Archaeology Early humans revealed to have actually engineered enhanced stone tools at Olduvai Gorge

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The research was led by Dr. Alastair Secret, from Kent’s School of Sociology and Preservation, and is based upon evidence from mechanical testing of the raw materials and artefacts discovered at Olduvai Canyon in Tanzania– among the world’s essential websites for human origins research study.

Dr. Key worked together with Dr. Tomos Proffitt, from UCL Institute of Archaeology, and Professor Ignacio de la Torre of the CSIC-Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales in Madrid, for the research study.

Their research study, which used speculative techniques more typically utilized in modern engineering research, reveals that hominins preferentially selected quartzite, the sharpest but least resilient stone type at Olduvai for flake tools; an innovation believed to have been utilized for expedient, short-lived cutting activities.

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Chert, which was determined as being highly resilient and nearly as sharp as quartzite, was only offered to hominins for a brief200,000 year duration. Whenever it was offered, chert was favoured for a variety of stone tool types due to its ability to increase cutting performance over extended tool-use periods. Other stone types, consisting of highly resilient lavas, were offered at Olduvai, nevertheless their usage
differed according to elements such as the length of time a tool was planned to be used for, a tools prospective to develop high cutting forces, and the range hominins needed to take a trip to basic material sources.

The research study exposes a level of intricacy and flexibility in stone tool production formerly unseen at this time. Earlier research study had actually demonstrated Early Stone Age populations in Kenya to choose highly long lasting stone types for tools, however this is the very first time cutting edge sharpness has actually been able to be considered. By selecting the material best suited to specific practical requirements, hominins optimised the efficiency of their tools and ensured a tools efficiency and ‘ease-of-use’ was increased.

Dr. Key said: ‘Why Olduvai populations preferentially chose one raw material over another has puzzled archaeologists for more than 60 years. This has been made all the more interesting considered that some stone types, including lavas and quartzite, were always readily available.

‘ What we’ve been able to demonstrate is that our forefathers were making quite intricate decisions about which basic materials to use, and were doing so in a manner that produced tools optimised for particular circumstances. Although we understood that later hominin types, including our own, can such choices, it’s amazing to think that populations 1.8– 1.2 million years back were likewise doing so.’

Dr. Proffitt added: ‘Early hominins throughout the Oldowan were probably utilizing stone flakes for a range of tasks. Mainly for butchering animals whilst scavenging, but likewise most likely for cutting various plants and potentially even shaping wood. A long lasting cutting edge would have been an essential aspect when utilizing these tools.

‘ There are many contemporary analytical methods utilized in material sciences and engineering that can be used to interrogate the archaeological record, and might provide brand-new insights into the mechanical residential or commercial properties of such tools and artefacts. By comprehending the manner in which these tools work and their practical limitations it enables archaeologists to develop a greater understanding of the abilities of our earliest ancestors at the dawn of innovation.’

The team now hopes that scientists at other archaeological websites will wish to use similar mechanical tests and strategies to help comprehend the behaviour of Stone Age populations.

‘ Raw product optimisation and stone tool engineering in the Early Stone Age of Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania)’ has actually been published in the Journal of the Royal Society User Interface