The Oldowan

Abstract

Archaeologists have reconstructed how the earliest Oldowan stone tools were created. They have also discovered that sometimes they were used for butchering animals. Howev­ er, the behavioural meaning of most early archaeological sites where these stone tools are found continues to elude archaeologists. This is partly because most research on Oldowan site modelling has focused on those sites where stone tools appear associated with faunal remains from multiple animals in thin horizons, mostly in one particular area: Olduvai Gorge. This article suggests that the Oldowan hominins showed a higher neuro-physiological complexity than modern chimpanzees as inferred from the way the crafted their tools. They also displayed a different adaptive behaviour by eating meat from a more diverse range of animal sizes and establishing referential places in which they car­ ried out specific activities.