Archaeologists have discovered what they believe are the first stone tools used by human ancestors — and they're 800,000 years older than the current "oldest" tools.
Sonia Harmand, an archaeologist from Stony Brook University who led the research, announced the find at a meeting of the Paleoanthropology Society in San Francisco. The tools, found in Kenya, included "cores," which are stones with chipped-off flakes; stone flakes themselves; and "anvils," which are stones used to chip other stones.
The archaeologists have dated the tools to 3.3 million years ago. The currently established oldest stone tools, found in Ethiopia, date to 2.8 million years ago.
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In 2010, archaeologists discovered bone samples from 3.4 million years ago that appeared to have tool markings on them. Researchers are now investigating whether the bones' markings match the Kenyan tools.
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