of hominin teeth, they still aren't sure which species they belong to. It could be Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis, or it might even be an entirely new species.

"We don’t know which type of human lived here," Ron Barkai, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University, told Ynet News. "We know that they acted differently than everyone else who lived in this area before them."

Whoever inhabited Qesem many eons ago, a study recently published in Scientific Reports reveals that they were advanced tool-users.

A team of Archaeologists led by Barkai and his colleagues Avi Gopher and Andrea Zupancich uncovered two sharpened flint tools (pictured above), as well as a deer bone with distinct saw marks (pictured below). The artifacts are between 300,000 and 420,0000 years old...


Actualización: El hueso más allá de su aspecto nutricional | CENIEH
El CENIEH colabora en un estudio publicado en Scientific Report sobre la manipulación del hueso hace más de 300.000 años en el yacimiento israelí de Qesem Cave..