Bone tool-use by Early Pleistocene hominins is at the centre of debates in human evolution. It is especially the case in South Africa, where 102 bone tools have been described from four Early Stone Age archaeological sites, which have yielded Oldowan and possibly Acheulean artefacts, as well as Paranthropus robustus and early Homo remains. Here we describe a bone tool from Cooper’s D. The deposit, dated between 1.4 and 1.0 Ma, has yielded seven P. robustus remains and 50 stone artefacts. Our results highlight similarities in morphology and use-wear patterns between the Cooper’s D bone tool and those previously identified at nearby Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai and Drimolen. Our findings increase the number of Early Stone Age bone tools and provide further evidence of their association with P. robustus. They suggest P. robustus had the cognitive capacities to develop this cultural adaptation and the manipulative abilities to implement it.

早期更新世人类使用骨骼工具是人类进化争论的中心。这是特别是在南非，102个骨器已经从四个早石器时代考古遗址，这已经取得了Oldowan并可能阿舍利文物，以及描述的情况傍人粗壮种和早期智人遗骸。在这里，我们描述了来自 Cooper's D 的骨骼工具。 年代在 1.4 到 1.0 Ma 之间的矿床已经产生了 7 个P。健壮的遗骸和 50 件石制品。我们的结果突出了 Cooper 的 D 骨工具与之前在附近的 Sterkfontein、Swartkrans、Kromdraai 和 Drimolen 发现的工具在形态和使用磨损模式上的相似性。我们的发现增加了早期石器时代骨骼工具的数量，并提供了它们与P . 健壮的。他们建议P。鲁棒图斯拥有发展这种文化适应的认知能力和实施它的操纵能力。