These 400,000-Year-Old Mammoth Tusks Carved by Early Humans May Be the Oldest Evidence of Prehistoric Intelligence

[Judi Lynn]

Ancient tusk fragments hint at early social learning 400,000 years ago

Tudor TaritabyTudor Tarita April 24, 2025
Reading Time: 6 mins read

Edited and reviewed by Tibi Puiu

In the plains of western Ukraine, researchers digging through ancient soil found a handful of small, broken pieces of ivory that might change how we think about early humans.

The fragments—24 in total—came from the tusks of a long-extinct mammoth species. Most were unremarkable at first glance. But as scientists studied them more closely, they noticed patterns and shapes that didn’t seem like they had been accidentally broken.

Some pieces had been chipped in a way that looked deliberate, shaped with a level of care usually seen in stone toolmaking. And that’s what caught their attention.

“We had never seen or heard of ivory artifacts from the Lower Palaeolithic,” Dr. Vadim Stepanchuk, a Ukrainian archaeologist leading the study told the Smithsonian Magazine.

More:
https://www.zmescience.com/science/anthropology/these-400000-year-old-mammoth-tusks-carved-by-early-humans-may-be-the-oldest-evidence-of-prehistoric-intelligence/