Human Evolution: Oldest Evidence Of Stone Tool Use
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- Опубліковано 2 вер 2010
- / sciencereason ... California Academy of Sciences: Human Evolution -- Tool use by early humans started much earlier. The Academy's Zeray Alemseged reveals his latest discovery: human stone tool use dating back to 3.4 million years ago. Small-brained human ancestors used stone tools to whack into large mammals some 800,000 years earlier than previously thought.
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- The earliest known evidence for stone tool use and meat eating among early humans is found.
- The evidence -- butchered, fossilized bones -- dates to roughly 3.4 million years ago.
- It's believed the ancestor Australopithecus afarensis (to which "Lucy" belongs) used the tools.
• news.discovery.com/archaeology...
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BBC News: Tool-making and meat-eating began 3.5 million years ago
Researchers have found evidence that hominins - early human ancestors - used stone tools to cleave meat from animal bones more than 3.2 million years ago. That pushes back the earliest known tool use and meat-eating in such hominins by more than 800,000 years.
Bones found in Ethiopia show cuts from stone and indications that the bones were forcibly broken to remove marrow. The research, in the journal Nature, challenges several notions about our ancestors' behaviour.
Previously the oldest-known use of stone tools came from the nearby Gona region of Ethiopia, dating back to about 2.5 million years ago. That suggests that it was our more direct ancestors, members of our own genus Homo, that were the first to use tools.
But the marked bones were found in the Dikika region, with their age determined by dating the nearby volcanic rock -- to between 3.2 million and 3.4 million years ago.
A battery of tests showed that the cuts, scrapes and scratches were made before the bones fossilised, and detailed analysis even showed that there were bits of stone lodged in one of the cuts.
• www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-env...
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. - Наука та технологія
It is inspiring to consider that our earliest hominid ancestors possibly had the ability to fashion tools. It will upset current ideas about tool use, but that is one of the key benefits of science...to upset the established view when new evidence, systematically evaluated, becomes available and provides are clearer, more accurate picture. Judging by some of the comments below, it appears that a few people are not so much interested in science or a clearer, more accurate picture of things.
Looking back that far in history is amazing.
Simply amazing
Fabulous video folks, thanks a lot for the news.
@eswyatt My pleasure. There was a SciAm article a few months back that addressed this very question. Also, the Journal "Mammoth Trumpet" from the Center for the Study of the First Americans has been examining this in depth. Seeing the work at the actual sites is very interesting. I'm very interested in the Clovis culture and where they went.
@AutodidacticPhd - C14 is created at a more or less constant rate yes. But it is in a sort of balance against other things as well. Cosmic ray density (in the particular part of the universe the earth just happens to be passing through at any given moment), earths magnetic field, levels of nitrogen in the upper atmosphere, other things I might have missed or am not aware of.
@PlayT0E I see your point... it's just that the last time I read a paper on tool use in Chimps the news was rather mixed. Of course, I haven't read a whole lot of animal behavior studies in the past ten years, and most of the ones I have thumbed through have revolved around the "animal language" debate.
@particletheory Don't forget the fact that C14 dating has been confirmed by direct comparison to dendrochronology catalogs as well.
As for atmospheric fluctuation in the amount of C14, it seems unlikely to be significant. If I remember correctly, atmospheric C14 is created at a more or less constant rate as a result of upper atmosphere interactions between Nitrogen and cosmic rays...
@TheAnarchoKommie That was sooooo well said!Thumbs up bro!
Thank you very much!
@PlayT0E Sorry if I burst any bubbles, but from a linguist's perspective, none of those qualify as anything like human language. Not even chimps and gorillas have most of the key features. You're either dealing with a totally different use of the word language, or some seriously overstated reports.
How was it determined that large sharp teeth didn't make the cut marks? Or sharp rocks being thrown by volcanic explosions (or similar)?
But what is most disturbing is the complete assumption that human ancestors had anything to do with it. There is no actual evidence to support that idea except that they existed at the time.
Thank for Oldest Evidence Of Stone Tool Use video...
