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pp. 349–350) wrote: “If one were able to prove in an evident manner the authenticity of the discoveries in the Chapadmalalan of Miramar and the Tertiary age of these strata, this would provide proof not only of the existence of Tertiary humans in South America but also of a thing very strange—the identity of their artifacts with those of the modern Indians. Can anyone imagine that Miocene humans [Pliocene according to modern estimation] made polished bola stones with grooves around the middle? In response to this question, I can do nothing but repeat the point I made at the end of my last publication on Miramar, which has also been reproduced by Boule in his book on fossil man: ‘The principal difficulty in accepting a Tertiary age for the objects we have finished enumerating consists in that without exception all the objects unearthed from the Chapadmalalan at Miramar are absolutely similar to like objects found in all parts of the surface and uppermost strata of the Pampas and Patagonia. Is it possible that man could have lived in the Pampas from the Miocene to the time of the Spanish conquest, without changing his customs and without perfecting his primitive industry in some fashion?’” But why not? As previously mentioned, scientists in Africa have found that modern tribal people make crude stone tools almost identical to those recovered from geological contexts 2 million or more years old, in the same localities.

Ironically, Boman’s testimony provides, even for skeptics, very strong evidence for the presence of toolmaking human beings in Argentina as much as 3 million years ago. Even if, for the sake of argument, one admits that the first bola stone recovered during Boman’s visit to Miramar was planted by the collector Parodi, how can one explain the second and third finds? These were instigated not by the collector Parodi but by Boman himself, on the spot and without any warning. Significantly, they were completely hidden from view, and Parodi did not even hint at their existence.

Altogether, it appears that Boule (Section 5.2.4), Romero (Section 5.2.3), and Boman did very little to discredit the discoveries of Carlos Ameghino and others at the Miramar site. In fact, Boman gave first-class evidence for the existence of bola makers there in the Pliocene period.

5.3 Other Bolas and Bolalike Implements

The bolas of Miramar are significant in that they point to the existence of human beings of a high level of culture during the Pliocene, and perhaps even earlier, in South America. Similar implements have been found in Africa and Europe in formations of similar Pliocene age. This refutes the suggestion that the bolas discovered in the Pliocene Chapadmalalan of Miramar must be recent because of their resemblance to modern Argentine Indian bolas.

Bolas have also been found in Middle Pleistocene formations. In North America, bolas have been recovered from the Calico site, dated at about 200,000 years (Minshall 1989, p. 110). Bolas have also been found in China at the Gehe site, dated at about 600,000 years (Minshall 1989, p. 38), and at the similarly ancient Lantien site (Minshall 1989, p. 40).

Taken together, these round projectile stones, found in widely distant parts of the world in Pleistocene, Pliocene, and perhaps earlier geological contexts powerfully challenge the currently accepted notions of human origins and antiquity. In particular, the Pliocene discoveries of bolas strongly contradict the idea that 2–3 million years ago only very primitive protohuman hominids were living, and these only in Africa. The use of bola stones requires complex behavior generally associated with Homo sapiens sapiens. Let us now give some detailed attention to two significant cases of bolas and bolalike implements—the Bramford sling stone and the bolas of Olduvai Gorge.

5.3.1 The Sling Stone from Bramford, England (Pliocene to Eocene)

In 1926, one of J. Reid Moir’s assistants uncovered a particularly interesting object from below the Pliocene Red Crag. Moir had been conducting excavations in the Red Crag and detritus bed