Early Humans

TUESDAY, Aug. 9, 2016

A new study suggests early humans who lived in the Middle East about 250,000 years ago were more advanced than thought. Based on the discovery of animal proteins on stone tools in modern-day Jordan, researchers believe that Stone Age humans used the tools to butcher animals like horses, rhinoceros, wild cattle and ducks. "Researchers have known for decades about carnivorous behaviours by tool-making hominines dating back 2.5 million years," but this is the first direct evidence that specific animals were used for food, said lead researcher April Nowell. She is a professor of anthropology at the University of Victoria in Canada. "The hominins in this region were clearly adaptable and capable of taking advantage of a wide range of available prey, from rhinoceros to ducks, in an extremely challenging environment," she said in a university news release.