UNBELIEVABLE three-million-year-old razor-sharp vegetable peelers used by the world’s oldest humans have been discovered.
The innovative tools were made from smashing stones together – and were also likely used to cut off the flesh of prey.
Hominid ‘Lucy’ (Australopithecus afarensis) in the Museum of Human Evolution[/caption]
The peelers have significant context for early human technology[/caption]
Archaeologists unearthed the tools in an area of Africa dubbed “the cradle of humankind”.
Kenya’s Homa peninsula is home to various artefacts representative of early humanity – including the famous remains of Lucy – a half-ape-half-human.
In November 1974, the skeleton of a small female was discovered and nicknamed Lucy.
Lucy is part of the genus Australopithecus – a group of small-bodied and small-brained early hominin, or human, species that walked upright in short distances.
Research later found that Lucy would have had a mixture of ape-like and human-body features.
Now experts have discovered the small knives known as flakes in the historical area.
Archaeologist Tom Plummer and his colleagues believe the incredible finds are the oldest recorded stone utility on record.
Part of an Oldowan tool kit, the tools are a glimpse into the people who lived in the region some 3 million years ago and how they lived.
And what’s more the peeling tools are said to be as sharp now as they would have been when they were first made.
Plummer told CBS: “I think the Oldowan technology is probably the most important technological innovation that ever happened in human history.
Who is 'Lucy'?
LUCY, the famous Australopithecus afarensis fossil, was found in Hadar, Ethiopia, in 1974.
Her 40 per cent-complete skeleton, dating back a whopping 3.2 million years, have provided breakthrough insights into human evolution.
Lucy’s significance comes from the incredible combination of ape-like and human-like features she exhibits.
Her small skull and long arms are reminiscent of apes – while her pelvis, spine, and knee structure clearly indicate bipedalism – the ability to walk upright, a defining human characteristic.
What’s more, Lucy shows that walking upright evolved before significant brain development.
Although Lucy was bipedal, current research suggests A. afarensis may have also spent time in trees as well as on ground.
Standing about 1.05 metres tall, Lucy was a young adult when she died, possibly from a fall.
The discovery revolutionised the understanding of human origins and even continues to shape evolutionary studies.
“It allowed [the pre-human ancestors] to access a whole array of foods that they would never have had access to before.”
The expert added that the dietary changes likely led to needed evolutionary changes to the body, including brain growth.
Plummer said that it may have created a higher class of early humans who began “doing more with technology“.
Rick Potts, the Smithsonian human origins program leader who led research in the area, also said the breakthrough discovery reveals important context into the species’ history.
He said: “We are the last biped standing, as I call it.
“All of those other ways of life became extinct.
“And so that gives us a lot to think about, and it draws attention to the fragility of life, even in our own journey through time.”
3.2 million year old Australopithecus afarensis skeleton called Lucy[/caption]
Yohannes Haile-Selassie holds a fossilized cranium of Australopithecus anamensis[/caption]
Fossilized cranium of Australopithecus anamensis[/caption]
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