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Treasure Hunting for the ULTIMATE Prehistoric / Neolithic HAMMER-STONE
Join Stephen and Yhana as they go Treasure Hunting for the ULTIMATE Prehistoric / Neolithic HAMMER-STONE. They share a little humour along the way, and make their field walking trip an unforgettable adventure. In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike off lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. Included in Stephen and Yana’s collection is a Stone Sphere identical to Prehistoric / Neolithic tools found in Israel. For nearly 2 million years, ancient humans crafted these particular stones into hand-size balls, but archaeologists were unsure why. Now they know: Ancient people used them as tools to get at the tasty marrow within animal bones, a new study finds. In other words, if a bone were a can of soup, these ancient stone balls were like ancient can openers. Researchers analysed shaped stone balls, also called spheroids, found in Qesem Cave, a prehistoric site just east of the modern city of Tel Aviv that was inhabited from 400,000 to 200,000 years ago. The discovery of around 30 of these artefacts in this particular cave was a puzzle wrapped in an enigma for archaeologists. Not only did the function of the spheres remain obscure, but their presence there was considered anachronistic, because these artefacts are usually found at much older sites. These spherical objects first appear in Africa at sites that are nearly 2.6 million years old, often in association with Homo erectus.
- Published: 30 March 2021
- Location: Essex, England
- Duration: 16:55
- Photography – Stephen Robert Kuta / Yhana Kuta
- Written by – Stephen Robert Kuta
Music –
Music Licensed by Epidemic Sound
Join Stephen and Yhana as they go Treasure Hunting for the ULTIMATE Prehistoric / Neolithic HAMMER-STONE. They share a little humour along the way, and make their field walking trip an unforgettable adventure. In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike off lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. Included in Stephen and Yana’s collection is a Stone Sphere identical to Prehistoric / Neolithic tools found in Israel. For nearly 2 million years, ancient humans crafted these particular stones into hand-size balls, but archaeologists were unsure why. Now they know: Ancient people used them as tools to get at the tasty marrow within animal bones, a new study finds. In other words, if a bone were a can of soup, these ancient stone balls were like ancient can openers. Researchers analysed shaped stone balls, also called spheroids, found in Qesem Cave, a prehistoric site just east of the modern city of Tel Aviv that was inhabited from 400,000 to 200,000 years ago. The discovery of around 30 of these artefacts in this particular cave was a puzzle wrapped in an enigma for archaeologists. Not only did the function of the spheres remain obscure, but their presence there was considered anachronistic, because these artefacts are usually found at much older sites. These spherical objects first appear in Africa at sites that are nearly 2.6 million years old, often in association with Homo erectus.
Stephen and Yhana – History and Adventure Hunters Almanac
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