Archaeologists discover what could be world's oldest boomerang in Europe
Artefact found along with human digit fossil in Poland’s Obłazowa cave
Vishwam Sankaran
Thursday 26 June 2025 06:08 BST
A mammoth tusk artefact discovered in a Polish cave could be Europe’s earliest example of a boomerang and even the oldest tool of its kind in the world, archaeologists said.
The tusk was found along with what seemed like a human little finger or toe bone fossil at the Obłazowa cave in Poland, and it could be nearly 40,000 years old, according to a study published in the journal PLoS One.
The previously oldest-known wooden boomerang came from the Wyrie Swamp in South Australia. It was dated to about 10,000 years ago, researchers, including from Jagiellonian University in Poland, said.
One of Europe’s earliest wooden throwing sticks was discovered at Schöningen in northern Germany and dated back about 300,000 years.
In southeastern Australia, prehistoric Aboriginal people employed several kinds of such curved sticks for hunting birds, fish and small mammals.
More:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/boomerang-oldest-australia-europe-poland-b2777180.html
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8 hours ago
Helen Briggs
BBC environment correspondent•@hbriggs
Maciej Biernacki The boomerang was found near stones, animal and human bones
The world's oldest boomerang is older than previously thought, casting new light on the ingenuity of humans living at the time. The tool, which was found in a cave in Poland in 1985, is now thought to be 40,000 years old. Archaeologists say it was fashioned from a mammoth's tusk with an astonishing level of skill.
Researchers worked out from its shape that it would have flown when thrown, but would not have come back to the thrower. It was probably used in hunting, though it might have had cultural or artistic value, perhaps being used in some kind of ritual.
Talamo et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 The boomerang is curved and a mottled brown colour with paler patches. A scale is included showing the boomerang is about 75cm long.Talamo et al., 2025, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 The ivory boomerang is curved and about the size of a baseball bat
The mammoth ivory boomerang was unearthed in Oblazowa Cave in southern Poland. It was originally thought to be about 30,000 years old. But new, more reliable radiocarbon dating of human and animal bones found at the site puts the age at between 39,000 and 42,000 years old.
More:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cren818q5x1o
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