Oldowan stone tools
E546562
Oldowan stone tools are some of the earliest known human-made stone implements, characterized by simple flaking techniques used by early hominins for cutting and processing tasks.
Observed surface forms (2)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Oldowan | 1 |
| Oldowan-like industry | 1 |
Statements (56)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Paleolithic technology
ⓘ
archaeological culture ⓘ stone tool industry ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
Mode 1 technology
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Oldowan industry NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| approximateEndDate | about 1.2 million years ago ⓘ |
| archaeologicalSite |
Dmanisi, Georgia
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Gona, Ethiopia NERFINISHED ⓘ Hadar, Ethiopia NERFINISHED ⓘ Koobi Fora, Kenya NERFINISHED ⓘ Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania NERFINISHED ⓘ Ubeidiya, Israel NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
cognitive development in early Homo
ⓘ
early meat-eating behavior ⓘ expansion of hominins out of Africa ⓘ |
| characterizedBy |
irregular core shapes
ⓘ
large cutting edges ⓘ simple flaking techniques ⓘ unifacial flaking ⓘ |
| culturalSignificance | earliest widely accepted stone tool tradition ⓘ |
| earliestEvidenceDate | about 2.6 million years ago ⓘ |
| earliestEvidencePlace | Gona, Ethiopia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| evidenceType |
cut marks on animal bones
ⓘ
lithic artifacts ⓘ use-wear analysis ⓘ |
| followedBy | Acheulean stone tools ⓘ |
| geographicDistribution |
Africa
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Eurasia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| includes |
choppers
ⓘ
cores ⓘ flakes ⓘ pounded pieces ⓘ scrapers ⓘ |
| madeFrom |
basalt
ⓘ
chert ⓘ flint ⓘ local cobbles and pebbles ⓘ quartz ⓘ |
| manufacturingTechnique |
direct freehand percussion
ⓘ
hard hammer percussion ⓘ |
| namedAfter | Olduvai Gorge NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| precededBy | Lomekwian stone tools ⓘ |
| primaryFunction |
breaking bones for marrow
ⓘ
butchering animal carcasses ⓘ cutting meat ⓘ processing plant materials ⓘ |
| technologicalComplexity | relatively simple ⓘ |
| timePeriodEnd | early Middle Pleistocene ⓘ |
| timePeriodStart | Lower Paleolithic NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| toolMorphology |
limited standardization of shapes
ⓘ
simple, chunky forms ⓘ |
| usedBy |
Homo erectus
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Homo habilis NERFINISHED ⓘ Paranthropus species NERFINISHED ⓘ early Homo ⓘ early hominins ⓘ |
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Oldowan-like industry
this entity surface form:
Oldowan