• About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Donation
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Archaeology News
  • Home
  • News
    • Archaeology
    • Anthropology
    • Paleontology
  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • VR Tours
  • Quiz & Game
  • Download
  • Encyclopedia
  • Forum
Archaeology News
No Result
View All Result
Home News Anthropology

Flint tools dating back over 500,000 years were discovered in Poland

Dario Radley by Dario Radley
October 8, 2022
Share on FacebookShare on Linkedin.Share on RedditShare on Whatsapp

Flint tools discovered more than 50 years ago in the Tunel Wielki Cave (Małopolskie region) have been dated to half a million years ago.

Flint tools dating back over 500,000 years were discovered in Poland
Location of Tunel Wielki Cave. Sci Rep (2022)

For a long time, researchers believed that the oldest traces of human presence in the Tunel Wielki cave were at most 40,000 years old. These initial findings proved to be incorrect. A new study by Dr. Małgorzata Kot from the Faculty of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw, now indicates that the tools are among the oldest creations in Poland and may be up to half a million years old.

“It started with an observation by an expert dealing with the remains of small mammals, Dr Claudio Berto. He said that the species he was studying were at least 40,000 years old and could be up to 500,000 years old.” Dr. Małgorzata Kot recalls in an interview with PAP (Polish Press Agency).

Most of the finds were immediately placed in cardboard boxes and stored after the excavations.

The remains of ancient relatives of today’s rodents were found among the small bones, mainly teeth. However, there were also the remains of larger animals. These were worked out by palaeontologists from the ISEZ Pan in Krakow and the University of Wrocław.  Each of the species (now extinct in Poland) lived in the area between 450 and 550 thousand years ago.

RelatedStories

300,000-year-old wooden tools found in China reveal early humans’ plant-based diet and cognitive abilities in East Asia

300,000-year-old wooden tools found in China reveal early humans’ plant-based diet and cognitive abilities in East Asia

July 9, 2025
Early humans used ochre for advanced toolmaking at Blombos Cave, study finds

Early humans used ochre for advanced toolmaking at Blombos Cave, study finds

July 1, 2025

In the same layer, there were 40 flint artifacts, mainly refuse from the manufacture of tools, but also several flint scrapers and small flint knives.

“Since these artifacts come from the same layer as the bones, it means that their ages are very similar. The re-excavations carried out in the cave in 2018 also confirmed this conviction. These confirmed the layer layout described by the researchers half a century ago. In addition, we discovered further production waste and animal bones,” Dr. Kot emphasized.

Although the animal bones show no signs of cutting or processing, the researchers believe the animals likely inhabited the cave during periods when it was temporarily occupied by people.

The tools were likely made by Homo heidelbergensis, an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human that lived during the Middle Pleistocene. Such finds are rare, with tools also discovered in a cave in Maopolska, Lesser Poland.

Flint tools dating back over 500,000 years were discovered in Poland
Lithic tools from Tunel Wielki Cave. Credit: Sci Rep (2022)

The finds from the Tunel Wielki cave are among the very few pieces of evidence of the first humans who ventured north of the Carpathian Mountains. “It is rather unlikely that they wandered further north. We are most likely at the northern limit of their ability to survive,” the researcher says.

Admittedly, the climatic conditions differed little from those of today, but they were nevertheless a challenge for the people of that time.

“This is an insanely interesting aspect of the analyses for us. We can study the limits of Homo heidelbergensis’ ability to survive, and thus observe how it adapted to these unfavorable conditions,” the expert added.

In the future, researchers hope to find Homo heidelbergensis bones in the Tunel Wielki cave. These would be the oldest human remains discovered in Poland. The oldest ones that are currently known date back at least 50,000 years and are from a Neanderthal.

The National Science Centre is funding the investigation in the Tunel Wielki cave as part of a wider project. (Source: Poland Daily 24, Nauka w Polsce)

More information: Kot, M., Berto, C., Krajcarz, M.T. et al. Frontiers of the Lower Palaeolithic expansion in Europe: Tunel Wielki Cave (Poland). Sci Rep 12, 16355 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-20582-0

Share1Tweet1ShareShareSend

You May Also Like...

