News Anthropology

Hominids may have been cutting-edge tool makers 2.6 million years ago

Contested finds point to a sharp shift in toolmaking by early members of the Homo genus

Ethiopia archaeological site

TOOL TIME  Researchers study sediments in Ethiopia where sharp-edged stone tools dating to around 2.6 million years ago were found. Rocks placed over excavated areas protected fragile sediment.

Erin Dimaggio

By Bruce Bower

- More than 2 years ago

Discoveries in East Africa of what may be the oldest expertly sharpened stone implements suggest that early members of the human genus, Homo, invented these tools by around 2.6