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The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
or Old
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
. It spans the time from around 3.3 million years ago when the
first evidence for
stone tool
Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a ...
production and use by
hominin
The Hominini (hominins) form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae (hominines). They comprise two extant genera: ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos), and in standard usage exclude the genus '' Gorilla'' ( gorillas) ...
s appears in the current
archaeological record
The archaeological record is the body of physical (not written) evidence about the past. It is one of the core concepts in archaeology, the academic discipline concerned with documenting and interpreting the archaeological record. Archaeological t ...
,
until around 300,000 years ago, spanning the
Oldowan
The Oldowan (or Mode I) was a widespread stone tool archaeological industry during the early Lower Paleolithic spanning the late Pliocene and the first half of the Early Pleistocene. These early tools were simple, usually made by chipping one ...
("mode 1") and
Acheulean
Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated with ''Homo ...
("mode 2")
lithics
Lithic may refer to:
*Relating to stone tools
** Lithic analysis, the analysis of stone tools and other chipped stone artifacts
** Lithic core, the part of a stone which has had flakes removed from it
** Lithic flake, the portion of a rock removed ...
industries.
In African archaeology, the time period roughly corresponds to the Early Stone Age, the earliest finds dating back to 3.3 million years ago, with
Lomekwi
Lomekwi is an archaeological site located on the west bank of Turkana Lake in Kenya. It is an important milestone in the history of human archaeology. An archaeological team from Stony Brook University in the United States discovered traces o ...
an stone tool technology, spanning Mode 1 stone tool technology, which begins roughly 2.6 million years ago and ends between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago, with Mode 2 technology.
The
Middle Paleolithic
The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle P ...
followed the Lower Paleolithic and recorded the appearance of the more advanced
prepared-core tool-making technologies such as the
Mousterian
The Mousterian (or Mode III) is an Industry (archaeology), archaeological industry of Lithic technology, stone tools, associated primarily with the Neanderthals in Europe, and with the earliest anatomically modern humans in North Africa and We ...
. Whether the earliest
control of fire by hominins dates to the Lower or to the Middle Paleolithic remains an open question.
Gelasian
The Lower Paleolithic began with the appearance of the first
stone tool
Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a ...
s in the world. Formerly associated with the emergence of ''
Homo habilis
''Homo habilis'' ( 'handy man') is an extinct species of archaic human from the Early Pleistocene of East and South Africa about 2.4 million years ago to 1.65 million years ago ( mya). Upon species description in 1964, ''H. habilis'' was highly ...
'', some 2.8 million years ago, this date has been pushed back significantly by finds of the early 2000s, the
Oldowan
The Oldowan (or Mode I) was a widespread stone tool archaeological industry during the early Lower Paleolithic spanning the late Pliocene and the first half of the Early Pleistocene. These early tools were simple, usually made by chipping one ...
or Mode 1 horizon, long considered the oldest type of lithic industry, is now considered to have developed from about 2.6 million years ago, with the beginning
Gelasian
The Gelasian is an age in the international geologic timescale or a stage in chronostratigraphy, being the earliest or lowest subdivision of the Quaternary Period/System and Pleistocene Epoch/Series. It spans the time between 2.58 Ma (million y ...
(
Lower Pleistocene), possibly first used by
australopithecine
The australopithecines (), formally Australopithecina or Hominina, are generally any species in the related genera of ''Australopithecus'' and ''Paranthropus''. It may also include members of '' Kenyanthropus'', ''Ardipithecus'', and '' Praeant ...
forebears of the genus ''
Homo
''Homo'' () is a genus of great ape (family Hominidae) that emerged from the genus ''Australopithecus'' and encompasses only a single extant species, ''Homo sapiens'' (modern humans), along with a number of extinct species (collectively called ...
'' (such as ''
Australopithecus garhi
''Australopithecus garhi'' is a species of australopithecine from the Bouri Formation in the Afar Region of Ethiopia 2.6–2.5 million years ago (mya) during the Early Pleistocene. The first remains were described in 1999 based on several skele ...
'').
