Prehistoric Hand Axes Older Than Once Thought

[n2doc]

Bruce Bower, Science News



Sept. 3, 2009 -- Europe's Stone Age has taken an edgy turn. A new analysis finds that human ancestors living in what is now Spain fashioned double-edged stone cutting tools as early as 900,000 years ago, almost twice as long ago as previous estimates for this technological achievement in Europe.

If confirmed, the new dates support the idea that the manufacture and use of teardrop-shaped stone implements, known as hand axes, spread rapidly from Africa into Europe and Asia beginning roughly 1 million years ago, say geologist Gary Scott and paleontologist Luis Gibert, both of the Berkeley Geochronology Center in California.

Evidence of ancient reversals of Earth's magnetic field in soil at two archaeological sites indicates that hand axes date to 900,000 years ago in one location and to 760,000 years ago in the other, Scott and Gibert report in the Sept. 3 Nature. Until now, most researchers thought that hand axes unearthed at these sites were made between 500,000 and 200,000 years ago.

Other European hand ax sites date to no more than 500,000 years ago. In contrast, hand axes date to roughly 1.7 million years ago in eastern Africa. And age estimates of 1.2 million years and 800,000 years for hand axes from two Israeli sites indicate that this tool-making style spread out of Africa long before the origin of Homo sapiens around 200,000 years ago. Excavations in southern China have also yielded 800,000-year-old hand axes (SN: 3/4/00, p. 148). Fossils from ancient human ancestors have not been found with the Israeli and Chinese artifacts.

more:

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/09/03/prehistoric-hand-axes.html

[tularetom]

1. Actually they can only be 6000 years old

Because thats how long ago god created the earth. He just made them appear that old in order to test the faith of scientists, a test which the scientists always fail.

[gtar100]

2. At an average of 4 generations per century, that would be 36,000 people ago

Less than a small city today.

Bet the air was clean and the spring water sweet and clear back then. The stars at night must have been spectacular to view. Imagine our knowledge of astronomy today without all the baggage of industrial pollution and the burden of over-population. Is it even possible? The people who's hands were on those tools back then could have never guessed what was ahead of them.

[supernova]

3. So, Lucy and her family

were making these tools?