Ice Age tools dating back 146,000 years were recently discovered in an ancient Chinese cave, revealing surprising human adaptations to a harsh environment and defying archaeologists’ expectations.
The level of creativity and intelligence exhibited by these prehistoric stone tools, discovered amid human remains at the Lingjing archaeological site in central China, was beyond expectations for the location and period.
Archaeologists say in a new paper published in the Journal of Human Evolution that the new work overturns the expectation that technological advancements occurred only during times of relative plenty, when humans had leisure time to devote to novel activities, rather than in the brutal conditions of the Ice Age.
Ice Age Tool Discovered
“People often imagine creativity as something that flourishes in good times,” said lead author Yuchao Zhao, the assistant curator of East Asian archaeology at the Field Museum in Chicago. “Finding out that these stone tools were made during a harsh ice age tells a different story. Hard times can force us to adapt.”
A variety of early humans, Homo juluensis, lived in the caves at Lingjing. Combining traits of archaic humans found in East Asia and Neanderthals found in Europe, the large-brained Homo juluensis likely interacted with Homo sapiens in the remote past.
Crystals in animal bones at the site allowed archaeologists to date the find to 146,000 years ago, during the late Middle Pleistocene era. Until recently, archaeologists had generally assumed that despite the advances of Europe and North Africa’s early humans, those of Asia remained relatively behind technologically. However, this recent find adds to growing evidence that such an assumption is incorrect.
Tools of Prehistoric Humans
Initially, the stone discs discovered at the site may appear unremarkable, but the archaeologists identified a precise tool-making process of hitting stones of different sizes together as the reason behind their construction. The disks were used in this process to shape other stones into their final forms. These strikes were not random, though; instead, various disks were shaped differently to produce varying effects, such as one designed to produce sharper flakes.
By using different surfaces on the disks’ faces and operating them at specific angles, these early humans could achieve precise results.
“This was not casual flake production, but a technology that required planning, precision, and a deep understanding of stone properties and fracture mechanics,” says Zhao.
“The underlying logic of this system— and the cognitive abilities it reflects— shows important similarities to Middle Paleolithic technologies often associated with Neanderthals in Europe and with human ancestors in Africa, suggesting that advanced technological thinking was not limited to western Eurasia,” Zhao said.
An Ice Age Butchering Technique
Archaeologists say that Lingjing was used as a butchering site by Homo juluensis, as evidenced by the discovery of deer and other animal bones there. These stone disks were likely used to craft early tools for the butchering operation in place at the site.
The site’s dating came from one of those animal bones, the rib of a deer-like animal, a data point that served as one of the most intriguing elements of the recent research. In early investigations, researchers had estimated the tools to be 126,000 years old, and extending the date to 146,000 years ago makes a significant difference, given that it marks a period during which rapid climate change appears to have occurred.
“Even though these tools are just a little bit older than we’d previously thought, the entire story is changed,” says Zhao. “During the Pleistocene, Earth repeatedly shifted between colder ice-age periods and warmer intervals between them. We used to think these tools were made 126,000 years ago, during a warm interglacial period, but based on the new dates suggested by the crystals, some of these tools were actually produced 146,000 years ago, during a harsh, cold glacial period.”
The findings question two long-held assumptions in archaeology: that creativity primarily emerges as a luxury during times of plenty, and that ancient humans of Asia lingered behind their cousins in Europe and Africa.
In the end, what is revealed is a more complex story of global ingenuity under the most extreme conditions, reframing existing archaeological assumptions.
The paper, “Earliest Centripetal Flaking System in Eastern Eurasia Reveals Human Behavioral Complexity in Late Middle Pleistocene China,” appeared in the Journal of Human Evolution on May 7, 2026.
Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.