Leather-making tools from 90,000 years ago discovered
20/09/2021
A significant number of these tools are thought to have been used for leatherworking.
In a study published in the journal iScience, the researchers said that a total of 62 tools crafted from animal bones were uncovered at the cave.
Patterns of cut marks on antelope and wild cattle bones in the locality also led the team to conclude that these animals may have been eaten for their meat, with their skins used to make leather.
The study’s lead author, Dr Emily Hallett, commented: “Our findings show that early humans were manufacturing bone tools that were used to prepare skins and that this behaviour is likely part of a larger tradition with earlier examples that have not yet been found.”
Dr Hallett added that she would be particularly interested in experimentally making and using similar bone tools in a controlled environment, in order to understand the process behind making and maintaining these early leatherworking tools.
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