40,000-year-old boomerang sculpted from mammoth tusk reveals early humans artistry

While most boomerangs we know are made of wood, the use of mammoth tusk highlights the extraordinary resourcefulness of our early Homo sapiens ancestors.

“The findings not only deepen our understanding of Homo sapiens’ adaptive strategies but also highlight the nuanced interplay of technology, symbolism, and environmental interaction during the earliest phases of human dispersals in Central Europe,” the researchers wrote in the study paper.

Early humans’ symbolic expression

This discovery speaks volumes about the Early Aurignacian period, a pivotal time in the Upper Paleolithic. It was an era defined by the expansion of Homo sapiens across Europe.

The ancestors engaged in complex tool-making, innovative artistic expression, and symbolic thought. From body decorations to portable art and refined tools, our ancestors showed an astonishing capacity for creativity.

The discovery of this ancient tool adds to the valuable finds from this cave site located in the nature reserve of Przełom Białki. 

Pinpointing the exact age and cultural context of such finds is crucial for understanding the dawn of symbolic behavior in early European Homo sapiens. 

Through meticulous radiocarbon dating of bones, including that precious human fossil, researchers have refined the site’s chronology. 

This sophisticated dating method, called Bayesian modeling, shows that people lived in Obłazowa Cave mainly between about 42,810 and 38,550 years ago.

The discovered boomerang dates to between 42,290 and 39,280 years ago. 

This remarkable age firmly places the Obłazowa boomerang within the Early Upper Paleolithic, making it an extraordinarily ancient example of such a complex tool in Europe.

“This study positions the boomerang found at Obłazowa Cave as potentially one of the oldest specimens in Europe, and possibly globally, thereby shedding light on both technical skills and cognitive advancements of Homo sapiens in crafting these complex tools,” the researchers noted. 

The use of a boomerang

Interestingly, given the scarcity of other artifacts nearby, some researchers have even proposed that the human remains and the boomerang might have been part of a shamanistic ritual. Also, it could have been used for hunting.

As per the study, the oldest known wooden boomerang, from Wyrie Swamp, South Australia, is radiocarbon dated to between 10,200 and 8,990 years Before Present (BP). In northern Australia, a much more recent fragment found at Riwi Cave has a direct radiocarbon date of 670 BP.

This European find highlights the global, diverse history of these fascinating tools.

“These rare finds, ranging from the earliest wooden specimens in Australia to possible Upper Paleolithic examples in Europe, reflect the diverse functions that boomerangs served, from hunting and crafting to subsistence activities and ritualistic uses,” the study noted. 

The findings were published in the journal PLOS One.