Prehistoric humans invented stone tools many times, reveals study



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Prehistoric men have invented tools several times, according to researchers who discovered a collection of 327 stone carvings more than 2.58 million years ago.

This is the first evidence of ancient hominids sharpening stones to create specific tools, according to a new study conducted by Arizona State University and George Washington University.

The collection of Oldowan tools, created by cutting stone fragments, was discovered in the Afar region of northeastern Ethiopia. They were probably made so that our ancestors could cut meat.


Prior to this discovery, the oldest Oldowan tool example was discovered in Gona, Ethiopia, at 2.56 million years old. It was widely accepted that this technology was invented once, and then broadcast throughout the continent.

However, this latest study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, proves that this theory is false. It is now thought that Oldowan tools were invented time and time again by several groups of hominids before becoming an essential tool for human survival.

Kaye Reed, associate researcher at the Institute of Human Origins at the University of Arizona State, has L & # 39; Independent"This is the first time we see people tearing pieces of stone to make tools with an end in mind. They only removed two or three flakes, and some you can say were not taken off properly.

"The newest tools look slightly different from the way they were designed from other examples."

The tools were found near the oldest fossil attributed to the genus Homo, which is found on a dig site called Bokol Dora 1 or BD 1 in Ethiopia. For the past five years, researchers have been trying to determine if there is a link between the origins of our gender and the creation of a systematic manufacture of stone tools.

The breakthrough occurred when Christopher Campisano, a geologist from the University of Arizona State, saw sharp stone tools pulling sediment down a steep and eroded slope. It's there that they found hundreds of small pieces of chipped stones.

Researchers have discovered a collection of Oldowan tools in the Afar region of northeastern Ethiopia (Erin DiMaggio)

"These tools were abandoned by the first humans at the edge of a water source, then quickly buried. The site has remained so for millions of years, "said geoarchaeologist Vera Aldeias of the Algarve University in Portugal.

Our ancestors made and used tools for a million years before this last discovery. Old "percussion" stone tools, described as "Lomekwian" tools, were first discovered in Kenya 3.3 million years ago.

Like monkeys and chimpanzees, these early hominids used tools to pound and slaughter foods such as nuts and shellfish. However, something changed 2.6 million years ago and our ancestors became more accurate and more apt to hit the edge of the stones to make tools.

BD 1 artifacts capture this change.

"We expected to see an indication of a Lomekwian evolution to these early Oldowan tools," said Will Archer of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and New York. University of Cape Town.

"Yet, when we looked closely at the models, there was very little connection to what is known of the older archaeological sites or the tools made by modern primates," he said. .

This change coincided with a change in the teeth of our ancestor. When our ancestors began to process food before eating with stone tools, we began to notice a reduction in the size of their teeth.

David Braun, an archaeologist from George Washington University and senior author of the newspaper, said; "Given that primate species around the world regularly use stone hammers to search for new resources, it seems very likely that many human ancestors have found new ways to use stone artifacts to extract resources." their environment.

"If our hypothesis is correct, then we would expect to find a kind of continuity in the form of artifact after 2.6 million years, but not before that period. We have to find more sites. "

Dr. Reed said, "Our team is returning to the field early next year and we will be doing additional searches in other localities and we will continue to look for other hominids who have made the site. # 39; tool. "

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