27 April 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

First Human Traces Buried in an Ancient Gold Mine in Eastern Sahara

Some of the earliest signs of human life dating back 1.8 million years have been discovered in an old gold mine in the Eastern Sahara.

Archaeologists from the University of Wrocław came across a horde of tools belonging to the African variety of Homo erectus, the precursor of humans (Homo sapiens), some 70 kilometers east of Atbara.

Among the hundreds of artifacts were huge, almond-shaped cleavers that resembled fists, weighed several kilograms, and had chipped edges on both sides that formed a rounded tip at the junction.

“In the eastern part of Sudan, in the Eastern Desert, like in many places in the Sahara, a gold rush broke out. People were looking for this valuable ore in makeshift, open-cast mines. While exposing subsequent layers, miners came across several-hundred-thousand-year-old tools.”

Archaeologists were able to assess the age of the instruments by analyzing layers of soil and sand above the artifacts using the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) technique.

Research project leader Professor Mirosław Masojć from the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Wrocław said: “It turned out that they were about 390,000 years old. This means that the layers below are certainly older. Based on the workmanship, I believe that the tools may be over 700,000 years old, perhaps even a million years old, like their counterparts discovered further in the south of Africa.”

© Fot.M.Masojć
© Fot.M.Masojć

Professor Masojć team had previously found hand axes and other instruments, but never ones that were physically so similar to or as ancient as those from equatorial Africa.

Since all finished ‘products’ and flakes produced during their processing have been preserved, it is now believed that the site where the artifacts were found once housed a workshop where tools were made.

Masojć added that these are the oldest known human creations with such a well-confirmed chronology from Egypt and Sudan. He said: “Ancient tools are found in deserts, but never before have they come from layers that would allow to safely determine their age.”

Nearly 200 sites where Palaeolithic stone items have been preserved have been discovered thus far by researchers. Some are trapped in tunnels (these are located about 350 km north of Khartoum). Both Homo erectus and Homo sapiens used a variety of methods, according to the researchers. The tools’ ages range from over half a million to 60,000 years old.

Masojć said that it is possible that even older artifacts exist in the mines’ deeper levels, but that reaching them is currently difficult.

Researchers from Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Germany, and the US were involved in the project financed by the National Science Centre. The research results have just been published in the prestigious journal Plos One (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248279). Detailed information about the project can be found at: http://sudan.archeo.uni.wroc.pl/ (PAP).

Source: Science in Poland

Related Articles

Unprecedented necropolis site found in Cappadocia, one of Türkiye’s most important tourism centers

8 July 2024

8 July 2024

In Cappadocia, located in the Central Anatolia Region of Türkiye, known for its unique moon-like landscape, underground cities, cave churches,...

Gravitational Wave Researchers Shed New Light on the Mystery of the 2,000-Year-Old Computer Antikythera Mechanism

28 June 2024

28 June 2024

Astronomers from the University of Glasgow who specialize in studying tiny ripples in space-time have shed new light on the...

A new study shows that the cave paintings at Cueva Ardales are the work of Neanderthals

21 August 2021

21 August 2021

A study of pigments used in murals in the Cueva Ardales caves in southern Spain has revealed that Neanderthals, long...

Archaeologists Discovered One of the Earliest Christian Buildings in Bahrain

14 July 2024

14 July 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered one of the earliest known Christian buildings in the Arabian Gulf, located in Samahij, Bahrain, and providing...

Archaeologists identified the first known tomb of a Warrior Woman with weapons in Hungary

5 January 2025

5 January 2025

A team of archaeologists led by Balázs Tihanyi of the Department of Biological Anthropology and the Department of Archaeology at...

A rare Byzantine gold coin discovered in Norway, probably brought from Constantinople

9 December 2023

9 December 2023

A metal detectorist exploring the mountains in the municipality of Vestre Slidre in southern Norway discovered a rare histamenon nomisma...

A Decorated Block with Decapitated Gaul Found for the First Time in Toul, France

22 July 2024

22 July 2024

A Corinthian-style carved block that was once part of the entablature of a monumental Gallo-Roman public building has been discovered...

Scientists find the oldest evidence of humans in Israel -a 1.5 million-year-old Human vertebra

3 February 2022

3 February 2022

An international group of Israeli and American researchers, an ancient human vertebra has been uncovered in Israel’s Jordan Valley that...

Giant Prehistoric Rock Engravings Discovered in South America May Be The World’s Largest

5 June 2024

5 June 2024

Researchers made a groundbreaking discovery of what is thought to be the world’s largest prehistoric rock art. Enormous engraved rock...

Ancient Balkan genomes trace the rise and fall of the Roman Empire’s frontier, reveal Slavic migrations to southeastern Europe

7 January 2024

7 January 2024

The genomic history of the Balkan Peninsula during the first millennium of the common era—a period marked by significant changes...

During roadwork in Oregon, a woolly mammoth tusk was discovered

21 June 2021

21 June 2021

A 12,000-year-old woolly mammoth tusk was discovered beneath the street by crews rerouting a gas line in Corvallis, Oregon. “Whenever...

Archaeologists, First-ever Roman-era Tombs Dug Directly into the Rock Uncovered in Al Bahnasa, Egypt

8 January 2024

8 January 2024

Spanish archaeologists made a ground-breaking discovery of rock-hewn Ptolemaic and Roman tombs, mummies, coffins, golden masks, and terracotta statues in...

Evidence of Early Forms of Pottery Production and 8,000-Year-Old Buildings Belonging to the Elite of the Time Discovered in Iraqi Kurdistan

9 January 2025

9 January 2025

Archaeologists from the University of Udine have uncovered two ancient human settlements in the Rovia sub-district of Dohuk province in...

Bergama Ancient City Takes Its Place in Digital Environment

1 February 2021

1 February 2021

As a result of the studies carried out by the German Institute, Bergama Ancient City was It was transferred to...

Staging of religion on rock paintings that are thousands of years old in southern Egypt desert

10 May 2023

10 May 2023

Egyptologists at the University of Bonn and the University of Aswan want to systematically record hundreds of petroglyphs and inscriptions...