Excavation at Casal Lumbroso, Italy. Credit: Beniamino Mecozzi
The remains of an elephant carcass unearthed at Casal Lumbroso in northwest Rome, Italy has shown that human groups exploited the massive animal not only for its meat, but also its bones.
“The archaeological and palaeontological deposit of Casal Lumbroso was accidentally discovered during the construction of a new building complex, when an elephant tusk was partially exposed by an excavator in 2017,” write the authors of a new study documenting the findings in the journal PLOS One.
The 300 skeletal remains from an adult straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) included fragments of tusk, a molar, a few nearly complete ribs, a vertebra, foot bones, a partial pelvis and a number of fragments of teeth, ribs, vertebrae, and the midsections of long bones.
Analysis of ash deposits at the site date the skeleton to about 404,000 years ago during the Middle Pleistocene. Isotope analysis of tooth enamel indicates the elephant foraged for food in wooded environments and humid climatic conditions.
The remains were discovered alongside more than 500 stone tools, mainly made of flint.
Archaeological and palaeontological deposit of Casal Lumbroso, Italy. Credit : Mecozzi et al., 2025, PLOS One
“Our study shows how, 400,000 years ago in the area of Rome, human groups were able to exploit an extraordinary resource like the elephant – not only for food, but also by transforming its bones into tools,” the researchers say.
Several intentionally fractured elephant bone fragments were discovered at the site, some of which were shaped with the removal of flakes and showed traces of wear or use.
“Reconstructing these events means bringing to life ancient and vanished scenarios, revealing a world where humans, animals and ecosystems interacted in ways that still surprise and fascinate us today,” they researchers say.