Ancientโ Workshop in Senegal Unearths โSecrets of West Africa’s first Toolmakers
A remarkable archaeological finding in Senegal is โrewriting our understanding of early human ingenuity โขin West Africa. Researchers from the University โofโฃ Geneva haveโฃ uncovered a โ9,000-year-old workshop, a concentrated area of activityโค revealing the surprisingly sophisticated technical skillsโข of theโ region’s last hunter-gatherer communities. โค โTheโ site isn’t about grand monuments; its about the meticulous, everyday โwork of crafting the tools that sustained life millennia ago.
Located in the Falรฉmรฉ valley, the “Ravinโข blanc X” site, firstโค identified โin 2017, is deceptively small – just 25 square meters. โข However,โ its density of โartifacts makes โคit exceptionally valuable. “We found evidence of whatโข appears too have โคbeen a livingโ space directly associated with a considerable accumulation of quartz flakes,” explains Charlotte Pruvost, a doctoral student at the University โofโ Genevaโฃ andโข lead author of the study published โin PLOS One. Crucially, the team โคfound primarilyโข waste material – the byproducts of โtool creation – suggesting that the finished tools were regularly transportedโ away by nomadic groups.
The Dawnโ of Serialโ Production
The real breakthrough came with the โdetailed โanalysis of theseโ discarded โquartz flakes.โ Researchers identifiedโฃ the production of microliths – โincredibly small, precisely crafted stone tools designed to be attached to spears, arrows, or โขother projectiles. these weren’t โjustโค any tools;โค they wereโข components of a hunting โarsenal.
“Microliths from this period are found across West Africa,” notes Pruvost, “but theโข engaging thing is that the techniquesโ used to create โฃthem differed depending on the environment – whether it was forest or savannah.โข This suggestsโข a localized adaptation of skills,โฃ but alsoโค a broader, shared โunderstanding of the technology.”
What sets Ravin โขBlanc X apart is the evidence it provides for a purposeful effort towards โstandardization and, remarkably, what appears to be earlyโฃ serial production. This wasn’t โsimply about making tools as needed; it was about creating aโ consistent supplyโ of interchangeable parts.Thisโ represents aโฃ significant cognitive leap for theโค time, indicatingโค a level of โplanning and institution previously unexpected in West African hunter-gatherer societies.
Anne Mayor, director of the Arcanโข laboratory โat the University of Geneva, emphasizes โฃthe importance of understanding the environmental context. “reconstructing the environmental โคchanges that occurred duringโฃ thisโ period is absolutely vital to understanding how these human groups โฃlived and the technical choices they made.โ The landscape shaped their tools, and their tools, in turn, allowed them toโฃ thriveโ within that landscape.”
This discovery isn’tโ just about ancient tools; it’s about ancient minds. It โoffers a โcompelling glimpse into the resourcefulness and adaptability of ourโ ancestors, โand โฃchallenges us to reconsider the narrative of โคtechnological development in โAfrica.
Stay โinformed! Enjoyed this โขarticle? โข Subscribeโฃ to โคWorld Today News forโ more fascinating insights into archaeological discoveries and global events. And don’t forget to share โthis with anyone who loves โhistory!
Radio subject: Sarah Dirren
Adaptation web : Laure Pagella