Boomerangs are some of humanity’s oldest tools. In the northernmost region of Australia, 50,000-year-old cave art appears to depict Indigenous hunters throwing the weapons at prey, including kangaroos.

A groundbreaking new study has revealed that a carved mammoth tusk boomerang, discovered in Obłazowa Cave in Poland, is far older than initially believed. Dating back over 40,000 years, this artifact is not only the oldest boomerang found in Europe but could also be the oldest in the world.

(CN) — A boomerang made from a mammoth’s tusk pulled from a Polish cave could be one of the oldest known examples of a complex tool found in Europe, according to a research study published in PLOS One on Wednesday.