Extinct elephant fossils reveal early evidence of animal butchery

Rare elephant fossils found in India have illuminated a crucial activity that shaped the survival strategies of our human ancestors – animal butchery.

Early butchery provides fascinating insights into the history of human evolution. In the late middle Pleistocene period, about 300,000 to 400,000 years ago, a group of ancient elephants died near a river in the Kashmir Valley.

Discovery of the elephant remains

The sediment preserved the prehistoric elephant remains for future generations. The scene included 87 stone tools, shining a light on the habits of early humans.

The elephant remains were discovered in 2000 near Pampore, a small town in India. However, the scientists did not know the elephants’ cause of death or any possible human involvement. The mysteries surrounding these fossils remained unsolved for two decades.

A research team led by the Florida Museum of Natural History has recently dug deeper into the history of the bones, unveiling findings that contribute significantly to our understanding of early human life.

Early butchery and elephant bones

The researchers discovered elephant bone flakes that hint at early humans striking the bones to extract rich, fatty marrow.

This finding represents the first evidence of animal butchery in India and provides insights into the diet and survival strategies of humanity’s ancestors.

The rarity of the fossils amplifies their significance. They belonged to an extinct elephant genus, Palaeoloxodon, which weighed twice as much as today’s African elephants.

Only one other set of bones from this species had been found, making these fossils invaluable due to their completeness.

Who were the hominins?

The term “hominin” refers to modern humans, extinct human species, and all immediate ancestors.

“The question is, who are these hominins? What are they doing on the landscape and are they going after big game or not?” said Advait Jukar, a curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Florida Museum.

This question looms large in the paleontology world since the discovery of the Narmada human, the only fossil hominin found in the Indian subcontinent. The remains were discovered on the bank of the Narmada River in 1982.

Considering the Narmada human’s intriguing mix of features from older and recent hominin species, early human dispersal in India piqued scientists’ curiosity.

“Now we know for sure, at least in the Kashmir Valley, these hominins are eating elephants,” said Jukar.

Butchery, elephants, and stone tools

Early humans used the basalt stone tools found at the Pampore site for marrow extraction.

Basalt is not native to the site’s local area, which led the researchers to theorize that early humans brought raw materials in from elsewhere and then shaped them at the site.

The method of construction determined the age of the site and its tools, placing them between 300,000 and 400,000 years old.

Before this find, the first known instance of butchery in India was less than 10,000 years old. The study moves the timeline back considerably.

“It might just be that people haven’t looked closely enough or are sampling in the wrong place,” noted Jukar. “But up until now, there hasn’t been any direct evidence of humans feeding on large animals in India.”

Story of Palaeoloxodon

The experts identified the complete specimen found in Pampore as the extinct elephant genus Palaeoloxodon Turkmenicus. This type of elephant fossil was discovered only once before.

In the back of the throat, researchers found intact hyoids, which are fragile bones attached to the tongue. Hyoid bones are distinctive between species and helped the experts identify the elephants.

Palaeoloxodon elephants originated in Africa about a million years ago before moving into Eurasia. Unlike living elephant species, Palaeoloxodon was known for its unusually large forehead.

P. turkmenicus showcased an intermediate stage in Palaeoloxodon evolution with an expanded forehead and no crest. This evidence highlighted early butchery practices linked to these elephants.

Significance of the study

Jukar believes the findings could fill in the story of how the genus migrated and evolved. “You just need a lot more effort to go and find the sites, and you need to essentially survey and collect everything.”

This discovery has peeled away a new layer in human history. As researchers continue to explore humans of the past, they begin to understand more about humanity and what it stands to become.

The study is published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.

Image Credit: Chen Yu, University of Helsinki

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