Where is Tunel Wielki Cave?

March 4, 2023

Recently, the oldest known flint tools were discovered in Tunel Wielki cave. These tools may have been created by the extinct species Homo heidelbergensis, the ancestors of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. These tools exhibit the use of the bipolar knapping technique. This discovery sheds new light on the life of Middle Pleistocene hominids in Central Europe, especially in harsh climatic and environmental conditions.

Where is Tunel Wielki?

Tunel Wielki, situated in Poland’s Ojców National Park, is an archaeological site located in the karst area. It has 15 layers in 4.5-meter-deep sediments that provide evidence of early prehistorical cultures, the Middle Ages, and the 19th century.

What is Middle Pleistocene?

The Middle pleistocenes saw many changes in glacial cycles. It occurred 1.25 to 0.7 million years ago. In 2020, scientists confirmed that the ice age terminated due to obliquity. Obliquity first started in the middle Pleistocene.

What is Obliquity?

The tilt of the earth’s axis is called obliquity. It is the angle between the orbital axis and the rotational axis. The rotational axis is the line connecting the north pole and south pole. It is an imaginary line. The orbital axis is perpendicular to the plane on which the earth is revolving around the sun. The angle between the rotational axis and orbital axis is around 22-24 degrees. This keeps oscillating.

What is Bipolar Knapping Technique?

In the bipolar technique, the core is placed on an anvil. The core is then hit hard with a third tool. Knapping means making something flat by striking it hard.

Homo heidelbergensis

It is an extinct species that lived during the middle Pleistocene. They used Acheulian technology. Acheulean means manufacturing oval and pear-shaped tools. These tools are evidence that the mind of Homo heidelbergensis was well developed and the intelligence of the “HOMO” genus was increasing. There are several debates about Homo heidelbergensis. Did they belong to Europe alone or lived in Asia and Africa as well? And many more.

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