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Study Reveals Early Humans Hunted Elephants 1.8 Million Years Ago

4/17/2026

Summary

Story summary

A new study in eLife reports humans butchered and consumed elephants as early as 1.8 million years ago.
Researchers identified an elephant butchery site at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, named Emiliano Aguirre Korongo, containing a juvenile Elephas recki and 80 stone tools.
The evidence indicates early humans shifted from scavenging to actively hunting large animals.
The study suggests elephant bones' nutrition may have aided larger brains in Homo erectus.

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Story summary

A new study in eLife reports humans butchered and consumed elephants as early as 1.8 million years ago.
Researchers identified an elephant butchery site at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, named Emiliano Aguirre Korongo, containing a juvenile Elephas recki and 80 stone tools.
The evidence indicates early humans shifted from scavenging to actively hunting large animals.
The study suggests elephant bones' nutrition may have aided larger brains in Homo erectus.