Researchers have unearthed some deliberately sharpened tools that date from over 2.5 million years ago. These artifacts are changing our understanding of the invention of tools and showing that our ancestors may have used a variety of basic technologies. They are also demonstrating that our early ancestors may have invented stone tools separately and repeatedly before they became widespread.

The find was made by a team of international and local experts, at the Bokol Dara site, in northern Ethiopia. In total, over 320 stone tools and weapons were uncovered. According to the Phys.org, they have been found, “close to the 2013 discovery of the oldest fossil attributed to our genus, Homo discovered at Ledi-Geraru.”

Stone Tools Used by Our Earliest Ancestor
The artifacts were found after a dig by hand on a steep slope in semi-desert. They are well-preserved because they were apparently discarded by early members of our genus by the side of a spring or lake. This body of water dried up and sediment covered the tools and weapons. The Independent quotes Vera Aldeias from the University of Algarve as saying that as a result “the site then stayed that way for millions of years.”

more at ancient-origins.net