With the first evidence of fire use or tool making, the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa hIt has been confirmed as the oldest human-populated cave in the world, according to a new investigation published in Quaternary Science Reviews, led by a team of geologists and archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) and the University of Toronto.
axes and fire
The study establishes the change from Oldowan tools (mainly sharpened slabs and cutting tools) to the first hand axes more than 1 million years ago, and the deliberate use of fire by our prehistoric ancestors 1 million years ago, in a layer deep in the cave.
Additionally, Wonderwerk contained a full range of fire remains: burnt bones, sediments and tools, as well as the presence of ashes.
As explained by the main author, Professor Ron Shaar from the HU Institute of Earth Sciences:
We can now say with confidence that our human ancestors were making simple stone tools inside Wonderwerk Cave 1.8 million years ago. Wonderwerk is unique among ancient Oldowan sites, a type of tool first found 2.6 million years ago in East Africa, precisely because it is a cave and not an open-air occurrence.
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The news
It is confirmed that this is the oldest human-populated grotto in the world and is in South Africa
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.