@particletheory thats just a sumary, and the technique is not perfect but it does provide a pretty good idea of the age of organic material. In a double blind study it has been demonstrated to accurately provide the age of wood from barges that were built in ancient times when the precise date was historically documented. There may be mitigating factors though on really old stuff, such as its proximity to another radiation source (like uranium), or if the level of C14 in the atmosphere spiked.
@PlayT0E As far as I know, most tool use among existing animals consists of finding and using things in the environment, as is. While chimps do display passed down tool-shaping behavior (such as cleaning reeds to use in termite fishing), this is still much less sophisticated than the skills needed to pick, shape and use the kinds of fine edge stone cutters you need for butchering a carcass. Simply choosing a rock instead of a branch to bludgeon nuts isn't quite stone tool use in the same sense.
@spartacandream When they say tool use they are talking about the deliberate creation of stone tools, not finding a stick on the ground and sticking it down an ant hole.
@spartacandream I know they do. I've seen documentaries on it. You missed a key word in my sentence--stone--using a frayed stick is not what they mean when they are talking about the use of tools.
@spencerschultz There are chimpanzees who use stone tools as well. Though I don't think that goes back as far as it does for humans. I never once aimed to contradict the video, all I simply said was my hypothesis about tool use goes back to the common ancestor of us and chimpanzees. I didn't miss what they said, I just was talking about tool use and construction.
@iviewthetube I don't think saber tooths were around at that time. I could be wrong, but if they did the marks look too close to each other for the jaws considering the size of the cat.
AWESOME!
@chopin65 Other animals use tools and build things like ravens and beavers. My point is that there were huge time periods separating them. @Scarletpooky put up a good point.
It's a theory that has been proven countless times. It's undeniable, we can see it happening in front of our eyes.
I may disagree with TheBeeFart but what he said was not spam and has a right not to be censored
you should of had Randy Travis's 'Diggin up bones' as the background music
much love!
@MITHWORLD1 Good point, well made.
@angelmarauder There IS a connection. Tool use started some place, right? They weren't going to start with rocketry and eComm. It's interesting and revealing to know which of our ancestors started using tools.
One thing I want to know now is "what took us so long to get to the past 400 years of exponential advances you refer to"?
3.4 Ma is around the time period of australopithicus afarensis. If those guys were using tools, that's friggin impressive. At that rate however, it kind of puts a damper on the question of how soon another intelligent species could evolve on this planet. We're going to be alone for a very long time... :(
@DistinctiveBlend i also has another question. could god make a taco so spicy he couldn't eat it?
@archeng123 YES you are the expert on dating ancient fossils and artifacts i assume? thanks for clearing that up for all of those scientists who have an actual education
@amanwithdreams
Not really, I can't really have issues with something that doesn't exist.
@PlayT0E More accurately, the use of stone tools. It is now well established that many primates have simple tool use behaviors, and it is likely that such tool use goes back even further than this evolutionary split. What is new here is the use of stone tools to clean a carcass (so far as we know, all primates that exhibit this behavior lie along our ancestral line) at a much earlier stage in our evolutionary development than previously suspected.
@AutodidacticPhd - "There are also loads of historic references to Chinese and Indian rulers, with both ruins and continuously occupied historic sites... does that mean that Chinese ancestor worship and Hinduism are true as well"
it provides a historical record that is reflected in religious texts and as a result those texts can add to our knowledge, the rest is just interpretation
@spencerschultz My theory is based on the fact that both Chimpanzees and Humans use tools. I don't just mean stone tools, I mean even crafting small sticks into tiny brooms for catching termites. Though I'm not certain how evidence of that would survive.
I should've said hypothesis though XD. I know, current evidence does say I'm not right. Though the fact that tool use is appearing farther and farther back looks good for it. I made the hypothesis back when I saw chimpanzee tool use.
The tempo of the background song changes throughout the video.
RECORDED history goes back 5,000 years. Humans however were around before that.
@smaakjeks Haha, nah, I haven't. I have no idea, how I made that up. But I've used it for a long time now d: ..
Should I watch some Rob Schneider movies?
