From 1 8 million years ago, the earliest evidence of human activity found bigthink.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bigthink.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Canadian researchers help uncover oldest evidence of human activity in African cave
TORONTO, Ontario (CTV Network) A team of archeologists and geologists has confirmed the oldest cave dwelling at Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa’s Kalahari Desert, dating back nearly two million years.
Wonderwerk Cave is an archeological record that spans over millions of years and holds evidence of some of the first use of fire and tool making by prehistoric humans.
The study, led by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Toronto, published in Quaternary Science Reviews, has confirmed the date of this site.
“We can now say with confidence that our human ancestors were making simple Oldowan stone tools inside the Wonderwerk Cave 1.8 million years ago. Wonderwerk is unique among ancient Oldowan sites, a tool-type first found 2.6 million years ago in East Africa, precisely because it is a cave and not an open-air occurrence,” lead author, Ron Shaar at Hebrew Univers
Early Humans Lived in This South African Cave 2 Million Years Ago, Making It the World s Oldest Home, Archaeologists Say artnet.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from artnet.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Breakthrough Research Reveals Wonderwerk Cave Is the World’s Oldest Home
In the Kalahari Desert of South Africa, has produced a cornucopia of wonders for archaeologists searching for the truth about human origins. Cave art, stone tools, burned bones, soil, and ash, and a collection of crystals have all been found inside the immense 80-foot (25-meter) wide Wonderwerk Cave that runs 460 feet (140 meters) deep into the Earth.
These artifacts and remnants were clearly produced or accumulated in the vastest recesses of prehistory, reaching far back into antiquity.
The entrance to the Wonderwerk Cave, which is now the oldest human “home” known in the world. (Michael Chazan /