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Early humans made tools from bones 1 million years sooner than scientists thought

Bone tool shaped on a 1.5-million-year-old elephant humerus.
CSIC
Bone tool shaped on a 1.5-million-year-old elephant humerus.

Archeologists know early humans used stone to make tools long before the time of Homo sapiens.

But a new discovery out this week in Nature suggests early humans in eastern Africa were also using animal bones – one million years earlier than researchers previously thought.

The finding suggests that these early humans were intentionally shaping animal materials – like elephant and hippopotamus bones – to make tools and that it could indicate advancements in early human cognition.

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Today's episode was produced by Rebecca Ramirez, who edited it alongside Christopher Intagliata. Tyler Jones checked the facts. Patrick Murray and Jimmy Keeley were the audio engineers.

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Emily Kwong (she/her) is the reporter for NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave. The podcast explores new discoveries, everyday mysteries and the science behind the headlines — all in about 10 minutes, Monday through Friday.
Rachel Carlson
Rachel Carlson (she/her) is a production assistant at Short Wave, NPR's science podcast. She gets to do a bit of everything: researching, sourcing, writing, fact-checking and cutting episodes.
Rebecca Ramirez (she/her) is the founding producer of NPR's daily science podcast, Short Wave. It's a meditation in how to be a Swiss Army Knife, in that it involves a little of everything — background research, finding and booking sources, interviewing guests, writing, cutting the tape, editing, scoring ... you get the idea.
Christopher Intagliata is an editor at All Things Considered, where he writes news and edits interviews with politicians, musicians, restaurant owners, scientists and many of the other voices heard on the air.
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