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Researchers have uncovered deliberately sharpened tools dating back more than 2.5 million years. These artifacts change our understanding of the tools' invention and show that our ancestors may have used a variety of basic technologies. They also demonstrate that our early ancestors may have invented the stone tools separately and repeatedly before they became generalized.
The discovery was made by a team of international and local experts at the Bokol Dara site in northern Ethiopia. In total, more than 320 stone tools and weapons have been discovered. According to the Phys.org website, they were discovered "near the discovery in 2013 of the oldest fossil attributed to our genus, Homo, discovered in Ledi-Geraru".
Stone tools used by our first ancestor
The artifacts were discovered after a manual search on a steep semi-desert slope. They are well preserved because they were apparently thrown by the first members of our genus at the edge of a spring or lake. This body of water has dried up and sediments have covered the tools and weapons. Vera Aldeias of the Algarve University, quoted by the Independent, said that "the site has remained so for millions of years".
The stone tools were found near the oldest fossil attributed to the genus Homo. ( David R. Braun )
Crumbled Stone Tools – Over 2.5 Million Years
Experts were able to accurately date the tools between 2.58 and 2.61 million years ago. They could do it because they could date a layer of volcanic ash under tools and other stone artifacts. This dating was then confirmed "Magnetic signature of site sediments" according to Phys.org. This means that the tools were the oldest grinding tools ever found. They are about 10,000 years older than the oldest old found in Gona, Ethiopia.
The tools were made by cutting glitter on a stone that can be hand-held. They were usually made by flaking only a few flakes and were mainly used to cut animal carcasses into meat.
According to the New Scientist, "the style of the artifacts classifies them as Oldowan's stone tools." These are among the first tools capable of cutting and are different from the percussion tools used by early hominids and even primates. The stone artifacts were examined by a team from Arizona State University and George Washington University.
The Engda blade from the University of Poitiers raises an artifact of 2.6 million years old sediments and exposes its imprint on the antique surface below. ( David R. Braun )
Stone tools independently invented
The researchers discovered that the tools were very primitive and rude. According to the New Scientist, David Braun, one of the team members, said the artifacts contained "a significantly lower number of actual pieces chipped on a pad compared to any subsequent assembly." This suggests that manufacturers were not as skilled as they were unaware of more sophisticated stone tools produced in other regions.
This indicates to many that tools have been developed by many groups and that they have even been reinvented several times. As a result, rather than seeing the use of hominid learning tools by a group, they may have developed independently, suggesting a great "technological diversity" among our ancestors, according to Phys.org.
A technological revolution
The stone artifacts found do not seem to have any connection to the "Lomekwian tools". These are tools used to hit and break objects and are still used by chimpanzees in the jungle. The way hominids have moved from simple percussion tools to knives and knives is a mystery.
Eventually, Oldowan sharpened tools were adopted by hominid populations in general. The tools have become an integral part of their survival kit. Oldowan style stone tools have become standardized over time and have then been used in general for hundreds of thousands of years.
Oldowan meat grinders, stone tools dating back 1.7 million years BC. J. – C., coming from Melka Kunture, in Ethiopia. (Archaeodontosaurus / CC BY-SA 4.0 )
The discovery of flake tools at Afer is of great importance because their style is linked to dramatic environmental change. According to PNAS.org, "The production of Oldowan stone artifacts seems to mark a systematic shift in tool making that occurs at a time of major environmental change. These styles of tools are thought to have helped humans adapt to profound changes as their environment has moved from the forest to a savannah-like environment. These tools have actually changed humans. This is seen in the reduction in the size of the teeth of our ancestors. Because they could cut their meat, they did not need big teeth.
The discovery of scaled artifacts is very important. It pushes back the date our ancestors used more sophisticated cutting tools, which was very important in our evolution. This shows that our ancestors may have developed tools independently and had to reinvent them more than once. This allows us to better understand the world of our early ancestors. We hope that other tools and stone artifacts will soon be unearthed. The results will be published in an upcoming edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Artistic interpretation of a woman during the emergence of Oldowan stone tools. (Esv / Public domain )
Top Image: Researchers have discovered the Oldowan Stone Tool Collection in the Afar region of northeastern Ethiopia. Source: Erin DiMaggio .
By Ed Whelan
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