These 400,000-Year-Old Mammoth Tusks Carved by Early Humans May Be the Oldest Evidence of Prehistoric Intelligence
Ancient tusk fragments hint at early social learning 400,000 years ago
Tudor TaritabyTudor Tarita April 24, 2025
Reading Time: 6 mins read
Edited and reviewed by Tibi Puiu
In the plains of western Ukraine, researchers digging through ancient soil found a handful of small, broken pieces of ivory that might change how we think about early humans.
The fragments—24 in total—came from the tusks of a long-extinct mammoth species. Most were unremarkable at first glance. But as scientists studied them more closely, they noticed patterns and shapes that didn’t seem like they had been accidentally broken.
Some pieces had been chipped in a way that looked deliberate, shaped with a level of care usually seen in stone toolmaking. And that’s what caught their attention.
“We had never seen or heard of ivory artifacts from the Lower Palaeolithic,” Dr. Vadim Stepanchuk, a Ukrainian archaeologist leading the study told the Smithsonian Magazine.
More:
https://www.zmescience.com/science/anthropology/these-400000-year-old-mammoth-tusks-carved-by-early-humans-may-be-the-oldest-evidence-of-prehistoric-intelligence/
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Found in Ukraine, the fragments show signs of human manipulation—though researchers still haven’t ruled out the possibility that they were shaped by natural forces
Sarah Kuta - Daily Correspondent
April 21, 2025
Archaeologists have unearthed mysterious 400,000-year-old artifacts made from mammoth tusks that may be the oldest human-made ivory objects ever found. They describe their findings in a recent paper published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology.
During excavations at a site in Ukraine’s Southern Bug Valley, researchers discovered 24 ivory fragments, as well as artifacts made of flint and quartz. At the Lower Paleolithic site, known as Medzhibozh A, they also found the remains of horses, woolly rhinoceroses and large wild cats.
Based on the site’s age and location, the team suspects it was once inhabited by a human ancestor called Homo heidelbergensis. But they haven’t found any evidence yet to confirm this hunch.
Researchers were especially interested in the ivory fragments, so they brought them back to their lab and looked at them under a microscope. They also conducted a 3D analysis.
“The study of the ivory began without a specific hypothesis, but their unusual characteristics, indicative of intentional modification, prompted closer examination,” says lead author Vadim Stepanchuk, a researcher at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, per Phys.org’s Sandee Oster.
Their analysis suggests that 14 of the fragments were created by humans. The artifacts show signs of various shaping techniques, including one that likely involved placing the ivory on a rock anvil and using another rock to chip away flakes. They were probably made from the tusks of a mammoth species called Mammuthus trogontherii.
More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/are-these-mysterious-400000-year-old-artifacts-the-oldest-ivory-objects-made-by-humans-180986447/
("Bug" river is also spelled "Buh" river, Google images indicate, according to some photos.)