65,000 year-old 'Swiss Army knife' proves ancient humans shared knowledge, research says

[Judi Lynn]

The prehistoric artefacts, all made to a similar shape and template, are found in enormous numbers across southern Africa across vast distances

Cait Kelly
Thu 9 Jun 2022 05.00 EDT



A 65,000-year-old tool – a kind of ancient Swiss Army knife – found across southern Africa has provided scientists with proof that the ancestors of modern homo sapiens were communicating with each other.

In a world first, a team of international scientists have found early humans across the continent made the stone tool in exactly the same shape, using the same template, showing that they shared knowledge with each other.

The artefacts, also known as the “stone Swiss Army knife” of prehistory, were made to a similar template across great distances, the study – published in Scientific Reports – reveals.

These tools were produced in enormous numbers across southern Africa roughly 60-65,000 years ago.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/jun/09/65000-year-old-swiss-army-knife-proves-ancient-humans-shared-knowledge-research-says

[Warpy]

1. Aargh! The Guardian

I couldn't read the entire article because the damned thing lacked a scroll feature and my eyes couldn't cope with the tiny print at the bottom, but an article at another site failed to point out one important thing: all innovation in stone and bone tools started in Africa and spread out later.

I would guess the "Swiss army knife" is a woman's tool, more suited to gathering food, cutting grasses to make rope, cutting small branches to make a dome shelter if they were staying put for a while, cutting bark to keep the rain off, etc.

The oldest confirmed stone tools are a whopping 2.6 million years old, almost Lucy's age. The oldest carefully worked spear points are 320,000 years old. My favorite tool is a translucent flint hand axe with a fossil shell in the middle, someone was very careful when they made this tool. The original age I saw for it was 250,000 BCE. Now science is saying it is likely much older, the range is 500,000 years BCE to 300,000 years BCE, so modern humans weren't the only artists.

https://www.nashersculpturecenter.org/art/exhibitions/object/id/3147-535