The research was led by\u00a0Dr Alastair Key<\/a>, Lecturer in Biological Anthropology, and is based on evidence from\u00a0mechanical testing\u00a0of the raw materials and artefacts found at\u00a0Olduvai Gorge<\/a>\u00a0in Tanzania \u2013 one of the world\u2019s\u00a0most important sites\u00a0for human origins research.<\/p>\n Dr Key collaborated with\u00a0Dr Tomos Proffitt<\/a> from UCL Institute of Archaeology<\/a> and Professor Ignacio de la Torre<\/a>\u00a0of the CSIC-Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales<\/a> in Madrid, for the study.<\/p>\n Their research, which employed\u00a0experimental methods\u00a0more commonly used in modern engineering research, shows that hominins preferentially selected\u00a0quartzite, the sharpest but least durable stone type at Olduvai for\u00a0flake tools:\u00a0a technology thought to have been used for expedient, short-lived cutting activities.<\/p>\n Chert, which was identified as being highly durable and nearly as sharp as quartzite, was only available to hominins for a short 200,000 year period. Whenever it was available, chert was favoured for a variety of stone tool types\u00a0due to its ability to maximise cutting performance over extended tool-use durations.<\/p>\n Other stone types, including highly durable\u00a0lavas, were available at Olduvai, however their\u00a0use varied according to factors\u00a0such as how long a tool was intended to be used for, a tool\u2019s potential to create high cutting forces, and the distance hominins had to travel to raw material sources.<\/p>\n The study reveals\u00a0a level of\u00a0complexity and flexibility\u00a0in stone tool production\u00a0previously unseen\u00a0at this time. Earlier research had demonstrated Early Stone Age populations in Kenya to select highly durable stone types for tools, but this is the first time\u00a0cutting edge sharpness\u00a0has been able to be considered. By selecting the material best suited to specific functional needs, hominins optimised the performance of their tools and ensured a tool\u2019s efficiency and \u2018ease-of-use\u2019 was maximised.<\/p>\n Dr Key said, “Why Olduvai populations preferentially chose\u00a0one raw material over another has puzzled archaeologists for more than 60 years. This has been made all the more\u00a0intriguing\u00a0given that some stone types, including lavas and quartzite, were always available.<\/p>\n “What we\u2019ve been able to demonstrate\u00a0is that our ancestors were making quite complex decisions about which raw materials to use, and were doing so in a way that produced\u00a0tools optimised for specific circumstances. Although we knew that later hominin species, including our own, were capable of such decisions, it\u2019s amazing to think that populations 1.8 \u2013 1.2 million years ago were also doing so.”<\/p>\n Dr Proffitt added, “Early hominins during Oldowan manufacture were probably using stone flakes for a variety of tasks. Mostly for butchering animals whilst scavenging, but also probably for cutting various plants and possibly even shaping wood. A durable cutting edge would have been an important factor when using these tools.<\/p>\n “There are many modern analytical techniques used in material sciences and engineering that can be used to interrogate the archaeological record and may provide new insights into the mechanical properties of such tools and artefacts. By understanding the way that these tools work and their functional limits, it allows archaeologists to build up a greater understanding of the capabilities of our earliest ancestors at the dawn of technology.”<\/p>\n The team now hopes that researchers at other archaeological sites will want to apply\u00a0similar mechanical tests and techniques\u00a0to help understand the behaviour of\u00a0Stone Age\u00a0populations.<\/p>\n Coverage on the paper led by Dr Key includes Archaeology<\/a>, Cosmos magazine<\/a>, Scienmag<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and The Daily Mail<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Raw material optimisation and stone tool engineering in the Early Stone Age of Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania)<\/a> by Alastair Key, Tomos Proffitt and Ignacio de la Torre has been published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"Representative](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/sac-news-events\/files\/2020\/01\/Key-et-al-Raw-Materials-cropped.jpg\")