Researchers Identify 480,000-Year-Old Elephant Bone as Europe’s Oldest Axe-Sharpening Tool
Updated
Updated · ZME Science · Jul 27
Researchers Identify 480,000-Year-Old Elephant Bone as Europe’s Oldest Axe-Sharpening Tool
2 articles · Updated · ZME Science · Jul 27
Summary
A new analysis found the Boxgrove bone fragment was a deliberately shaped retoucher used to resharpen flint handaxes, making it Europe’s oldest known elephant-bone tool and the first clear evidence of elephant bone used as a stoneworking hammer.
Microscope, 3-D scan and chemical tests revealed three battered working zones and 14 embedded flint chips, while wear patterns suggest more than 100 light, controlled strikes during several sharpening sessions.
The 11-centimeter tool was likely broken from a steppe mammoth or straight-tusked elephant bone elsewhere and carried to the West Sussex mudflat, indicating planned reuse rather than opportunistic butchery waste.
At Boxgrove, where more than 459 handaxes and Britain’s oldest known human remains have been found, the artifact adds to evidence that hominins around 480,000 years ago understood material properties and maintained specialized toolkits.