3 million-year-old tools found in the ‘cradle of humankind’
It was a sharp discovery for archaeologists in Kenya.
Archeologists have uncovered three-million-year-old tools used by early humans in an area of Africa called “the cradle of humankind.”
Kenya’s Homa peninsula is home to several artifacts of early humanity, most notably the remains of Lucy, a being with mixed ape-human traits. Now, City University of New York experts have uncovered small knives known as flakes in the area.
An area of Kenya that was significant to early people was discovered to have tools used millions of years ago. Experts believe they shed light on the development of early humans’ bandwidth to further their technological prowess. CBS Saturday Morning
Archeologist Tom Plummer and his colleagues believe the newly found knives, part of an Oldowan tool kit, the oldest recorded stone utility on record, hold clues about the people who lived in the region some three million years ago.
Plummer believes the knives — they are still sharp to this day — were used for the peeling and cutting of fruits and vegetables. The tools, which were made from smashing stones together, also likely were purposed for cutting off the flesh of prey such as hippopotamuses.
The knives recovered are still sharp three million years after their use. Experts believe their initial uses were for peeling fruits, vegetables, and animal flesh. Experts say they were created by stones being smashed together. CBS Saturday Morning
“I think the Oldowan technology is probably the most important technological innovation that ever happened in human history,” Plummer told CBS.
“It allowed [the pre-human ancestors] to access a whole array of foods that they would never have had access to before.”
He added that the dietary changes likely brought needed evolutionary changes to the body, including brain growth.
Ultimately, according to the anthropology expert, it may have created a higher class of early humans who “started doing more with technology.”
The Smithsonian human origins program leader who led research in the area, Rick Potts, also said that the discovery offers important context into the species’ history.
The discovery of stone-made knives may show a major development in early humans that propelled intuitive evolution. It likely led to further technological breakthroughs. CBS Saturday Morning
“We are the last biped standing, as I call it,” he said.
“All of those other ways of life became extinct. And so that gives us a lot to think about, and it draws attention to the fragility of life, even in our own journey through time.”
