Did Early Humans Already Hunt Elephants Nearly Two Million Years Ago?

1.78 million years ago, in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, groups of hominins left the oldest known traces of butchering an elephant. These discoveries, unearthed at the Emiliano Aguirre Korongo site, reveal a major milestone in the evolution of human behaviors. At that time, stone tools were still rudimentary, but their use to exploit very large animals like elephants marked a turning point in human history.

The archaeological site shows partial remains of a young elephant, surrounded by 80 stone tools. The bones bear marks of fresh fractures, typical of intentional breaking to access marrow or meat. These traces cannot be attributed to predators or natural phenomena, as the fractures exhibit elongated spirals and conchoidal flakes characteristic of human work. The tools, mainly quartz flakes, were scattered in close association with the bones, confirming their use in processing the carcass.

This practice was not isolated. In nearby geological layers dating from the same period, other elephant and hippopotamus remains show similar signs of butchering or fracturing. These animals, among the largest in the savanna, provided an abundant source of food and fat, essential resources for expanding human groups. Their systematic exploitation suggests a more complex social organization than previously imagined, with necessary cooperation to hunt or scavenge these giants.

Spatial analysis of the remains shows that the tools and bones are not randomly scattered. They form precise concentrations, indicating that hominins regularly returned to these sites to process carcasses. These sites, larger and better organized than those of earlier periods, coincide with the emergence of the first Acheulean tools, which were more elaborate than those of the Oldowan. However, it was mainly simple tools, such as stone flakes, that were used for these tasks.

The exploitation of megafauna may have played a key role in human evolution. It likely allowed groups to grow by providing sufficient resources to feed more members. It may also have fostered the development of new skills, such as the manufacture of more specialized tools or the organization of collective hunts. These behaviors, unparalleled among modern hunter-gatherers, demonstrate a unique adaptation to a rich but demanding environment.

Elephants and hippopotamuses, dependent on water, congregated near the rivers and wetlands of Olduvai Gorge. Their presence attracted hominins, who found both food and materials for making tools there. The marks left on the bones reveal a subsistence strategy more ambitious than simple opportunism: humans of the time knew how to take advantage of these massive resources, even though direct evidence of hunting remains rare.

These discoveries challenge the idea that our ancestors only consumed the meat of large animals occasionally. Instead, they show regular and organized exploitation, much earlier than previously believed. This practice may have accelerated the anatomical and cognitive changes that led to the emergence of our species, by providing the energy needed for the evolution of a larger and more complex brain. Elephants, with their immense carcasses, thus helped shape the destiny of early humans.

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Source de l’étude

DOI : https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.108298.5

Titre : Earliest evidence of elephant butchery at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) reveals the evolutionary impact of early human megafaunal exploitation

Revue : eLife

Éditeur : eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd

Auteurs : Manuel Dominguez-Rodrigo; Enrique Baquedano; Abel Moclan; David Uribelarrea; Jose Angel Corre-Cano; Fernando Diez-Martin; Alejandro Velazquez-tello; Elia Organista; Eduardo Mendez-Quintas; Marina Vegara-Riquelme; Agness Gidna; Audax Mabulla