A triangular artefact fashioned from ivory was used by archaic human relatives to grind hand axes around 480,000 years ago in what is now the UK, new analysis reveals.
The object — which measures about 4.3 by 2.3 inches (10.9 by 5.8 centimeters) — represents the oldest known ivory tool ever found in Europe, according to a study published Wednesday (January 21) in the journal. Scientific advancesand demonstrates the high level of ingenuity and ability of human relatives to adapt to new environments when they settled in northern climates.
“Unexpected” find of one of the world’s the oldest ivory tools suggests a fairly advanced level of technological development, highlighting the innovation, ingenuity and craftsmanship of archaic human relatives nearly half a million years ago, the researchers said in the study.
While scientists are not sure which group of human relatives used the elephant tool, given the age of the tool and where it was found, two candidates are early Neanderthals or Homo heidelbergensisBello told Live Science in an email.
The tool “provides extraordinary insight into the ingenuity of the early human ancestors who made it,” Bello said.
The fossilized bone artifact was originally discovered in the early 1990s during excavations at the Boxgrove archaeological site in southern England. This internationally recognized site has yielded many finds that shed light Paleolithic life about half a million years ago. These include various bone and stone tools, numerous animal remains showing signs of butchery, and even the oldest human remains when he found himself in Britain.
The significance of the bone artifact was not immediately apparent. But a recent analysis of the artifact by Bello and her coauthor Simon Parfittarchaeologist from the Institute of Archeology at University College London, revealed that the artifact is a fragment of ivory deliberately shaped into a “retouching” tool.
Retouchers were used to shape and resharpen the edges of handaxes. An ivory retoucher would contribute to the production of a “finely worked” hand axes which were thought to have been used primarily as cutting tools and are typical of Boxgrove, according to the study.
“The ivory tool shows signs of having been shaped and used to grip and sharpen lithic tools while the bone was still fresh, suggesting that these people knew that ivory was a great material for that,” Bello said.
According to the scientists, the find represents the only documented case of ivory used to make a retouch. Percussion instruments made from organic materials such as bone, antler, and wood were essential equipment of early humans, but rarely survive in the archaeological record.
In addition, prehistoric ivory remains at Boxgrove are “exceptionally rare,” suggesting that Archaic humans in the area rarely encountered the resource, the study authors noted. However, it seems that the creators of the tool recognized the utility of the material.
“This remarkable discovery shows the ingenuity of our ancient relatives,” Parfitt told Live Science in an email. “They not only had a deep knowledge of the local materials around them, but also a sophisticated knowledge of how to make highly refined stone tools.”
“Ivory would have been a rare but very useful resource and it is likely that it was a tool of considerable value,” he said declaration.
Parfitt, SA, Bello, SM The earliest ivory tool from Europe: An unexpected raw material for the precision grip of Acheulian handaxes. Scientific advances 12(4) (2026). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ady1390
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