Human Hunting Tools Over 100,000 Years Old Discovered in Ciudad Real

Researchers from the Complutense University of Madrid have discovered lithic tools in the Cave of Toriles, in Carrizosa (Ciudad Real), revealing hunting and food processing practices dating back over 100,000 years. The findings, published in the "Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports," provide new insights into the lives of those who inhabited the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Paleolithic.

A variety of stone tools such as flakes and cores have been identified, indicating a specialized use for obtaining meat and manipulating plant resources. This discovery suggests that human groups of that era possessed advanced knowledge of their environment and a complex social organization.

The analysis of these tools not only provides information about the technology of these human groups but also about their dietary habits, social interactions, and their ability to adapt to the climatic and ecological changes that characterized the Middle Pleistocene, a geological period encompassing glaciations and the lowest temperatures on Earth.

According to these researchers, the tools found allow us to understand how these humans adapted to their environment and devised tools to ensure their survival in a changing environment, demonstrating that they had certain technological knowledge. They have also compared these tools with those from other contemporary sites, identifying behavioral patterns that connect human groups in the area with other European populations of the Middle Paleolithic.

The Cave of Toriles site was discovered in 2018 and covers periods from the Lower Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. Two years later, fossil remains of a prehistoric badger species were found inside, allowing the primitive use of the cave to be dated from the Upper Pliocene to the Middle Pleistocene.

For archaeologists, it is of interest to study the evolution of human populations in the southern sub-plateau of the Iberian Peninsula, which is not particularly rich in fossil sites, although it is archaeologically significant. This site could substantially contribute to the understanding of the past in this area.