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Oldest Stone Tools Predate Previous Record Holder By 700,000 Years
derekmead writes: The oldest stone tools ever found have been discovered by scientists in Kenya who say they are 3.3m years old, making them by far the oldest such artifacts discovered. Predating the rise of humans' first ancestors in the Homo genus, the artifacts were found near Lake Turkana, Kenya. More than 100 primitive hammers, anvils and other stone tools have been found at the site. An in-depth analysis of the site, its contents, and its significance as a new benchmark in evolutionary history will be published in the May 21 issue of Nature.
Please have some respect, Slashdot predates similar websites by 700,000 years
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How does one tell the difference between a chunk of rock and a 3.3 million year old tool? Because they both look fucking indistinguishable to me: they're both just chunks of rock.
Clearly those anthropologists are totally misguided and would be most grateful for your help on this matter.
Look at the picture in TFA. It's a rock.
Yes, I am curious too. That and the high concentration of such "tools" in one spot. Perhaps, an early colony existed around the lake?
Were they tools? According to the legend under one of the images in TFA: "Both the core and the flake display a series of dispersed percussion marks" and another says "Hammerstone showing isolated impact points". If that's true — and the free image is too small to say for sure — the rocks were used to hit something hard, Ok. And such use of rocks, or sticks, or anything not part of body is quite amazing for any creature, although Homo Anything aren't unique in this.
But I don't think, such use makes them officially "hammers" and "anvils", to be honest. For it does not appear, the "tools" themselves were deliberately worked on: the creatures grabbed whatever lied around and used it...
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Look more closely. Are the the stone tools out of place in the volcanic sedimentary strata they are found in (xenolith)? Stone tools are often made of chert or some other material completely unrelated to the volcanic material that entombs them. Do they share similar fracture patterns to other xenoliths? Are they the right size to be held in a humanoid hand. The evidence adds up. Fascinating.
They just saw it from a distance and declared: Tool!
That's what happened when I saw Dog-Cow's comment.
How does one tell the difference between a chunk of rock and a 3.3 million year old tool? Because they both look fucking indistinguishable to me: they're both just chunks of rock.
Well firstly, if you know about geology and how erosion works you can tell the difference between a coincidentally shaped rock and a purposefully shaped rock. This difference is even more pronounced if you are also a good flintknapper sort of like a cop can spot an expertly forged bank note. Secondly there is forensics, tool manufacture leaves distinctive marks and so does tool use. Even if somebody randomly smashed a rock and used a sharp flake to butcher an animal you would see the distinctive wear patterns on the flake. You might even find trace evidence on the tool if you are lucky. This is why it is a huge mistake to wash a recently discovered stone tool because even after tens of thosands of years you can sometimes tell what a tool was last used to cut, scrape, drill or hack apart. Thirdly, there is context. You often find tools at a site where animals were butchered, where tools were made or if you are very lucky in a place where people lived for a while. Perhaps a fire was lit, which can give a date. Bones with distinctive tool marks you only get through systematic butchery and bones that have been smashed to get at marrow are a dead give-away. These bones are also useful for dating associated tools as are layers of volcanic ash, lava or sediments and attributes of the stone tools themselves can also give date information.