500,000-year-old elephant bone hammer discovered in England

A 500,000-year-old elephant bone hammer, identified as the oldest tool of its kind in Europe, was discovered at the Boxgrove archaeological site in England. Excavated originally in the 1990s but only recently analyzed in detail, this soft-hammer retoucher was used by early human ancestors such as Homo heidelbergensis and early Neanderthals to sharpen flint handaxes. The tool, made from a dense fragment of elephant cortical bone, shows intentional modification marks and microscopic flint residues, indicating repeated use for precise knapping—a technique to flake and refine stone tools. The discovery highlights the advanced cognitive abilities and technological sophistication of these early humans. They demonstrated foresight and resourcefulness by selecting rare elephant bone for its superior resilience over bones from smaller animals, reflecting complex thinking and abstract reasoning. This find is unique in Europe, where bone tools are typically younger or found in warmer regions, contrasting with similar but much older bone tool use documented in Africa. The study