Early human ancestors turned stones into spheres on purpose, study suggests

Sphericalness is ‘likely to have been produced intentionally’ – but why it was done remains a mysteryEarly ancestors of humans 1.4m years ago deliberately made stones into spheres, according to a study – though what the prehistoric people used the balls for remains a mystery.Archaeologists have long debated exactly how the tennis ball-sized “spheroids” were created. Did early hominins intentionally chip away at them with the aim of crafting a perfect sphere, or were they merely the accidental byproduct of repeatedly smashing the stones like ancient hammers?Continue reading...

Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - September 6, 2023 Category: Science Authors: Agence France-Presse in Paris Tags: Archaeology Science Source Type: news