I love people who bring up the bible everytime SCIENCE is mentioned in a video
@NoMoreMasters - "most primates are very intelligent, and most of them are herbivores or nearly herbivore in diet." i agree, most primates are very social animals aswell, but there is a massive difference between the intelligence of humans and that of most primates and that difference corresponds to diet.
good goin', bud.
@AcquiredKnowledge - There are loads of historical references to biblical kings. The stories are backed up by ruins and documentation.
@codyjt5150 thats not how carbon dating works. I knew how it works when I was a seventh grader. Here goes. Photosynthesis fixes radioactive carbon from the atmosphere into organic material. (same proportion as atmospheric levels of radioactive carbon) When the plant dies or gets eaten, C14 begins to decay at a very precise rate. Comparing the remaining C14 proportion to expected atmospheric levels, allows a basic date to be established.
@spencerschultz
Actually, they say they dont know what the tools were like -whether they were deliberately shaped or if they simply FOUND A SHARP ROCK and used it as is. All they have is possible evidence of sharp tools, not the tools themselves. Which is why they say they're now looking for the tools. Please listen to the video properly.
@blazereef Good point.
@EqualAndFree Yeah I believe most aspects of evolution, some I have my doubts about. The book of animals written by Al Jahiz a 9th century biologist is interesting, he was one of the first to speculate in detail about natural history and natural selection. Nice talking to you. Peace.
The depth of the dishonesty and idiocy of that book, which confuses insects for fishing lures means that no argument that Adnan Oktar puts forward can really be taken seriously.
@eswyatt Well, fats played a role too, as they are an excellent source of energy. And since our brains burn a lot of that, it became necessary part of our diet. The proteins (once cooked) were more easily broken down. this saved energy expended during the digestion process and allowed for more growth.
Interesting 😎
@JRONII Me too. And I want to thank my all my cousins who are too many to mention such as the trees, the birds and the insects and bacteria. A special thanks to many of my cousins who are not among us anymore, such as the trilobites and dinosaurs. But most of all I want to thank all the scientist that allow me to know my family tree, fighting against the ignorance and obscurantism.
@codyjt5150 "The smartass shit" makes more sense than "It just happens because I believe it does".
@codyjt5150 You don't magically grow or lose stuff. Evolution is simply the changes in the frequency of alleles. Many snakes still have legs as well, they are called vestigial hind limbs - they are still visible on skeletons.
@drche420 One more thing... please don't call me kid... I' m older than you. Don't misunderstand me though as I' m not mad or anything, I just lol'ed a little! :D
HAHAHAHA!!! Well played @DistinctiveBlend, well played.
@psychosavant i dont quite understand the point you are trying to make.
@archeng123 They measure how much carbon 14 is left in these.It's not super-duper precise,but it gives us a pretty good idea about when this happened.But scientists don't care about the precise date,since there were no special event back in these dates that makes dates important,as progress was so slow it is better to count it in millenias...
@LeatherCladVegan I know. But I felt like feeding for the lols. Also I've been wanting to reference dickwolfs for ages now.
That-Is-Amazing.
I can't choose to take a career in astronomy or anthropology. :L
They're both amazing and it makes me giddy to actually FIND things about us and about other animals' ancestors. But it is also an amazing story of how the earth and the universe itself were formed. Hm.
@codyjt5150
And your expert opinion is based on what research?
Interesting
@davelantor
To bad its one of the mutual traits among the people who care for their ideas.
@EqualAndFree Texas is a state and certainly, not all of America. I live here, and I can tell you that they are taught properly.
@Benpurple4
I thought I made it obvious enough too :D
And now some of us have evolved far enough to stop eating meat or killing our fellow creatures. That really is progress ;)
Interesting...
@Oddessuss
"A child who is taught creationism is much more unlikely to contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge of the human race"
I disagree. How about the great contributions they might be able to make to Alchemy, Astrology, The Theory of Scientific Storkism, Intelligent Design, ah no wait...
From sharp stones to chainsaws .
@spencerschultz "When they say tool use they are talking about the deliberate creation of stone tools"
Really? I thought they were talking about tool use when they said tool use.
