Humans were making tools from whale bones as far back as 20,000 years ago, according to a new study. This discovery broadens our understanding of early human use of whale remains and offers valuable insight into the marine ecology of the time.
Humans were making tools from whale bones as far back as 20,000 years ago, according to a new study. This discovery broadens our understanding of early human use of whale remains and offers valuable insight into the marine ecology of the time.
Humans were making tools from whale bones as far back as 20,000 years ago, according to a study conducted by scientists from the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona , the French National Centre for Scientific Research , and the University of British Columbia. This discovery broadens our understanding of early human use of whale remains and offers valuable insight into the marine ecology of the time. Whales, the largest animals on Earth, were an important source of food and materials such as oil and bone. For this reason, they are believed to have played a key role in the survival of many coastal human groups. However, tracing the origins of human-whale interactions is challenging, as coastal archaeological sites are especially fragile and vulnerable to rising sea levels, making it difficult to preserve evidence of early human-marine mammal relationships. ?The research,?led by Jean-Marc Pétillon along with ICTA-UAB scientist Krista McGrath and published in Nature Communications, analyzes 83?bone tools excavated from sites around the Bay of Biscay in Spain, along with 90 additional bones from Santa Catalina Cave, also located in the province of Biscay. The authors used mass spectrometry and radiocarbon dating to identify the species and age of the samples. "Our study reveals that the bones came from at least five species of large whales, the oldest of which date to approximately 19,000-20,000 years ago. These represent some of the earliest known evidence of humans using whale remains as tools," says Jean-Marc Pétillon, senior author of the research. According to Krista McGrath, leading author of the paper,"ZooMS is a powerful technique for investigating past sea mammal diversity, particularly when diagnostic morphometric elements are missing from bone remains and objects, which is often the case for bone artefacts. We managed to identify species such as sperm whales, fin whales, blue whales, all still present in the Bay of Biscay today, as well as grey whales, a species now mostly restricted to the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans." In addition, chemical data extracted from the bones suggest that the feeding habits of these ancient whales differed slightly from those of their modern counterparts, pointing to potential changes in behavior or the marine environment. Overall, this discovery not only enhances our understanding of early human use of whale remains but also sheds light on the role whales played in past ecosystems.Krista McGrath, Laura G. van der Sluis, Alexandre Lefebvre, Anne Charpentier, Ana S. L. Rodrigues, Esteban Álvarez-Fernández, François Baleux, Eduardo Berganza, François-Xavier Chauvière, Morgane Dachary, Elsa Duarte Matías, Claire Houmard, Ana B. Marín-Arroyo, Marco de la Rasilla Vives, Jesus Tapia, François Thil, Olivier Tombret, Leire Torres-Iglesias, Camilla Speller, Antoine Zazzo, Jean-Marc Pétillon.Marine researchers have mapped the density of one of the most endangered large whale species worldwide, the North Atlantic right whale, using new data to help avoid right whales' harmful exposure to ... Increasing opportunities for up-close encounters with sharks and other animals are making wildlife tourism one of the fastest growing tourism sectors -- leading ecology experts to venture to one of ... When researchers first started to look at animal bones from Contrebandiers Cave, Morocco, they wanted to learn about the diet and environment of early human ancestors who lived there between 120,000 ... Modern humans arrived in westernmost Europe 41,000 to 38,000 years ago, about 5,000 years earlier than previously known, according to an international team of researchers that discovered stone tools ...Mystery of 'Very Odd' Elasmosaur Finally Solved: Fiercely Predatory Marine Reptile Is New SpeciesScientists Have Figured out How Extinct Giant Ground Sloths Got So Big and Where It All Went Wrong
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Oldest-known whale bone tools discovered in a Spanish caveLaura is a science news writer, covering a wide variety of subjects, but she is particularly fascinated by all things aquatic, paleontology, nanotechnology, and exploring how science influences daily life. Laura is a proud former resident of the New Jersey shore, a competitive swimmer, and a fierce defender of the Oxford comma.
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