However, even older tools were later discovered at the single site of
Lomekwi 3 in
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
, in 2015, dated to as early as 3.3 million years ago. As such, they would predate the Pleistocene (the Gelasian), and fall into the late
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58[Piacenzian
The Piacenzian is in the international geologic time scale the upper stage (stratigraphy), stage or latest age (geology), age of the Pliocene. It spans the time between 3.6 ± 0.005 year#SI prefix multipliers, Ma and 2.58 Ma (million years ago). T ...](_blank)
).
The early members of the genus ''Homo'' produced primitive tools, summarized under the Oldowan industry, which remained dominant for nearly a million years, from about 2.5 to 1.7 million years ago. ''Homo habilis'' is assumed to have lived primarily on
scavenging
Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding be ...
, using tools to cleave meat off carrion or to break bones to extract the
marrow.
The move from the mostly
frugivorous or
omnivorous
An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize ...
diet of hominin ''Australopithecus'' to the
carnivorous
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...
scavenging lifestyle of early ''Homo'' has been explained by the climate changes in
East Africa
East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
associated with the
Quaternary glaciation
The Quaternary glaciation, also known as the Pleistocene glaciation, is an alternating series of glacial period, glacial and interglacial, interglacial periods during the Quaternary period that began 2.58 Year#SI prefix multipliers, Ma (million ...
. Decreasing oceanic evaporation produced a drier climate and the expansion of the
savannah
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
at the expense of forests. Reduced availability of fruits stimulated some proto-
australopithecines
The australopithecines (), formally Australopithecina or Hominina, are generally any species in the related genera of ''Australopithecus'' and ''Paranthropus''. It may also include members of '' Kenyanthropus'', '' Ardipithecus'', and '' Praean ...
to search out new food sources found in the drier savannah ecology.
Derek Bickerton
Derek Bickerton (March 25, 1926 – March 5, 2018) was an English-born linguist and professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Based on his work in creole languages in Guyana and Hawaii, he has proposed that the features of creole languag ...
(2009) has designated to this period the move from simple
animal communication systems found in all
great apes
The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); '' Gorilla'' (the ...
to the earliest form of symbolic communication systems capable of displacement (referring to items not currently within sensory perception) and motivated by the need to "recruit" group members for scavenging large carcasses.
''
Homo erectus
''Homo erectus'' ( ) is an extinction, extinct species of Homo, archaic human from the Pleistocene, spanning nearly 2 million years. It is the first human species to evolve a humanlike body plan and human gait, gait, to early expansions of h ...
'' appeared by about 1.8 million years ago, via the transitional variety ''
Homo ergaster
''Homo ergaster'' is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Africa in the Early Pleistocene. Whether ''H. ergaster'' constitutes a species of its own or should be subsumed into '' H. erectus'' is an ongoing and unresol ...
''.
Calabrian
''Homo erectus'' moved from scavenging to
hunting
Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...
, developing the
hunting-gathering lifestyle that would remain dominant throughout the Paleolithic into the
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic (Ancient Greek language, Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic i ...
.
The unlocking of the
new niche of hunting-gathering subsistence drove a number of further behavioral and physiological changes leading to the appearance of ''
Homo heidelbergensis
''Homo heidelbergensis'' is a species of archaic human from the Middle Pleistocene of Europe and Africa, as well as potentially Asia depending on the taxonomic convention used. The species-level classification of ''Homo'' during the Middle Pleis ...
'' by some 800,000-600,000 years ago. As such, ''Homo'' rose to the ranks of omnivorous predators (and possibly became
hypercarnivore
A hypercarnivore is an animal that has a diet that is more than 70% meat, either via active predation or by scavenging. The remaining non-meat diet may consist of non-animal foods such as fungi, fruits or other plant material. Some extant exampl ...
s before ''Homo sapiens'' again transformed into
hypocarnivores). As active hunters, they came in opposition to other, quadruped predators and started living in large groups.
''Homo erectus'' migrated out of Africa and dispersed throughout Eurasia.
Stone tool
Stone tools have been used throughout human history but are most closely associated with prehistoric cultures and in particular those of the Stone Age. Stone tools may be made of either ground stone or knapped stone, the latter fashioned by a ...
s in
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
have been dated to be 1.83 million years old. The
Peking Man
Peking Man (''Homo erectus pekinensis'', originally "''Sinanthropus pekinensis''") is a subspecies of '' H. erectus'' which inhabited what is now northern China during the Middle Pleistocene. Its fossils have been found in a cave some southw ...
fossil, discovered in 1929, is roughly 700,000 years old.
