150 limestone spheroids
Using 3D analysis to reconstruct the geometry of the stones, the researchers determined that their sphericalness was “likely to have been produced intentionally”. This is important because while nature can make pebbles smoother, such as those in a river or stream, “they almost never approach a truly spherical shape,” the study said.Julia Cabanas, an archaeologist at France’s Natural History Museum not involved in the research, told AFP that this means the hominins had a “mentally preconceived” idea of what they were doing.
Cabanas said the same technique could be used on other spheroids. For example, it could shed light on the oldest known spheroids, which date back two million years and were found in the Olduvai Gorge of modern-day Tanzania.Humans enjoyed blue cheese and beer 2,700 years ago – study reveals