The discovery of some of the oldest stone tools ever found in Kenya dating back to around 2.9 million years ago has sparked a mystery as to who used them, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science. The tools, which were used to butcher hippos for their meat, are older than our own Homo ancestors. An image of the tools, which include two big fossil teeth of an extinct human cousin known as Paranthropus, was provided by the Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project. This leads to the question of who the earliest toolmakers were. Shannon McPherron, an archaeologist at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, said older stone tools have been found in Kenya, dating back to around 3.3 million years ago.
2023-02-12 10:46:31
Original from phys.org
The discovery of Stone Age tools has sparked a mystery about the identity of their creators. Found during archaeological excavations in Europe and Asia, these primitive tools were created between two and three million years ago. While many of the stone tools were basic, it is clear some of the tools required a level of skill and knowledge to make. The questions remain, who made them? Were these tools the work of humans, or some unknown species?
Studies conducted by the Smithsonian Institution, and other research groups, have found strong evidence suggesting that Stone Age tools were made by pre-human or hominid species. This is backed up by the nature of the tools themselves. Many have cut marks and have been crafted with precision. The age of the tools and the type of rocks used to create them indicate that the crafters had a great understanding of the materials and knew exactly what they were doing.
Even though researchers have identified a potential species that could have created the tools, there is still much mystery surrounding them. It is possible that the tools were created by multiple species, and a number of different hominids have been suggested as the creator. There is also a suggestion that the hominids may have worked in collaboration with early humans.
The idea of who created the Stone Age tools is as fascinating as the tools themselves. Undoubtedly, as new evidence emerges and archaeological research continues, the mystery surrounding their origin will eventually be resolved. Until then, the identity of their creators continues to tantalize experts and archaeologists alike.