@NzNexus2
Also, they're talking about tool use here, not bipedalism.
@0Idskool It doesn't prove it. Biology proves it. The tool use just helps us further understand the historical elements.
Read Seth speaks books or look it up on youtube. Makes you want to live differently than how we do now. explains life very well I think
@codyjt5150 I told us more about us.Were we come from,were we will go.Beside,understanding how we evolved,how we were previously,along with how were the animals,the plants and the environnement were in these days will help us in many,many ways.
@Asylumescapee69 That's why they are professional anthropologists! They have to know the difference between all of the questions yo asked. They can't afford to assume. They were found in 1999, then it took almost 10 years to determine it through the peer review process, which is a process to prove it wrong!
@WavegirlThinks YEAH!!
@Jadikarr lol yeah, but hypothetically, assuming if he did exist. got to get into the enemy's mind first.
@tjmac7 Exactly my point... they all stand on the same ground. The only distinctions are impositions of opinion.
@mrdot32 Actually we're not as different as you might think.
@hrhitter620 Not to mention those are that less religious have a higher level ranking on a peace index.
Somehow, I'm not surprised.
Are you changing your mind calling it a Theory now? Or are you saying its a Law? & what would you call the best evidence for evolution?
@angelmarauder not that big a stretch.
Current knowledge and technology is because we have a well developed brain.
Eating meat helped our brain develop.
Tools made it easier to eat meat
I've heard several people make a link between meat eating and our brain development
yeah guys!
@Scarletpooky Our common ancestor with chimpanzees was most likely, an omnivore.
@KELBYL NICE
@mrdot32 I think you are mistaking the theory of evolution with cosmology. Evolution explains the diversity of life. It has nothing to do with the formation of galaxies.
@Ninetyone11 but the starting element is the same!
Here's the point: Where does new information come from for a critter to evolve? Why is design seen in everything? Why is the universe so predictable and beautiful? Why do we have taste? Pleasure in reproduction? Why is there color? How would a big bang cause any order in space (much less on earth)? You see design in IPAD, plane, calculator, and worm...yet guess which one is he most complex? EVERYTHING points to a Designer...in your opinion what are the chances of a Designer? Any?
@karadan100
This was 3.4 million years ago. The earliest evidence of religion doesn't go back past 100 thousand years ago. I'm not sure that religion really plays a very important role at that point since australopithecus afarensis was probably more concerned with survival instincts rather than explaining what they didn't otherwise have any understanding of.
Please stop talking with creationists like they actually have something to say that matters ... just ignore/mock them, they din't deserve any better.
Cheerz"
cool
What was that about eating flesh and brain size?
@Oddessuss Something is so weird here
poor skeleton on 1:45 :((, it looks sad.
@Scarletpooky True that. But then again, the main developments have been made by peoples who developed mainly on wheat and fish (and rice). But you did own me on this meat point D-;
@dayati Lmao. Hell yeah! :P
This dude just tried to connect the advanced science that developed in the past 20-400 years with sub-humans tool usage from 3.5 million years ago. That's a stretch....
codyjt5150, LOL an interesting point. However, it is useful in such things. For example, when LLUMC transplanted a non-human heart into a baby, they ignored evolution, and baby Fae died.
Likewise there are several more lessons such evolutionary studies have for us, quite possibly including (as you mention) the cure for cancer.
@archeng123 likewise too your comment
@EqualAndFree Yes, that's true. I agree and I'm also concerned about it. I also know the threat of the publishing of school books. But, my experience is that in my state and many other states who have good public school systems, are taught properly. This concern should continue and rightfully so, in order to stop the decline that we have witnessed in bible belt states.
@tjmac7 "There are loads of historical references to biblical kings."
There are also loads of historic references to Chinese and Indian rulers, with both ruins and continuously occupied historic sites... does that mean that Chinese ancestor worship and Hinduism are true as well? Unless you can produce evidence that is unique to your religion, all you do is prove that you have yet another mythology.
Ive been told that we use 10% of our brain, why the hell do we have such a big ugly brain if we dont even use all of it?
Someone please explain lol
Wikipedia has a good list of transitional fossils.