Archeological Breakthrough Indicates Hominin Predecessors Were Sophisticated Hunters

Recently archaeologists in northeast Jordan have discovered the oldest known tools with identifiable protein residues—the residual remains of butchered animals.¹ Between 2013 and 2015, a team of archeologists excavated 7,000 tools used by hominins around 250,000 years ago. These tools provide significant insights into the hunting sophistication of early proto-humans.

More importantly, the study further discredits the myth that early hominins were predominantly vegetarians.

First, let’s examine what this new archeological evidence reveals about ancient hominins from present-day Jordan. The specific location is the Azraq Basin of Jordan’s Eastern Desert, a hominin habitat for the past 300,000 years. Its first inhabitants were attracted by a large oasis, which was fed by springs originating in the basin’s upper aquifer.

During the 20th century, the area’s marshes began drying up as nearby cities overexploited fresh water supplies. Though unfortunate, this overconsumption benefited archaeologists by giving them access to deeply buried layers. The authors of this new study refer to the Azraq Basin as “one of the richest archaeological and paleontological landscapes in the Middle East.”¹

Of the 7,000 excavated tools, the research team identified 44 as candidates for testing. Seventeen of the tested tools revealed protein residues from a wide range of animals, including rhinoceros, duck, horse, camel, and bovine.

Their discoveries suggest startling conclusions about the early hominins’ survival capacity in challenging environments, including “a reliance on surprisingly human-like adaptations including a broadened subsistence base, modified tool kit, and strategies for predator avoidance and carcass protection.”

The duck residues are interesting because they suggest that early hominins were sophisticated hunters, not merely scavengers as they are sometimes portrayed. “Ducks were likely hunted rather than scavenged,” the authors write, “because of the low probability of hominins finding scavengeable avian remains.” Nighttime duck hunting, they explain, would have been easier than daytime hunting because ducks are reluctant to leave their nests at night.

However, these ducks nested near the oasis where other predators lurked. Therefore, nighttime hunting “would have been a dangerous endeavor and it is more likely that they hunted ducks by day.”

These hominins, the researchers concluded, likely had sophisticated tools, similar to boomerangs, which they used for daytime duck hunting. Furthermore, their wide variety of prey suggests they were extremely opportunistic hunters with strong adaptation abilities.

The researchers write, “It is possible that these hominins practiced a very human-like division of labor, one that was highly divergent from non-human primate foraging strategies, and that, based on studies of modern hunter-gatherer societies, may have included specialized task groups, task-specific implements and strategies for competing with or avoiding the other predatory species in the area.”