Photo: Zhanyang Li, Yuchao Zhao
Technology did not evolve only in peaceful times.
Scientists say ancient human relatives adapted to the harsh conditions of the Ice Age 150,000 years ago by developing an advanced network of stone tools. Researchers reached this conclusion after analyzing a rib bone encrusted with crystals discovered in China, according to Science Alert.
The discovery suggests that innovation often emerges not during stable periods, but in times of hardship when survival depends on adaptation.
“Learning that these stone tools were made during a severe Ice Age completely changes the picture. Difficult times may force us to adapt,” said anthropological archaeologist Yuchao Zhao from Shandong University.
The tools were found at the Lingjing archaeological site in central China. Scientists believe prehistoric humans used the location mainly for processing animals rather than as a permanent settlement because it was located near a water source.
Researchers uncovered more than 15,000 artifacts at the site, most of them made from quartz and preserved in layers from different time periods.
At least some of the objects are believed to have been created by Homo juluensis, a large-brained archaic human relative that lived in East Asia between roughly 300,000 and 100,000 years ago. Scientists only recently proposed the species’ existence.
At first glance, the stone tools may appear to be random rock fragments. But researchers say they are remarkably sophisticated and reflect major advances in cognitive abilities and craftsmanship.
“This was not simple flake production. It was a technology that required planning, precision, and a deep understanding of stone properties and fracture mechanics,” Zhao explained.
According to the scientists, the tools reveal not only advanced stone-working methods but also important similarities with Middle Paleolithic technologies associated with Neanderthals in Europe and early human ancestors in Africa.
“The logic behind this system — and the cognitive abilities it reflects — suggests that advanced technological thinking was not limited to Western Eurasia,” Zhao said.
The findings challenge previous assumptions that technological development in the region had stagnated for tens of thousands of years. Earlier researchers believed the tools had been created during a warmer and more stable interglacial period.
“People often imagine creativity as something that flourishes in good times,” Zhao noted.
In the new study, however, scientists reassessed the age of the tools by dating a deer rib processed at the site.
“We previously thought these tools were made around 126,000 years ago during a warm interglacial period. But new crystal analysis suggests some of them were created about 146,000 years ago during a harsh and cold Ice Age,” Zhao said.
Earlier, archaeologists in Israel discovered 10 “extremely rare” prehistoric stone hand axes containing geological features such as fossils and geodes.
