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Stone Age discovery fuels mystery of who made early tools

This photo provided by the Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project shows the fossilized upper molar of a horse (Eurygnathohippus) found eroding from the Nyayanga site in southwestern Kenya. Archaeologists in Kenya have dug up some of the oldest stone tools ever found, dating back to around 2.9 million years ago, but who used them is a mystery, according to a  study published Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, in the journal Science. (J.S. Oliver/Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project via AP) This photo provided by the Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project shows a sabertooth cat (Megantereon) jaw and teeth fossil found at the Nyayanga site in southwestern Kenya. Archaeologists in Kenya have dug up some of the oldest stone tools ever found, dating back to around 2.9 million years ago, but who used them is a mystery, according to a  study published Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, in the journal Science. (J.S. Oliver/Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project via AP) This image provided by the Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project shows examples of an Oldowan percussive tool, core and flakes from the Nyayanga site in southwestern Kenya. From the top, a percussive tool found in 2016, an Oldowan core found in 2017, and Oldowan flakes found in 2016 and 2017. Archaeologists in Kenya have dug up some of the oldest stone tools ever found, dating back to around 2.9 million years ago, but who used them is a mystery, according to a  study published Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, in the journal Science. (T.W. Plummer, J.S. Oliver, E. M. Finestone/Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project via AP) In this photo provided by the Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project, members of the excavation team at the Nyayanga site in southwestern Kenya in July 2017, plotting and recording the position of fossils and artifacts, including the Paranthropus molar and fossils from a hippo skeleton. Archaeologists in Kenya have dug up some of the oldest stone tools ever found, dating back to around 2.9 million years ago, but who used them is a mystery, according to a  study published Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, in the journal Science. (T.W. Plummer/Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project via AP) This photo provided by the Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project shows excavation at the Nyayanga site in southwestern Kenya in July 2016. Archaeologists in Kenya have dug up some of the oldest stone tools ever found, dating back to around 2.9 million years ago, but who used them is a mystery, according to a  study published Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, in the journal Science. (J.S. Oliver/Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project via AP) This image provided by the Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project shows Paranthropus molars recovered from the Nyayanga site in southwestern Kenya. Left upper molar, top, was found on the surface at the site, and the left lower molar, bottom, was excavated. Archaeologists in Kenya have dug up some of the oldest stone tools ever found, dating back to around 2.9 million years ago, but who used them is a mystery, according to a  study published Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, in the journal Science. (S. E. Bailey/Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project via AP) This photo provided by the Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project shows a fossil hippo skeleton and associated Oldowan artifacts at the Nyayanga site in southwestern Kenya in July 2016. Archaeologists in Kenya have dug up some of the oldest stone tools ever found, dating back to around 2.9 million years ago, but who used them is a mystery, according to a  study published Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, in the journal Science. (T.W. Plummer/Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project via AP) This photo provided by the Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project shows an Oldowan flake at the Nyayanga site in southwestern Kenya in 2017. Archaeologists in Kenya have dug up some of the oldest stone tools ever found, dating back to around 2.9 million years ago, but who used them is a mystery, according to a  study published Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023, in the journal Science. (T.W. Plummer/Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project via AP)
Stone Age discovery fuels mystery of who made early tools