Impact of Discovery: 3.3 Million Year Old Stone Tools Found in Kenya

Impact of Discovery: 3.3 Million Year Old Stone Tools Found in Kenya

Historians and archaeologists recently announced the discovery of stone tools 3.3 million years old in desert badlands near Lake Turkana in northwestern Kenya. Discuss its impact of the discovery.

• This discovery represents an advance in the cognitive ability of human beings

• Ancient ancestors made stone tools earlier than previously thought and before the appearance of first known member of genus Homo

• The tools discovered include:

- Sharp-edged flakes used for cutting meat from carcasses and Rudimentary hammers

• They are 7,00,000 years older than stone tools ever found

• They predate by 5,00,000 years, earliest known fossils of the genus Homo suggesting they were created by a more primitive species

• Transition from using natural organic tools to creating a specific tool represents an advanced cognitive capability in ancestors of humans

• Homo Sapiens appeared 2,00,000 years ago and earliest member of genus Homo dates back to 2.8 million years

• Ape like human ancestors preceded them

• There are 3 possibilities as to who could have fashioned the tools:
- Kenyanthropus platyops and
- Australopithecus afarensis (species that combine ape and human-like traits);
- As-yet undiscovered early member of Homo.

• Fossils of Kenyanthropus platyops, renowned for its flat face, have been found near the tool site.

• Australopithecus afarensis is the species that comprises the famous “Lucy” fossil found in Ethiopia during the 1970s

• These tools suggest humans learnt how to fend for themselves prior to cerebral development

Facts and Stats

• Tools were made from volcanic rock

• They comprised:
- Sharp-edged flakes of various sizes,
- Rocks from which these flakes were struck,
- Larger rectangular blocks serving as anvils and
- Smaller, harder stones that served as hammers

• They were created through a process called knapping

• This involves breaking off pieces with tough strikes from another stone

• 149 stone tools were part of this discovery