Name: How Did Early Humans Hunt Monkeys?
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Bones and tools found in a Sri Lankan cave show how Homo sapiens adapted to dense rainforest environments as early as 45,000 years ago.

These monkey bones showed that early humans could thrive in the rainforest.

How Did Early Humans Hunt Monkeys?

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Bones and tools found in a Sri Lankan cave show how Homo sapiens adapted to dense rainforest environments as early as 45,000 years ago.

These monkey bones showed that early humans could thrive in the rainforest.

Evolution

How Did Early Humans Hunt Monkeys?Published: December 11, 2025OSHAN WEDAGE: So here you can see a monkey bone. We can clearly see that the V-shape. This V-shaped cut marks only can produced by the stone tools.ELLA AL-SHAMAHI: Yeah. So this here, that's where somebody is cutting?OSHAN WEDAGE: Because yeah, they are cutting or the skinning also can be possible. Whatever is stuck with the bones, they tried to remove.ELLA AL-SHAMAHI: It's funny because I think buttery marks often need to look at it through a magnifying glass, but not always. And actually, this one is quite clear. And this is not the kind of thing that you would see if an animal killed it. This is an indication that this was killed by a human.OSHAN WEDAGE: This is definitely Homo Sapiens.ELLA AL-SHAMAHI: And so the question is how they killed them.OSHAN WEDAGE: It is remarkable, Ella, because there are lots of trees very tall. In second, they can climb them up to the top. So therefore, it is very difficult to catch them. The prehistoric people or our ancestors should need to develop their own technology to get them down.So I would like to show you some earliest, which goes back to 48,000 years old. They developed this bone point technology and they made bone-tipped arrows. They identified the monkey bones are really special to make arrowheads because those are light in weight to hunt these fast-moving animal. So here you can see it is a little bit chipped because it's hit, it contact with something.ELLA AL-SHAMAHI: Right.OSHAN WEDAGE: So that is why at the end it's very small.ELLA AL-SHAMAHI: So that chip mark there-OSHAN WEDAGE: Yeah.ELLA AL-SHAMAHI: ... shows us that it was actually used.OSHAN WEDAGE: Yes.ELLA AL-SHAMAHI: I mean, it's amazing because this is obviously, I've got in my hands right now, something that was used 48,000 years ago.OSHAN WEDAGE: Of course, of course.ELLA AL-SHAMAHI: And it was absolutely revolutionary.These bone points are only the tips of the full arrowheads. Many are chipped from actually hitting prey. And each one would have been attached to the end of a long wooden arrow. These hunters didn't invent a brand new technology. They adapted an old one. These are some of the earliest examples of bow and arrows found outside of Africa, enabling Homo sapiens to hunt with exceptional skill and efficiency within the forest.

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How Did Early Humans Hunt Monkeys?

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Human: Journeys

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