ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Lebombo bone

The Lebombo bone is a special ancient object that was found in South Africa a long time ago. It’s like a little piece of bone that’s about the same size as a pencil. But even though it’s so small, it’s really important because it has some special marks on it that were made by some people who lived a long, long time ago.

The Lebombo bone is like a toy that people used to play with, but it’s not like any toy you’ve ever seen before. On the bone there are little lines and shapes that were drawn by the people who made it. Scientists think that they made the marks to keep track of something important, like maybe they were counting how many animals they had caught.

One of the really cool things about the Lebombo bone is that it’s really old. That means that it’s been around for a really long time! Scientists think that people made the Lebombo bone about 37,000 years ago! That’s even older than your grandparents or great-grandparents!

Even though the Lebombo bone is so old, it’s still really special because it gives us a clue about what life was like for people a long, long time ago. It’s like a little time capsule that helps us learn about history and what life was like before we were even born.
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