A recent study indicates that early humans may have been butchering elephants for survival nearly 2 million years ago. Researchers found what they describe as the earliest direct evidence of proboscidean butchery, including a newly identified elephant butchery site, as reported in the journal eLife. The bones belonged to Elephas recki, an extinct elephant species, discovered at Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania's Serengeti Plains, a site known for significant early human fossil and tool discoveries.
Excavators found stone tools alongside the bones, suggesting that early human ancestors likely butchered the remains. The bones date back approximately 1.8 million years, during the early Pleistocene epoch. The study indicates that early humans processed elephant carcasses systematically, representing a unique evolutionary trajectory without a direct modern counterpart. The findings imply a strategic adaptation to megafaunal resources, which could have provided a significant food source and advantages for the survival and adaptation of early hominin groups.