The oldest stone tools of Europe were found in Ukraine: what is known

NEWS March 06, 2024 The oldest stone tools in Europe point to the path of ancient people The dating of artifacts found in the territory of western Ukraine indicates that archaic people entered the eastern gates of Europe 1.4 million years ago. by Giorgia Guglielmi Twitter Facebook Email Close-up view of a stone tool possibly from layer VII at Korolevo I. Stone tool from the archaeological site of Korolevo in Western Ukraine

Garba’s novel

Stone tools, which are about 1.4 million years old, were found in Ukraine. Archaeologists claim that these tools are the oldest in Europe.

Research, published in the journal Nature, not only tells about these artifacts, but also lifts the curtain on how our ancestors got to this region.

In particular, thanks to this find, scientists were able to confirm the theory about the migration of various species of Homo erectus, which came to Europe from the east and spread to the west, probably along the Danube river valleys.

“So far there has been no strong evidence of migration from east to west. Now we have it”, says study co-author Roman Garba, an archaeologist from the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague.

The tools were found in the Ukrainian village of Korolevo near the border with Romania back in the 1980s. But until now, scientists have not been able to accurately indicate the age of these artifacts.

Archaeologists from the Czech Academy of Sciences used a dating method based on cosmogenic nuclides – this method helps to reveal how long ago the mineral was buried. The team estimated that the tools must be 1.4 million years old.

In Europe, there are only two finds older than 800 thousand years that confirm the presence of human ancestors. These are fossils and stone tools found in Spain and France. Both are 1.1-1.2 million years old.

The dating of the Korolevo tools leads researchers to suggest that the human ancestors who made them were the only archaic people who lived outside of Africa around 1.4 million years ago.

Archaeologists also note that the artifacts from Korolevo are similar to tools found in the Caucasus Mountains. They are dated to about 1.8 million years ago.

However, in the oldest layer of sedimentary deposits in the Ukrainian settlement, there are no fossilized human remains, so it is impossible to say for sure that the tools were made by Homo erectus.

The village where these stone tools were found is called a treasury of prehistoric remains. This is according to the co-author of the study, archaeologist of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Vitaliy Usyk.

Korolevo Square is relatively safe and was not damaged during the war, although the area is now overgrown with vegetation.