Ancient human relatives moved diverse stones over substantial distances, researchers report, revealing a surprisingly high degree of forward planning 600,000 years earlier than experts previously thought possible.
In a study published Friday (Aug. 15) in the journal Science Advances, a team of researchers pored over 401 stone tools from the archaeological site of Nyayanga in Kenya, dated to 3 million to 2.6 million years ago. The tools were made in the earliest known style called Oldowan, which involved chipping flakes off one stone using another stone to make a basic tool. But the kinds of rocks used were surprising — most of them came from locations over 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) away.
