Tools

Several of the newly identified stone tools – unearthed from a museum collection.

A Fresh Look at These Stone Tools Reveals a New Chapter of Ancient Chinese History

Archaeologists thought these ancient tools, 80,000 years old at least, were brought to China by migrants—but now it appears they were invented locally

Stone tools discovered in Belize's Paynes Creek Salt Works

How Salty Fish Helped the Maya of Belize Bolster Their Economy

A new study suggests that workshops on the coast of Belize were not only producing salt, but also preserving animal meat

People Braved Australia's Western Desert Roughly 45,000 Years Ago

Newly dated artifacts from a rock shelter show humans were in the inhospitable Little Sandy Desert at least 10,000 years earlier than previously thought

Scientists analyzed 3D scans of entheses, or scars left at points where muscle attaches to bone

Neanderthals Used Their Hands for Precision, Not Just Power

Researchers suggest that the early human ancestors’ hand usage places them in line with tailors, painters rather than brute-force laborers

Tools Offer More Complex, Cooperative Picture of Easter Island Society

Basalt axes from one quarry area indicate cooperation between clans, not warfare over resources as previously hypothesized

Early humans made stone tools out of whichever rocks happened to be lying nearby, ignoring quality in favor of convenience

Laziness May Have Contributed to the Decline of Homo Erectus

Researchers suggest early humans pursued “least-effort strategies” when crafting tools, collecting resources

People Were Messing Around In Texas at Least 2,500 Years Earlier Than Previously Thought

Pre-Clovis projectile points and other artifacts at the Gault Site date back 16,000 years ago or even earlier

Study Suggests Neanderthals Sparked Their Own Fire

Hand-axe wear suggests our hominid cousins used flint and pyrite to unleash Prometheus' gift

Oldest Stone Tools Outside Africa Unearthed in China

Six artifacts date to 2.1 million years ago, potentially rewriting what we know about which species led the migration out of Africa

Panga ya Saidi

People Lived in This Cave for 78,000 Years

Excavations in Panga ya Saidi suggest technological and cultural change came slowly over time and show early humans weren't reliant on coastal resources

A new study suggests Shigir Idol, a carved wooden sculpture first discovered in the late 1890s, is more than 11,000 years old.

Wooden Statue Found in Late 1890s Likely Dates Back More Than 11,000 Years

New research posits it is one of the oldest-known examples of monumental art

These black- and red-colored pigments reveal that humans were using pigments, potentially to communicate status or identity, by around 300,000 years ago.

Colored Pigments and Complex Tools Suggest Humans Were Trading 100,000 Years Earlier Than Previously Believed

Transformations in climate and landscape may have spurred these key technological innovations

Stone Tool Discovery in India Raises Questions About Spread of Ancient Technology

The tools may suggest that humans dispersed from Africa earlier than previously believed. But not all experts agree

Not a birdbrain.

Like Humans and Apes, Ravens Can Plan for the Future

The birds were able to choose and hold onto a tool that could unlock an eventual reward

A 19th-century ranch house was the last place National Park Service workers expected to find a cache of Native American tools.

Prehistoric Native American Site Discovered Off the California Coast

Sophisticated stone tools date back thousands of years

Smithsonian researchers found that otters that use tools aren't closely related.

Unlike Dolphins, Sea Otters That Use Tools Are Not Closely Related

Rock-bashing in otters is a very old behavior

Astrolabes were astronomical calculating devices that did everything from tell the time to map the stars. This 16th century planispherical astrolabe stems from Morocco.

The Story of the Astrolabe, the Original Smartphone

Prosperous times likely paved the way for this multifunctional device, conceptual ancestor to the iPhone 7

Europe's Oldest Polished Axe Found in Ireland

The 9,000-year-old tool shows that Mesolithic people had sophisticated burial rituals and even cremated their dead

Wild capuchins make stone tools, but don't know how to use them.

Wild Monkeys Unintentionally Make Stone Age Tools, But Don't See the Point

Scientists observe a “unique” human behavior in wild animals

Neil Puckett, a Texas A&M University graduate student, surfaces with the limb bone of a juvenile mastodon.

Underwater Finds Reveal Humans’ Long Presence in North America

Stone tools and mastodon remains help show that the Americas were peopled more than 14,000 years ago

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