Artifacts found at archeological sites in France and Spain along the Bay of Biscay shoreline show that humans have been crafting tools from whale bones since more than 20,000 years ago, illustrating anew the resourcefulness of prehistoric people.

Between 14,000 and 20,000 years ago, hunter-gatherers living in Western Europe made tools from the bones of whales that had been stranded along the Atlantic coast. After dating those implements, scientists now say they represent the oldest known evidence of humans crafting tools from whale remains.

Whale bones retrieved from prehistoric shores are shedding light on how humans lived—and hunted—along Europe's vanished coastlines.