Early humans were regularly using animal bones to make cutting tools 1.5 million years ago. A newly discovered cache of 27 carved and sharpened bones from elephants and hippos found in Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge site pushes back the date for ancient bone tool use by around 1 million years.

New evidence uncovered in east Africa indicates ancient hominins began crafting tools from animal bones far earlier than previously thought. If confirmed, our human ancestors started shaping bones by striking them at specific angles in a process known as knapping as much as 1.

Deep in a trench in Tanzania, researchers found dozens of tools crafted from animal bones some 1.5 million years old.