Stone Age find in Kenya suggests our ancestors weren’t the only toolmakers
The discovery of some of the oldest stone tools and two big fossil teeth in Kenya suggests our ancestors might not have been the only Stone Age toolmakers
READING LEVEL: ORANGE
Archaeologists* in Kenya have dug up some of the oldest stone tools ever found, but who used them is a mystery.
In the past, scientists assumed that our direct ancestors were the only toolmakers. But two big fossil teeth found along with the tools at the Kenyan site belong to an extinct human cousin known as Paranthropus, according to a study published on February 9 in the journal Science.
This adds to the evidence that our direct relatives in the Homo* lineage* may not have been the only tool users and makers during the Stone Age, said study author Dr Rick Potts, director of the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program in the US.
“Those teeth open up an amazing whodunit* – a real question of, well, who were these earliest toolmakers?” Dr Potts said.
The study found the tools dated back about 2.9 million years, when early humans used them to butcher hippos for their meat.
The tools are likely to be the oldest examples of a very important Stone Age innovation* known as the Oldowan toolkit. Dr Potts said these same kinds of tools had been found across Africa and beyond, showing they really caught on among early humans.
The Oldowan toolkit saw early humans hold a rock in one hand and hit it with another stone, chipping off thin, razor-sharp flakes, explained anthropologist* Dr Kathy Schick, of the Stone Age Institute in the US, who wasn’t involved in the research.
The study’s lead author, Dr Thomas Plummer, an anthropologist at the City University of New York in the US, said early humans could slice and crush a wide range of materials with the rocks and flakes.
And the tools from the Kenyan site – likely the most ancient Oldowan tools found to date – suggested this gave them an advantage in a key area: eating.
The site, known as Nyayanga, is a lush, hilly landscape on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya. Since starting excavations there in 2015, researchers have found a trove* of artefacts* and animal bones, along with the two Paranthropus teeth.
Slice marks on several hippo bones show they were cut up for their meat, which would have been eaten raw, Dr Plummer said.
The early humans were also likely to have used their tools to break open antelope bones for their fatty marrow inside, and to peel the outer rinds of tough plant roots, the study found.
“Stone tools are allowing them, even at this really early date, to extract a lot of resources from the environment,” Dr Plummer said. “If you can butcher a hippo, you can butcher pretty much anything.”
He said that in the past it was easy to assume that our direct ancestors were the only ones using these tools. But the discovery of the teeth made it hard to rule out that other early humans were picking up tools of their own, even extinct cousins like Paranthropus, with their big teeth and small brains.
The mystery will be a tough one to solve. After all, we can’t say for sure whether Paranthropus was using these tools, or just happened to die in the same place, Dr Schick said.
“When we find hominin* fossils with stone tools, you always have to ask, is this the dinner or the diner,” she said.
GLOSSARY
- archaeologists: scientists who studies human history by digging up human remains and artefacts
- Homo: the group that includes modern humans and their close relatives
- lineage: people in your family, or in this case the Homo group, who lived in past and can be traced all the way to today
- whodunit: a mystery story
- innovation: a new idea, method or device
- anthropologist: a person who studies humans and their customs, beliefs and relationships
- trove: a large amount of something good, useful or valuable
- artefacts: objects that were made in the past
- hominin: the group consisting of modern humans, extinct human species and all our immediate ancestors
EXTRA READING
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QUICK QUIZ
- In which African country were the stone tools found?
- What two fossils were also found at the site to suggest our ancestors weren’t the only users and makers of tools?
- How many millions of years do the tools date back?
- The researchers found slice marks on the bones of which animal?
- Name one other food the early humans would have used their tools on.
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Write a story
How do you think the inventor of the first stone tool came up with this idea? Use the information in the story and maybe some of your own research to write a story about how and why the first stone tool was made. Don’t forget to make your story interesting and entertaining!
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, History
2. Extension
What do you think would help archaeologists know for sure that our direct ancestors were the only ones who used stone tools? Write a list of the types of items or evidence that, if they were discovered, could solve this mystery. Next to each item in your list, write a sentence explaining how this would be helpful.
Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, History, Science
VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.
Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.
Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?
Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.