Archaeologists lately unearthed the titanic tusk of a prehistoric pachyderm close to a kibbutz in southern Israel, a remnant of a behemoth as soon as hunted by early folks round half one million years in the past.
The Israel Antiquities Authority introduced Wednesday that the two.5-meter (yard) lengthy fossil belonging to the long-extinct straight-tusked elephant was discovered throughout a joint excavation with researchers from Tel Aviv College and Ben-Gurion College.
Israel Antiquities Authority prehistorian Avi Levy, who headed the dig, mentioned it was “the biggest full fossil tusk ever discovered at a prehistoric website in Israel or the Close to East.”
The location was dated to the late decrease paleolithic interval, round 500,000 years in the past, based mostly on stone instruments discovered within the neighborhood, the antiquities authority mentioned.
Omry Barzilai, an IAA archaeologist, mentioned the discover was “very puzzling, very enigmatic” as a result of it was not clear whether or not historical folks hunted the behemoth on the spot or whether or not they introduced the felled animal’s tusk to this spot.
The tusk was discovered close to a kibbutz on the central plain operating parallel to Israel’s Mediterranean coast. However half one million years in the past, when the traditional elephant died, the now-arid terrain was doubtless a swamp or shallow lake, an excellent habitat for historical hominids.