In Europe, the
Olduwan tradition (known in Europe as
Abbevillian) split into two parallel traditions, the
Clactonian, a flake tradition, and the
Acheulean
Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated with ''Homo ...
, a
hand-axe tradition. The
Levallois technique
The Levallois technique () is a name given by archaeologists to a distinctive type of stone knapping developed around 250,000 to 400,000Shipton, C. (2022). Predetermined Refinement: The Earliest Levallois of the Kapthurin Formation. *Journal of ...
for
knapping
Knapping is the shaping of flint, chert, obsidian, or other conchoidal fracturing stone through the process of lithic reduction to manufacture stone tools, strikers for flintlock firearms, or to produce flat-faced stones for building or facing w ...
flint
Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...
developed during this time.
The carrier species from Africa to Europe was undoubtedly ''
Homo erectus
''Homo erectus'' ( ) is an extinction, extinct species of Homo, archaic human from the Pleistocene, spanning nearly 2 million years. It is the first human species to evolve a humanlike body plan and human gait, gait, to early expansions of h ...
''. This type of human is more clearly linked to the flake tradition, which spread across southern Europe through the
Balkans
The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
to appear relatively densely in
southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
. Many
Mousterian
The Mousterian (or Mode III) is an Industry (archaeology), archaeological industry of Lithic technology, stone tools, associated primarily with the Neanderthals in Europe, and with the earliest anatomically modern humans in North Africa and We ...
finds in the
Middle Paleolithic
The Middle Paleolithic (or Middle Palaeolithic) is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle P ...
have been knapped using a Levallois technique, suggesting that
Neanderthals
Neanderthals ( ; ''Homo neanderthalensis'' or sometimes ''H. sapiens neanderthalensis'') are an extinction, extinct group of archaic humans who inhabited Europe and Western and Central Asia during the Middle Pleistocene, Middle to Late Plei ...
evolved from ''Homo erectus'' (or, perhaps, ''Homo heidelbergensis''; see below).
Monte Poggiolo
Monte Poggiolo is a hill near Forlì, Italy in the Emilia-Romagna area that is the site of a Florentine castle. The hill overlooks the Montone River valley from an elevation
of . An archaeological site containing Paleolithic artifacts is situa ...
, near
Forlì
Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...
, Italy, is the location of an
Acheulian littoral
The littoral zone, also called litoral or nearshore, is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely i ...
handaxe
industry dating from 1.8 to 1.1 million years ago.
The advent of technology and both verbal and non-verbal communication due to transition to group hunting and gathering resulted in the expansion of the parts of the brain associated with these, as well as greater cognition due to it being interlinked with the two. Later, behavioral adaptations to further social life, uncertain food distribution (resulting in need to find and secure food and remember where it could be found) and ecological changes brought about by ''Homo'' led to the further expansion of the brain in the areas of problem-solving, memory etc., ultimately leading to the great behavioral flexibility, highly efficient communication, and ecological dominance of humanity. The biological pre-adaptations of the
great apes
The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); '' Gorilla'' (the ...
and earlier primates allowed the brain to expand threefold within just 2 to 2.3 million years of the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
, in response to increasingly complex societies and changing habitats.
Chibanian
The appearance of ''
Homo heidelbergensis
''Homo heidelbergensis'' is a species of archaic human from the Middle Pleistocene of Europe and Africa, as well as potentially Asia depending on the taxonomic convention used. The species-level classification of ''Homo'' during the Middle Pleis ...
'' about 600,000 years ago heralds a number of other new varieties, such as ''
Homo rhodesiensis'' and ''
Homo cepranensis
''Homo'' () is a genus of great ape (family Hominidae) that emerged from the genus ''Australopithecus'' and encompasses only a single extant species, ''Homo sapiens'' (modern humans), along with a number of extinct species (collectively called ...
'' about 400,000 years ago.
''Homo heidelbergensis'' is a candidate for first developing an
early form of symbolic language. Whether
control of fire and earliest
burials
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...
date to this period or only appear during the Middle Paleolithic is an open question.
