Of Tools and Tubers

摘要

If tools make the man, then sharp, durable tools make an even handier man or woman. That knowledge was not lost on our ancestors as early as 2 million years ago, according to a new analysis of stone tools and bones left behind near Lake Victoria in Kenya. At the Paleo-anthropology Society gathering, which met concurrently with the larger meeting, researchers reported that at this early date humans purposely selected the highest-quality stone and transported it more than 13 kilometers to an animal butchery site. A collaborating team also reported that these early humans, presumably Homo habilis or early H. erectus, used tools not only to deflesh carcasses but also to slice tuberous roots, possibly a key part of their diet.