- First tools created by humanity and their meaning
- Characteristics of the first tools created by mankind
- References
The first tools created by humanity belong to the Olduvayan tradition. This is the name given to a stone tool-making pattern made by the hominid ancestors of humans.
It developed in Africa approximately 2.6 million years ago. It was probably the hominid ancestors Homo habilis who used them there until 1.5 million years ago.
Homo habilis
In this sense, the Olduvai stone tool industry was first defined from samples excavated from the Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.
This archaeological site contains the oldest evidence of the existence of human ancestors.
First tools created by humanity and their meaning
The Olduvai industry was named and defined by Mary Leakey. This anthropopaleontologist conducted extensive excavations at Olduvai in the 1960s.
The evidence found at these archaeological sites has played a dominant role in ideas about the evolution of human behavior.
Based on the Olduvai evidence, it can be stated that the earliest Plio-Pleistocene hominids (1.5 to 2.5 million years ago) were the first to create stone tools.
Furthermore, the tools and their locations suggest a time and place for the origins of various distinctively human traits.
Toolmaking has been viewed as a product of manipulation skills and ingenuity that is uniquely human.
These ancient artifacts made of stone demonstrate fledgling technology. It also means that these human ancestors were capable of cutting tough plant foods or opening an animal's body.
From traditional points of view, there are other implications. One of them is that these early hominids performed economic functions that once characterized all humans.
Among them are the ability to hunt and gather food. Furthermore, the continuity in the form of the oldest known tools over long periods of time seems to embody the essence of cultural learning, the passing of information through generations, and a unique means of maintaining a lifestyle.
Characteristics of the first tools created by mankind
The first tools created by mankind represent the beginning of human culture. Similarly, they were possibly the first personal possessions.
The most prominent Olduvayan artifacts are simply pebble flakes or pieces of rock, typically quartz or basalt. These were pulled from the stones in order to obtain cutting surfaces.
On the other hand, the most striking thing about these discoveries is the different functions that these tools had. Some stones were used as a hammer to hit other rocks or break bones.
Stones were also found that were chipped with other rocks on one or both sides. These tools could have been used as cutting implements.
Despite the roughness in their manufacture, there are instruments for scraping, for cutting and punches.
On the other hand, it is believed that these hominids made tools from other materials, such as wood or bone. However, the wood has not been preserved. But in the Olduvai Gorge some made of bone have been recognized.
References
- Hirst, KK (2017, March 08). Oldowan Tradition - Humankind's First Stone Tools. Retrieved on December 14, 2017, from thoughtco.com.
- Zimmermann, KA (2013, October 16). Olduvai Gorge: Oldest Evidence of Mankind's Evolution. Retrieved on December 14, 2017, from livescience.com.
- Johanson, DC and Edgar, B. (1996). From Lucy to Language. New York: Simon and Schuster.
- Potts, R. (1988). Early Hominid Activities at Olduvai. New York: Aldine Gruyter.
- Tattersall, I. (2014). The world from its beginnings to 4000 BC. C. Mexico DF: Economic Culture Fund.
- Eldredge, N. and Tattersall, I. (2016). The myths of human evolution. Mexico DF: Economic Culture Fund.
- Encyclopædia Britannica. (2016, June 01). Retrieved on December 14, 2017, from britannica.com.