Earliest proof of humans using whale bone tools discovered
The bones, found on the northern Spanish coast in the Bay of Biscay, show that we have been underestimating our prehistoric ancestors, the European-led team of scientists said.
Southwest Europe was much colder during the Upper Palaeolithic period, and the Atlantic Ocean was 120 metres (400 feet) lower than its current level.
As the seas rose over the millennia, it destroyed or buried much of the proof that these hunter-gatherers interacted with the marine world, French prehistoric archaeologist Jean-Marc Petillon told AFP.
This led to a "biased" vision that they only hunted inland beasts such as reindeer, bison and horses, the lead author of a new study in Nature Communications said.
"Fortunately for us, people at the time transported a number of marine products inland," he added.
Perched on a cliff, these humans would likely have been able to see blue, sperm, bowhead and other whales relatively near the shore, looking for food.
Among their discoveries, the researchers found more than 60 fragments of whale ribs or vertebrae. These huge bones were carried up to five kilometres (three miles) to the top of a steep cliff, possibly to extract their oil.
"These bones are very rich in fat," Petillon explained.
Most of the bone tools were parts of weapons, such as the tips of spears.
But it is "extremely unlikely" these ancient humans were able to hunt whales, the study said, adding that it was more likely that the huge animals had simply washed up on the beach.
Some of the bones were collected more than a century ago but were misidentified. The researchers used carbon-dating, as well as spectrometry analysis to determine what species the bones were from.
There was a boom in whale bones between 17,500 and 16,000 BC, when tools have been found as far away as Germany.
"Then it stopped quite abruptly" for reasons that are not clear, Petillon said.
The people of the time did not run out of bones, nor did they lose the bone-working techniques.
"It could be a choice... like a fashion that lasts a millennium or two and then, at some point, stops," Petillon said.
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