Found 90,000-year-old knife crafted in North Africa

Archaeologists have found a knife made from animal bones dated to 90,000 years in Morocco. In particular, the structure of this knife surprised the researchers about the ability to craft sophisticatedly reached the high level of the ancient people.

According to the scientific journal Plos One, the knife was found by Moroccan archaeologists in a cave in the northern coastal region adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean.

This 13cm-long ancient artifact is thought to be made from a large mammal's rib, which lived in that period.

The knife is made from animal bones.(Source: Sciencenews.org).

Archaeologist Professor Bouzouggar of the National Archaeological Institute of Morocco and at the same time as the head of the research team, said the findings suggest that cave inhabitants in the North African region are capable of producing sophisticated instruments. in chronology much earlier than previous speculations, even earlier than 40,000 years before the Neanderthal breed became extinct.

This bone knife is considered to be the oldest tool of the Aterian culture - the blooming period of the stone-making industry of North African residents living in the Stone Age.

However, with a finely crafted form, this is a work that has many differences compared to the instruments manufactured in the southern Sahara region during that same period. This shows that ancient residents living in North Africa have a better level of material processing than those in the South.

In addition, according to Dr. Silvia Bello from London's Museum of Natural History, finding this knife shows that humans possess the technology to produce sophisticated bone tools from 100,000 years ago.

Based on the shape and sharpening angle of this knife, Dr. Silvia said this is a tool used to cut soft and highly elastic materials.

According to scientists, the ability to make complex instruments from animal bones - materials requires a much higher level of processing than stone materials, suggesting that nearly 100,000 years ago, the same Homo sapiens have begun to develop cognitive abilities as well as the ability to control their hands skillfully.