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ScienceQuiet 12d · day 13

Malawi animal bones reveal how ice-age foragers chose between territory and sharing

Archaeologists analyze 13,000 bone fragments from a 21,000-year-old shelter to understand ancient social organization and conflict.

newest coverage 12d agosummary written 11d ago4 pieces Google NewsNewswiresMastodon

What to know

  • Archaeologists analyzed 13,000 bone fragments from a 21,000-year-old rock shelter in Malawi to infer how ancient foragers organized themselves socially.
  • Predominance of small, unpredictable prey suggests sparse food resources led to fluid group boundaries rather than territorial defense.
  • Findings challenge existing models attributing territoriality primarily to coastal environments, showing mountain regions also shaped social patterns based on resource availability.

“Of this formidable number of broken, cooked, cut, chewed and discarded animal parts we were able to identify almost 13,000 individual fragments, collectively spanning the last 21,000 years of human occupation.”

Research team · AllAfrica ↗ · Oct 29

Researchers at Hora 1, Malawi Archaeologists conducting excavation

How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 1 piece in 3h at Oct 29, 9 AM; 4 pieces over 13 days (3 articles · 1 post) Oct 29, 9 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Oct 29, 12 PM — quietOct 29, 3 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 29, 6 PM — quietOct 29, 9 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 30, 12 AM — quietOct 30, 3 AM — quietOct 30, 6 AM — quietOct 30, 9 AM — quietOct 30, 12 PM — quietOct 30, 3 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 30, 6 PM — quietOct 30, 9 PM — quietOct 31, 12 AM — quietOct 31, 3 AM — quietOct 31, 6 AM — quietOct 31, 9 AM — quietOct 31, 12 PM — quietOct 31, 3 PM — quietOct 31, 6 PM — quietOct 31, 9 PM — quietNov 1, 12 AM — quietNov 1, 2 AM — quietNov 1, 5 AM — quietNov 1, 8 AM — quietNov 1, 11 AM — quietNov 1, 2 PM — quietNov 1, 5 PM — quietNov 1, 8 PM — quietNov 1, 11 PM — quietNov 2, 2 AM — quietNov 2, 5 AM — quietNov 2, 8 AM — quietNov 2, 11 AM — quietNov 2, 2 PM — quietNov 2, 5 PM — quietNov 2, 8 PM — quietNov 2, 11 PM — quietNov 3, 2 AM — quietNov 3, 5 AM — quietNov 3, 8 AM — quietNov 3, 11 AM — quietNov 3, 2 PM — quietNov 3, 5 PM — quietNov 3, 8 PM — quietNov 3, 11 PM — quietNov 4, 2 AM — quietNov 4, 5 AM — quietNov 4, 8 AM — quietNov 4, 11 AM — quietNov 4, 2 PM — quietNov 4, 5 PM — quietNov 4, 8 PM — quietNov 4, 11 PM — quietNov 5, 2 AM — quietNov 5, 5 AM — quietNov 5, 8 AM — quietNov 5, 11 AM — quietNov 5, 2 PM — quietNov 5, 5 PM — quietNov 5, 8 PM — quietNov 5, 11 PM — quietNov 6, 2 AM — quietNov 6, 5 AM — quietNov 6, 8 AM — quietNov 6, 11 AM — quietNov 6, 2 PM — quietNov 6, 5 PM — quietNov 6, 8 PM — quietNov 6, 11 PM — quietNov 7, 2 AM — quietNov 7, 5 AM — quietNov 7, 8 AM — quietNov 7, 11 AM — quietNov 7, 2 PM — quietNov 7, 5 PM — quietNov 7, 8 PM — quietNov 7, 11 PM — quietNov 8, 2 AM — quietNov 8, 5 AM — quietNov 8, 8 AM — quietNov 8, 11 AM — quietNov 8, 2 PM — quietNov 8, 5 PM — quietNov 8, 8 PM — quietNov 8, 11 PM — quietNov 9, 2 AM — quietNov 9, 5 AM — quietNov 9, 8 AM — quietNov 9, 11 AM — quietNov 9, 2 PM — quietNov 9, 5 PM — quietNov 9, 8 PM — quietNov 9, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 11 AM — quietToday, 2 PM — quietToday, 5 PM — quiet 1–23
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  1. 3

    Findings challenge existing models of ancient territorial behavior

    The Malawi research challenges the prevailing view that coastal environments were primarily responsible for promoting boundary formation and territorial behavior in the past. The evidence from a mountain shelter demonstrates that social organization was shaped by local food availability patterns rather than geography alone.

    “We are archaeologists who do research in Malawi, excavating fossil animal bones and stone tools from natural shelters of rock.”
    — Research team · source
    1. 1 outlet Malawi: What Animal Bones in Malawi Teach Us About the Social Lives of People Long Ago

      first by AllAfrica, 12d ago

  2. 2

    Analysis links food scarcity to fluid group boundaries in ice-age societies

    The research reveals that the bones belong predominantly to small animals—tiny antelopes, hares, monkeys—suggesting unpredictable, sparsely distributed food resources. This pattern indicates ancient foragers would have maintained fluid boundaries between groups rather than defending territories, as territorial defense becomes costly when resources are scarce.

    “In the ancient past, when human communities were small and the only way to travel was by walking, what were the chances of meeting a stranger? And what would happen next?”
    — Archaeologists · source
    1. 2 outlets What animal bones in Malawi teach us about the social lives of people long ago

      first by Phys.org, 13d ago · also The Conversation

  3. 1

    Archaeologists publish analysis of 13,000 bone fragments from Malawi shelter

    Researchers studying Hora 1, a large rock shelter in northern Malawi, released findings from excavations spanning 21,000 years of human occupation. The team identified nearly 13,000 individual animal bone fragments from meals left by ancient communities, using them to infer social organization patterns.