https://phys.org/news/2024-03-elephant-early-humans-proximity-extensive.html

Archaeologists from Tel Aviv University have
uncovered the mystery surrounding extensive
Paleolithic stone quarrying and tool-making
sites: Why did Homo erectus repeatedly revisit
the very same locations for hundreds of
thousands of years? The answer lies in the
migration routes of elephants, which they
hunted and dismembered using flint tools
crafted at these quarrying sites.
....
Prof. Ran Barkai explains, "Ancient humans
required three things: water, food, and
stone. While water and food are necessities
for all creatures, humans relied on stone
tools to hunt and butcher animals, as they
lacked the sharp claws or fangs of other
predators. The question is, why do we find
rock outcrops that were used for the
production of flint tools surrounded by
thousands of stone tools, and next to them,
rock outcrops containing flint that was not
used for the production of tools?"

"A study of indigenous groups that lived
until recently, with some still alive today,
shows that hunter-gatherers attribute great
importance to the source of the stone—the
quarry itself—imbuing it with potency and
sanctity, and hence also spiritual worship."

"People have been making pilgrimages to
such sites for generations upon generations,
leaving offerings at the rock outcrop while
adjacent outcrops, equally suitable for stone
tool production, remain untouched. We sought
to understand why; what is special about
these sites?"
....
Because elephants were the primary dietary
component for these early humans, the Tel
Aviv University researchers cross-referenced
the database of the sites' distribution with
the database of the elephants' migration
routes and discovered that the flint
quarrying and knapping sites were situated
in rock outcrops near the elephants'
migration paths.

"An elephant consumes 400 liters of water a
day on average, and that's why it has fixed
movement paths," says Dr. Finkel. "These are
animals that rely on a daily supply of water,
and therefore on water sources—the banks of
lakes, rivers, and streams."

"In many instances, we discover elephant
hunting and processing sites at 'necessary
crossings'—where a stream or river passes
through a steep mountain pass or when a path
along a lakeshore is limited to the space
between the shore and a mountain range."
....

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11759-024-09491-y
Quarries as Places of Significance in the
Lower Paleolithic Holy Triad of Elephants,
Water, and Stone

ABSTRACT
Human dependency on stone has its origins
in Lower Paleolithic times, and some of the
most primordial elements in human-stone
relationships are rooted in those early days.
In this paper, we focus our attention on
extensive Paleolithic stone quarries
discovered and studied in the Galilee,
Israel. We propose a triadic model that
connects stone outcrops, elephants,and
water bodies to shed light on what made
stone quarries places ofsignificance,
beginning in the Lower Paleolithic, and
continuing through out the ages.

"We propose that early humans knew that
elephants consistently walked along the same
paths to waterholes and used this information
to hunt/ambush elephants along these paths.
In the course of hunting/ambushing elephants,
humans repeatedly utilized specific quarry sites
along the trails in preparation for butchering the
large game. We present below archaeological
evidence from two Paleolithic sites in the Jordan
Rift Valley in the Gali-lee, the middle Lower
Paleolithic Gesher Benot Ya’akov site and the late
Lower Paleolithic Ma’ayan Barukh (MB), where
more than 3500 flint han-daxes were collected
(Sharon et al. 2022). Both sites are located in the
northernmost segment of the Dead Sea Rift, part
of the Great African RiftSystem (Figure 1). At
both sites, animal processing tools were brought
to the locality from both nearby and distant sources
in order to procure andbutcher large prey."

The paper is also accessible here:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378385808_Quarries_as_Places_of_Significance_in_the_Lower_Paleolithic_Holy_Triad_of_Elephants_Water_and_Stone

Primum Sapienti wrote:

> The answer lies in the
> migration routes of elephants, which they
> hunted and dismembered using flint tools
> crafted at these quarrying sites.

Circular reasoning.

> The question is, why do we find
> rock outcrops that were used for the
> production of flint tools surrounded by
> thousands of stone tools, and next to them,
> rock outcrops containing flint that was not
> used for the production of tools?"

"Next to them."

Hmm.

Dude, a distinction without a difference is no
distinction at all.

> "A study of indigenous groups that lived
> until recently, with some still alive today,
> shows that hunter-gatherers attribute great
> importance to the source of the stone—the
> quarry itself—imbuing it with potency and
> sanctity, and hence also spiritual worship."

What the above is *Not* saying is "They get their
rocks where elephants migrate."

> "People have been making pilgrimages to
> such sites for generations upon generations,
> leaving offerings at the rock outcrop while
> adjacent outcrops, equally suitable for stone
> tool production, remain untouched.

What does the word "adjacent" mean in your native
tongue?

Because in English it does not mean "WICKED FAR
AWAY!"

> Because elephants were the primary dietary
> component for these early humans

So that's their conclusion: Elephants. But it's
what they begin with, as stated here.

It's circular.

> the Tel
> Aviv University researchers cross-referenced
> the database of the sites' distribution with
> the database of the elephants' migration
> routes and discovered that the flint
> quarrying and knapping sites were situated
> in rock outcrops near the elephants'
> migration paths.

https://seaworld.org/animals/all-about/elephants/habitat/

"Migration" is a bit of a misnomer, isn't it?

We're talking 12 to 62 miles here.

But even 12 miles is an awful long ways to walk,
if you're not even willing to visit an adjacent
rock outcropping -- THAT is "too far" to go!

> "These are
> animals that rely on a daily supply of water,
> and therefore on water sources—the banks of
> lakes, rivers, and streams."

Very much unlike all other animals, right?

> "In many instances, we discover elephant
> hunting and processing sites at 'necessary
> crossings'—where a stream or river passes
> through a steep mountain pass or when a path
> along a lakeshore is limited to the space
> between the shore and a mountain range."

How can you tell a hunted animal from a
scavenged one?

How many elephant/mammoth remains ever found
were scavenged?

What is the percentage?

> "We propose that early humans knew that
> elephants consistently walked along the same
> paths to waterholes and used this information
> to hunt/ambush elephants along these paths.

So the great proposal here is that they could
remember shit.

"Oh, wait! They took that same path last year
and the year before. I bet they're going to
take it next year, too!"

Then again, seeing how elephant "Migrations" are
tiny, and humans would be relying on those exact
same water sources, AND all they other prey
would be relying on them as well, why would they
even need to remember?

Is this saying that they only ate elephant twice
a year?

You know, when they migrated AWAY and then again
when they migrated BACK?

Or is it saying that they hunted near watering
holes, where prey would have to go to drink?

--
https://jtem.tumblr.com/tagged/The%20Book%20of%20JTEM/page/5