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Two million-year-old 'playground' uncovered in northern China

American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY

American Museum of Natural History, New York City, NY


Katie Jones
Digital Reporter

Sunday, March 29, 2015, 1:56 PM - It seems even our ancient ancestors just wanted to have fun.

Archaeologists with the Chinese Academy of Science have uncovered a site believed to be a 'playground' for early hominids, while excavating an eroded basin in Hebei province in northern China.

The area is estimated to date back nearly two million years, and contained more than 700 toy-like artifacts made entirely out of stone.

The handmade 'toys' are very small, measuring between 50 and 80 millimetres in length. It is believed that they were carved by women and children.

These findings point to the theory that hominidae, earlier incarnations of humans often referred to as 'great apes,', may have enjoyed recreational activities other than hunting and gathering.

Scientists believe that the absence of large tools and animal bones indicate that the space was a living area, probably reserved for children.


RELATED: Discovery of oldest human fossil pushes human lineage back by half a million years 


Though the excavation site was originally uncovered in 2002, experts have only recently been able to determine the age of the space, and hypothesize on its original use. 

The play area was uncovered in the Nihewan basin, a spot famous for holding some of the earliest Paleolithic remains in east Asia. It used to be home to a massive lake and ample vegetation, providing ideal living conditions for our human ancestors.

According to previous theories, the first hominids migrated out of Africa about 1.8 million years ago. 

But the discovery of the ancient playground points to the fact that hominids could have left that continent much earlier, or evolved independently in Asia around the same time.

Source: South China Morning Post

WATCH BELOW: New fossils are being exposed everyday

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