In the summer of 1985, researchers excavating the Obazowa Cave in Poland unearthed a mammoth tusk boomerang, initially believed to be 24,000 years old. Recent analysis, however, suggests it could be around 42,000 years old, making it the oldest known boomerang. Italian scientist Sahra Talamo, a radiocarbon expert, was skeptical of the initial dating. To determine the artifact's age without damaging it, she employed a method of dating animal bones found nearby, revealing significant insights about early Upper Paleolithic tool-making in Europe, an area where such tools are rarely discovered.
Talamo explains the strategy: When I first saw the object, I knew it shouldn't be destroyed again to obtain another sample. It would have been like damaging a Van Gogh or the Mona Lisa.
It wasn't an easy task. In fact, the boomerang itself was not directly analyzed; instead, its age was inferred based on objects and bones found nearby.
Finding one this old in Poland is highly unusual, so it was crucial to know when it was made, she added.
Talamo had doubts about the boomerang's original timeline and suspected something was off.
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