New fossils and artifacts show Homo erectus crafted a diverse toolkit
Hardly one-tool wonders, ancient hominids called Homo erectus relied on a toolkit that included relatively simple and more complex cutting devices, new discoveries suggest. Excavations at two Ethiopian sites located about 5.7 kilometers apart uncovered partial H. erectus braincases alongside two types of stone tools, paleoanthropologist Sileshi Semaw of the National Research Center on Human Evolution in Burgos, Spain, and colleagues report March 4 in Science Advances. Some artifacts featured a single sharpened edge, while others consisted of double-edged designs such as pear-shaped hand axes. One H. erectus fossil dates to about 1.26 million years ago, the other to between around 1.6 million and 1.5 million years ago. A Homo erectus braincase found near these double-edged stone implements (each shown from both sides) contributes to evidence that these now-extinct hominids created tools requiring considerable skill and planning as well as simple cutting instruments.Michael Rogers/Southern Conn. St. Univ. A Homo erectus braincase found near these double-edged stone implements (each shown from both sides) contributes...