New fossils and artifacts show Homo erectus crafted a diverse toolkit

Some stone tools have a single sharpened edge, while others consist of double-edged designs

Stone artifacts found at an Ethiopian site alongside this 1.6-million- to 1.5-million-year-old Homo erectus braincase indicate that this hominid made an array of simple and more complex tools, researchers say.

Michael Rogers/Southern Conn. St. Univ.

Hardly one-tool wonders, ancient hominids called Homo erectus relied on a toolkit that included relatively simple and more complex cutting devices, new discoveries suggest.