Early Humans In South Africa Were Quarrying Stone 220,000 Years Ago, Study Finds

Scientists have uncovered evidence suggesting early humans in South Africa were deliberately quarrying stone as far back as 220,000 years ago — far earlier than many conventional estimates of organised raw material extraction.

Researchers say the findings challenge long-standing assumptions about how Paleolithic hunter-gatherers acquired materials for tool-making.

Top Summary

• What happened: Researchers discovered evidence of deliberate stone quarrying by early humans in South Africa around 220,000 years ago.
• Why it matters now: The discovery suggests early Homo sapiens engaged in planned and organised resource extraction much earlier than previously believed.
• What changes for people: The findings may reshape scientific understanding of early human intelligence and technological development.
• Who is affected: Archaeologists, historians, anthropologists and human evolution researchers.

The discovery was made at the Jojosi archaeological site in eastern South Africa.

Researchers identified extensive traces of extraction involving:

• Hornfels stone
• Knapping debris
• Hammerstones
• Stone flakes
• Testing blocks

Hornfels is a fine-grained metamorphic rock considered highly suitable for Stone Age tool production.

Evidence Of Organised Quarrying

Scientists said the site contained overwhelming evidence that humans visited the location specifically to extract stone rather than incidentally collecting raw materials during hunting or migration.

The excavation reportedly uncovered:

• Thousands of millimetre-scale production waste fragments
• High-density stone-working areas
• Very few finished tools or settlement traces

Researchers believe early humans shaped and prepared raw stone at the site before transporting selected pieces elsewhere for final tool production.

Activity Continued For Tens Of Thousands Of Years

Using luminescence dating techniques, scientists estimated that quarrying activity continued at the site until at least:

• 110,000 BCE

The dating method measures when sediments were last exposed to sunlight and helps establish timelines across large prehistoric periods.

Researchers stated that the long-term and repeated use of the quarry indicates:

• Planning
• Resource management
• Technological understanding
• Organised behavioural patterns

among early Homo sapiens populations.

Excavations Revealed Massive Artefact Concentrations

The site lies roughly:

• 140 kilometres from the Indian Ocean coast

in grassland terrain shaped by ancient geological erosion processes.

Excavation work reportedly began in 2022, using:

• Ground surveys
• Drone mapping
• Sediment analysis

Researchers discovered some layers containing:

• 200,000 to 2 million artefacts per cubic metre

Teams reportedly sieved all excavated sediment to recover even the smallest fragments.

In one analysis:

• 353 discarded stone fragments were reconstructed

allowing researchers to trace ancient knapping sequences and infer the likely final shapes of tools removed from the quarry.

Discovery Challenges Older Human Evolution Assumptions

For decades, many scientists believed early humans primarily gathered stone opportunistically rather than operating dedicated extraction sites.

The Jojosi findings now suggest:

• Long-term planning
• Specialised resource acquisition
• Organised labour behaviour

may have developed much earlier in human evolution than previously understood.

The research paper detailing the findings was published in:

• Nature Communications

Bottom line

The discovery of a 220,000-year-old stone quarry in South Africa is reshaping scientific understanding of early human behaviour. Researchers now believe early Homo sapiens may have engaged in organised, long-term resource planning and quarrying activities far earlier than once thought.

What to watch next

• Further excavation work at the Jojosi site
• New discoveries about early Homo sapiens technology
• Additional prehistoric quarry sites across Africa
• Advances in archaeological dating techniques
• Research into early human planning and social organisation