The transition from Neanderthals to modern humans: A 900,000-year-old discovery by archaeologists!
Scientists in Spain have made a significant technological discovery dating back 900,000 years. Stone tools used by a likely common ancestor, from the period before the divergence between modern humans and Neanderthals, have been unearthed. This discovery shows that early humans were capable of creating more complex and planned tools.
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Scientists in Spain have made a major technological discovery dating back 900,000 years.
Ancient stone tools used by a likely common ancestor, dating to the period before the divergence between modern humans and Neanderthals, have been unearthed.
NEW TOOLS FROM ANCIENT HUMANS
Researchers state that the discovered stone tools were made using a knapping technique. It is believed that these tools were produced by shaping stone through striking it with another stone and that early humans consistently followed a template when making them.
The newly found tools fall into a category called "Mode 2" and resemble Acheulean hand axes. These tools are much more advanced than "Mode 1" tools, which are more than three million years old and made with simpler techniques.
SHEDDING LIGHT ON MENTAL DEVELOPMENT
It is stated that different materials such as bone and wood were also used in the production of these stone tools, which indicates that humans were capable of using a more complex cognitive model.
According to the research, there is an advanced level of planning and foresight involved in the making of these tools, which shows a significant leap in the cognitive development of early humans.
This important discovery was made by anthropologist Diego Lombao and his team from the University of Santiago de Compostela.
TECHNOLOGY SPREADING FROM AFRICA TO EUROPE
Lombao and his team emphasized that their findings were realized through advanced planning and the efficient use of resources, rather than just utilitarian expectations in line with the flow of daily life.
Furthermore, these findings help us understand the interaction between the first humans in Europe and technologies coming from Africa.
Researchers believe that the tools at El Barranc de la Boella could be an early example of Acheulean technologies that spread from Africa to Europe approximately 1.4 million years ago.
CONNECTION BETWEEN EARLY HUMANS
However, it is not yet certain whether these advanced techniques were developed at Barranc de la Boella.
Some findings suggest that these techniques may have developed elsewhere and been brought to the region.
It is thought that the discovery will help us understand the connections between early humans by bringing technological developments in Europe, Asia, and Africa closer together.