The oldest known abrading tool dates to 350,000 years ago

摘要

A round stone excavated at Israel's Tabun Cave in the 1960s represents the oldest known grinding or rubbing tool, say researchers who recently scrutinized the 350,000-year-old find. The specimen marks a technological turn to manipulating objects using wide, flat stone surfaces, say Ron Shimelmitz, an archaeologist at the University of Haifa in Israel, and colleagues. Up to that time, stone implements had featured thin points or sharp edges. Microscopic wear and polish on a worn section of the Tabun stone resulted from it having been ground or rubbed against relatively soft material, such as animal hides or plants, the scientists conclude in the January Journal of Human Evolution.