Key Takeaways:
- 1. A boomerang carved from a mammoth tusk found in Poland’s Oblazowa Cave may be around 40,000 years old, much older than originally thought.
- 2. The boomerang is 72 centimeters long, still bearing scratches and scuffs from the mammoth’s life, and shows signs of ancient craftsmanship.
- 3. The boomerang’s design resembles that of certain Aboriginal Australian boomerangs, suggesting similar needs led to similar designs across different times and places.
A boomerang made from mammoth tusk discovered in Poland's Oblazowa Cave in the 1990s was initially dated to around 18,000 years old but recent radiocarbon dating by researchers from the University of Bologna suggests it may be about 40,000 years old. The boomerang's design and craftsmanship offer insights into Paleolithic life in Poland during the Ice Age, with similarities to Aboriginal Australian boomerangs indicating parallel evolution of design across different regions and eras.
Insight: The revised age of the mammoth-tusk boomerang sheds new light on ancient human activities and interactions with their environment, highlighting the innovative and adaptive nature of early humans in crafting tools for survival.
This article was curated by memoment.jp from the feed source: Ars Technica.
Read the original article here: https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/06/a-mammoth-tusk-boomerang-from-poland-is-40000-years-old/
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