Scientists in Australia have discovered the world's oldest ax. The fragment is a splinter from the polished part and the approximate age is 45 - 40 thousand years.
Scientists and archaeologists from the University of Sydney, which is based in Australia, have discovered a fragment of the oldest ax in the world. Its approximate age is 45 - 49 thousand years. Thus, the find is ahead of an ancient weapon found in Japan, which is 38 thousand years old and the previous Australian fragment, which is 35 thousand years old. It is explained that the ax was made almost immediately after the first aborigines sailed to the uninhabited lands of the continent. This discovery was reported in the Eurekalert magazine.
The small shard measures just a few millimeters and was found in Kimberley County in western Australia. It is clarified that the find was discovered back in the 1990s, but scientists were able to analyze it only today. During the study of the fragments, it was found that the weapon had a handle and was made of basalt, which is one of the hardest materials of the time. The ancient ax was subjected to grinding, and the found part broke off just from the edge prone to sharpening.
Ana McKenzie