Staff Reporter
HUMANS were crafting tools out of whale bones as far back as 20,000 years ago, a new study by Spanish and French researchers has found.
More than 80 bone tools excavated from sites around the Bay of Biscay and 90 bones from nearby Santa Catalina Cave were analysed by a team led by Jean-Marc Pétillon and Krista McGrath.
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“Our study reveals that the bones came from at least five species of large whales, the oldest of which date to approximately 19,000–20,000 years ago. These represent some of the earliest known evidence of humans using whale remains as tools,” Pétillon said.
The researchers used mass spectrometry and radiocarbon dating to identify the whale species and age of the samples, strengthening knowledge on how early humans used whale remains.
“ZooMS is a powerful technique for investigating past sea mammal diversity, particularly when diagnostic morphometric elements are missing from bone remains and objects, which is often the case for bone artefacts,” McGrath said.
Species still present in the Bay of Biscay were discovered, including sperm whales, fin whales and blue whales. They also discovered that some tools were made from grey whales, a species which now only lives in the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans.
Chemical data from the whales has shown feeding habits of the ancient whales were different to what they eat today, revealing the whales’ role in historic ecosystems.
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