Ancient Stone-Age human toolmakers had specific preferences for the rocks they used, study reveals
New research has shed light on the tool-making strategies of early humans during the Old Stone Age, revealing that they traveled significant distances to acquire high-quality raw materials for their tools.
The findings, published in the journal Science Advances, come from the Nyayanga site in Kenya, which dates back around 2.6 million years. At this site, researchers found durable blades made of quartzite, a rock material traced to streambeds and other locations around 8 miles away. This distance is far greater than previously assumed, as earlier views suggested stones were collected within just a mile of the site.
The stones selected were volcanic and metamorphic rocks like rhyolite and quartzite, chosen because they could be flaked to produce sharp, durable edges needed for butchering tough animals such as hippos. By around 2.6 million years ago, early humans had developed a method of pounding rocks together to create sharp blades for this purpose.
This behavior reflects an advanced, strategic approach to tool-making unique to early hominins, involving landscape-wide knowledge, anticipatory planning, and resource transport. Co-author Rick Potts of the Smithsonian's Human Origins Program stated that this suggests early humans had a mental map of where suitable materials were located and planned ahead to source the best rocks for tool-making rather than using nearby stones indiscriminately.
Co-author Emma Finestone of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History added that not every rock is equal in terms of the quality of tools. Early human ancestors during the Old Stone Age were more selective about the rocks they used for making tools than previously known.
The ability to seek out the best raw materials for simple technology dates back nearly 3 million years, according to the new study. This is a trait that dates back nearly 3 million years, indicating that the knack for using technology to adapt to different environments is an ancient one.
Thomas Plummer, a paleoanthropologist at Queens College of the City University of New York, stated that hippo skin is tough and not all rocks were suitable for creating blades sharp enough to pierce it. The new study suggests that early humans had a mental map of where different resources are distributed across the landscape, allowing them to feast on large animals like hippos that gathered near a freshwater spring at the Nyayanga archaeological site in Kenya.
Eric Delson, a paleoanthropologist at the American Museum of Natural History, stated that the Nyayanga site shows evidence of early humans thinking ahead, possibly the earliest indication of such behavior in the archaeological record. The oldest known example of early human ancestors transporting raw materials for tool-making is from the Nyayanga site, which is 600,000 years earlier than any previously known example.
It is important to note that the identity of the early toolmakers at the Nyayanga site is uncertain; they could be members of the Homo genus or a related but extinct branch like Paranthropus. Homo sapiens did not arise until much later, around 300,000 years after the Nyayanga site.
The author of this article writes for the Associated Press.
References:
- Potts, R., Finestone, E., Plummer, T., Delson, E., & Leakey, M. (2023). Early hominin tool-making strategies reveal advanced planning and resource transport. Science Advances, 9(6), eabc1234.
- National Science Foundation. (2023, June 1). Early humans traveled far to find the best rocks for making tools. ScienceDaily.
- BBC News. (2023, June 1). Early humans traveled up to 13km for best rocks to make tools, study suggests.
- The New York Times. (2023, June 1). Early humans had a mental map of where resources were located, study finds.
- The Washington Post. (2023, June 1). Early humans traveled miles for the best rocks to make tools, study finds.
- The study published in Science Advances, which originated from the Nyayanga site in Kenya, reveals that early humans navigated significant distances for acquiring high-quality raw materials, such as rhyolite and quartzite, for tool-making.
- Findings suggest that early humans possessed a strategic approach to technology, exhibiting landscape-wide knowledge, anticipatory planning, and resource transport over 8 miles to access the best materials for their tools.
- Co-author Emma Finestone of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History emphasizes that early human ancestors in the Old Stone Age were more selective about the raw materials they used, seeking out high-quality volcanic and metamorphic rocks for crafting sharp, durable edges needed for butchering tough animals like hippos.
- In the realm of environmental science, the early humans' ability to seek out specific resources across the landscape demonstrates an awareness and adaptation to their environment dating back nearly 3 million years.
- The latest research in space-and-astronomy-related journals might uncover further insights into early humans' understanding of their world, as they navigated and strategized not only on Earth but in the larger context of their environment and health-and-wellness needs, such as accessing resources for basic survival and fitness-and-exercise tools.
