News – Who made and used the first tools?

TÜBINGEN, GERMANY –Cosmos Magazine reports that hominins may have been able to use tools earlier than previously thought, based on a new study of the finger bones of early hominins. The oldest known stone tools have been dated to around 3.3 million years ago, but it is not known which hominins may have made or used them. Researchers led by Jana Kunze from the University of Tübingen examined the places where muscles attach to the bones of the hands Australopithecus afarensiswho lived 3.9 to 2.9 million years ago; A. africanuswho lived 3.3 to 2.1 million years ago; And A. sedibawho lived about 1.98 million years ago. The characteristics of the muscle attachments on the hands of these early hominins were then compared to those of modern humans, Neanderthals, gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans. This is what the study determined A. afarensis And A. sediba It is possible that their anatomy meant they were able to manipulate objects in a similar way to modern humans. The attachment features are located on the hand bones of A. africanusHowever, it was found to be a mix of human and ape-like characteristics. Read the original scientific article about this research in Journal of Human Evolution. Further information on this A. sedibago to “The Human Mosaic.”