Antikythera shipwreck reveals ancient shipbuilding secrets in 2025 excavation
Archaeology

Antikythera shipwreck reveals ancient shipbuilding secrets in 2025 excavation

July 15, 2025
Rural rituals and astral burials shaped ancient Egyptian religion and the myths of Isis and Osiris
Anthropology

Rural rituals and astral burials shaped ancient Egyptian religion and the myths of Isis and Osiris

July 15, 2025
4,500-year-old dog tooth–adorned bags unearthed in Germany reveal burial practices of Neolithic elites
Anthropology

4,500-year-old dog tooth–adorned bags unearthed in Germany reveal burial practices of Neolithic elites

July 14, 2025
Mad emperor Caligula had surprising medical knowledge, new research reveals from ancient Roman texts
Archaeology

Mad emperor Caligula had surprising medical knowledge, new research reveals from ancient Roman texts

July 13, 2025
1,600-year-old tomb of Caracol’s founding king Te K’ab Chaak unearthed in Belize jungle
Anthropology

1,600-year-old tomb of Caracol’s founding king Te K’ab Chaak unearthed in Belize jungle

July 12, 2025
11,000-year-old feast in Iran’s Zagros Mountains reveals long-distance animal transport and early Neolithic social rituals
Archaeology

11,000-year-old feast in Iran’s Zagros Mountains reveals long-distance animal transport and early Neolithic social rituals

July 12, 2025

Follow us


Instagram
246K

Facebook
111K

Threads
43K

LinkedIn
12K

Twitter
6K

YouTube
1K
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Shipwreck Salvage. Credit: rawpixel.com / Public Domain

2,000-year-old shipwreck discovered off Turkish coast with remarkably preserved stacked ceramics

July 2, 2025
Viking age DNA reveals 9,000-year-old HIV-resistant gene originating near the Black Sea

Viking age DNA reveals 9,000-year-old HIV-resistant gene originating near the Black Sea

May 18, 2025
Mad emperor Caligula had surprising medical knowledge, new research reveals from ancient Roman texts

Mad emperor Caligula had surprising medical knowledge, new research reveals from ancient Roman texts

July 13, 2025
Neanderthals operated prehistoric “fat factory” 125,000 years ago on German lakeshore, study finds

Neanderthals operated prehistoric “fat factory” 125,000 years ago on German lakeshore

July 3, 2025
Exceptionally large Roman shoes discovered at Magna fort near Hadrian’s Wall

Exceptionally large Roman shoes discovered at Magna fort near Hadrian’s Wall

July 3, 2025
$1 million prize offered to decipher 5,300-year-old Indus Valley script

$1 million prize offered to decipher 5,300-year-old Indus Valley script

Oldest ever genetic data from a human relative found in 2-million-year-old fossilized teeth

Oldest ever genetic data from a human relative found in 2-million-year-old fossilized teeth

A 21-year-old student successfully deciphered the first word from the Herculaneum scrolls, charred during Mount Vesuvius' eruption

A 21-year-old student successfully deciphered the first word from the Herculaneum scrolls, charred during Mount Vesuvius’ eruption

Exceptionally large Roman shoes discovered at Magna fort near Hadrian’s Wall

Exceptionally large Roman shoes discovered at Magna fort near Hadrian’s Wall

New evidence reveals the source of mercury in the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor

New evidence reveals the source of mercury in the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor

Antikythera shipwreck reveals ancient shipbuilding secrets in 2025 excavation

Antikythera shipwreck reveals ancient shipbuilding secrets in 2025 excavation

July 15, 2025
Rural rituals and astral burials shaped ancient Egyptian religion and the myths of Isis and Osiris

Rural rituals and astral burials shaped ancient Egyptian religion and the myths of Isis and Osiris

July 15, 2025
4,500-year-old dog tooth–adorned bags unearthed in Germany reveal burial practices of Neolithic elites

4,500-year-old dog tooth–adorned bags unearthed in Germany reveal burial practices of Neolithic elites

July 14, 2025
Castillian ambassadors attempting to convince Almohad king Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtada to join their alliance. Contemporary depiction from The Cantigas de Santa Maria. Public Domain

Zīrid Ifrīqiya and the Islamic world in the 10th–12th centuries: an international conference at UCL

July 14, 2025
Mad emperor Caligula had surprising medical knowledge, new research reveals from ancient Roman texts

Mad emperor Caligula had surprising medical knowledge, new research reveals from ancient Roman texts

July 13, 2025

Archaeology News online magazine

Archaeology News is an international online magazine that covers all aspects of archaeology.











Categories

  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • Download
  • Game
  • News
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Paleontology
  • Quiz
  • Tours

Subscribe to our newsletter

© 2024 - Archaeology News Online Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Donation
  • Contact

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

  • Home
  • News
    • Archaeology
    • Anthropology
    • Paleontology
  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • VR Tours
  • Quiz & Game
  • Download
  • Encyclopedia
  • Forum

About  .  Contact  .  Donation

© 2024 - Archaeology News Online Magazine. All Rights Reserved

We use cookies to improve your experience and enable functionality and security of this site. Further detail is available in our Privacy Policy. By accepting all cookies, you consent to our use of cookies and use of data.