Archaeologists Are Reconstructing the 'Invisible' Technologies of the Stone Age
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Archaeologists are using experimental methods to understand how prehistoric humans used ivory tools found in German caves. By replicating these tools, researchers discovered they were likely used to manufacture rope, revealing advanced technological capabilities in the Stone Age.
Why it matters
This research provides insight into the 'invisible' technologies of early humans, proving that prehistoric societies possessed sophisticated manufacturing skills that left little physical trace.
Add as preferred source In the lab, archaeologists showed how they could rapidly produce thick rope by threading cattail fibers through a replica of a Stone Age tool. N.J. Conard & V. Rots / Science Advances 2024 When an abstract-looking ivory artifact emerged from the Hohle Fels cave in southern Germany in 2015, archaeologists didn’t know quite what to make of it. Previously, this same cave had yielded what may be the world’s oldest musical flutes, as well as one of humanity’s earliest pieces of figurative art, the iconic Venus of Hohle Fels . At first glance, the strange new discovery—a nearly eight-inch rod perforated with four small holes—seemed comparatively unspectacular. But it has since revealed far more about the lives of Europe’s prehistoric hunter-gatherers than its unassuming appearance might have suggested.
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