480,000-year-old ax sharpener is the oldest known elephant bone tool ever discovered in Europe

480,000-year-old ax sharpener is the oldest known elephant bone tool ever discovered in Europe

The "very rare" find provides an extraordinary glimpse into the ingenuity of early human relatives who lived around half a million years ago.

500,000-year-old elephant bone tool reveals advanced planning and skill in early human ancestors

The earliest hominins in Europe shared their environment with large mammals and elephants were some of the largest animals ever to exist on Earth. Elephants weighed around ten thousand kilograms (33,070 pounds) and stretched fifteen feet (five meters) from the ground to the tip of their tusks. The presence of large mammals and other forms of life greatly affected the lifestyle of early humans, influencing their ability to hunt and collect meat, …