Also, in Europe, a type of human appeared that was intermediate between ''Homo erectus'' and ''Homo sapiens'', sometimes summarized under
archaic ''Homo sapiens'', typified by such fossils as those found at
Swanscombe,
Steinheim,
Tautavel, and
Vertesszollos (''Homo palaeohungaricus''). The hand-axe tradition originates in the same period. The intermediate may have been ''Homo heidelbergensis'', held responsible for the manufacture of improved ''Mode 2''
Acheulean
Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated with ''Homo ...
tool types, in Africa, after 600,000 years ago. Flakes and axes coexisted in Europe, sometimes at the same site. The axe tradition, however, spread to a different range in the east. It appears in
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world.
Geographically, the ...
and
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, but more importantly, it does not appear in southeast Asia.
Transition to the Middle Paleolithic
From about 300,000 years ago, technology, social structures and behaviour appear to grow more complex, with
prepared-core technique
The prepared-core technique is a means of producing stone tools by first preparing common lithic core, stone cores into shapes that lend themselves to knapping off flakes that closely resemble the desired tool and require only minor touch-ups to ...
lithics, earliest instances of
burial
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
and changes to
hunting-gathering patterns of subsistence. ''
Homo sapiens
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...
'' first appeared about 300,000 years ago, as evidenced by fossils found at
Jebel Irhoud
Jebel Irhoud or Adrar n Ighoud (; , Moroccan Arabic: ), is an archaeological site located just north of the town of Ighoud, Tlet Ighoud in Youssoufia Province, approximately south-east of the city of Safi, Morocco, Safi in Morocco. It is noted f ...
in Morocco.
Lower Paleolithic era by region
;
;South India
The Madrasian culture is a prehistoric
archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...
of the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
, dated to the Lower Paleolithic, the earliest subdivision of the
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
. It belongs to the
Acheulian industry, and some scholars consider the distinction between the Madrasian and the broader, regional Acheulian tradition defunct.
The Madrasian is characterized by
bifacial handaxes and
cleavers, but also includes
flake tools,
microlith
A microlith is a small Rock (geology), stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. They were made by humans from around 60,000 years ago, across Europe, Africa, Asia and Austral ...
s and other chopping tools. Most were made from
quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...
.
The Madrasian was named for its
type site
In archaeology, a type site (American English) or type-site (British English) is the site used to define a particular archaeological culture or other typological unit, which is often named after it. For example, discoveries at La Tène and H ...
of
Attirampakkam (then part of the
Madras Presidency
The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...
), and Pallavaram near to the city of Madras (now renamed as
Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
) in the state of Tamilnadu, discovered by British archaeologist and geologist
Robert Bruce Foote in 1863. The oldest tools at Attirampakkam have been dated to 1.5 million years ago using
cosmic-ray exposure dating.
North India
Guy Ellcock Pilgrim, a British geologist and
palaeontologist
Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...
, discovered 1.5 million-year-old
prehistoric human teeth and part of a jaw indicating that
ancient people, intelligent
hominins
The Hominini (hominins) form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae (hominines). They comprise two extant genera: ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos), and in standard usage exclude the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas), ...
dating as far back as 1,500,000
ybp Acheulean
Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated with ''Homo ...
period, lived in the Pinjore region near
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...
.
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...
tools of the lower Paleolithic period were excavated in this region extending from Pinjore in Haryana to
Nalagarh (
Solan district in Himachal Pradesh).
The lands of Gujarat has been continuously inhabited from the Lower Paleolithic (c. 200,000 BP) period. Evidence of Stone Age habitation has been discovered in riverbeds of
Sabarmati,
Mahi River and lower
Narmada rivers of Gujarat.
See also
*
Control of fire by early humans
The control of fire by early humans was a critical technology enabling the evolution of humans. Fire provided a source of warmth and lighting, protection from predators (especially at night), a way to create more advanced hunting tools, and ...
*
Lomekwi
Lomekwi is an archaeological site located on the west bank of Turkana Lake in Kenya. It is an important milestone in the history of human archaeology. An archaeological team from Stony Brook University in the United States discovered traces o ...
, site of the oldest tools discovered
References
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sv:Paleolitikum#Tidigpaleolitikum