TÜBINGEN, GERMANY—Science News reports that 15 pieces of mammoth ivory recovered from southwestern Germany’s Hohle Fels Cave have been assembled into an object measuring almost eight inches long. The implement, which has been dated to between 35,000 and 40,000 years old, was equipped with four holes lined with carved spiral grooves. Microscopic wear and tear and the presence of plant residue have been detected on the tool. Archaeologists Nicholas Conard of the University of Tübingen, Veerle Rots of the University of Liège, and their colleagues think that the object was used to make rope, and tested their idea with replicas made from wood, animal bone, a warthog’s split tooth, and bronze. One person held thin, hand-twisted ropes made from animal sinews and five different types of plant fibers, and fed them through the holes of the tool, held by another person. A third person pulled and twisted the fibers as they passed through the holes in the replica tool and twisted them into a single piece of rope. The study suggests that four of five people working together could produce about 16 feet of rope in 10 minutes. The researchers also determined that cattail leaves worked particularly well in this rope-making process. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Science Advances. To read about recent research on a carved ivory figurine found in the cave nearly 25 years ago, go to "A Horse Is a Horse?"
