Butchery or Trampling? Controversy Marks Ancient Animal Bones

Published on American Geosciences Institute (https://www.americangeosciences.org)

As Americans feast for Thanksgiving, scientists are engaged in a debate over what human ancestors feasted on and when it occurred. EARTH Magazine brings readers this active debate centered around fossilized animal bones and the marks on them.

Several years ago, scientists discovered 3.4-million-year-old animal bones near Dikika, Ethiopia, that had strange markings on them. Scientists initially reported that the markings were tool marks made by human ancestors who were butchering and eating the protein- and fat-rich animals. If true, the find would push back the active hunting and butchering of animals by 800,000 years in human evolutionary history. Other researchers, however, say that the markings formed when animal carcasses were trampled. Since then, debate has raged, with each study contradicting the previous one. Now, in yet a new study, researchers are using different methods to interpret the marks on bones and their findings indicate the animals were slaughtered by human ancestors for the original paleo diet. Feast on the latest article from EARTH Magazine at: http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/butchery-or-trampling_recovery

EARTH Magazine continues the tradition of ensuring that readers are exposed to the science behind popular headlines. The latest news is available at www.earthmagazine.org or in the November/December print issue, and includes stories on if rivers could be described as dynamic and unpredictable or regular and cyclical over geologic time, the role of Morocco’s Lower Fezouata Formation plays in reshaping the fossil evolution record within the Early Phanerozoic, and a feature collecting narratives from people who experienced the Nepal Earthquake. With the holidays around the corner, check out the gift guide for the geoscientists in your life, or consider an annual gift subscription to EARTH Magazine for a relative, school or library.

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