Ancient humans may have processed elephant carcasses at Olduvai Gorge, study finds

Scientists have uncovered what they describe as the oldest direct evidence of elephant butchery, featuring a newly documented site at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania's Serengeti Plains. The assemblage includes stone tools found with the remains of Elephas recki, an extinct proboscidean, dating to roughly 1.8 million years ago in the early Pleistocene. The study proposes that early humans deliberately processed these large carcasses, generating food surpluses that may have supported larger, more complex occupations.

Researchers highlight this behavior as a unique evolutionary development without a modern counterpart, implying a profound ecological and technological shift. The findings add to a growing body of work on ancient human diets and resource strategies.