Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – The archaeological findings made within Nyayang‘s position not only push the boundaries of our knowledge but also raise entirely new questions about the minds of our earliest ancestors.
Over 2.6 million years ago in southwestern Kenya, ancient humans used the Oldowan toolkit to pound plants and carve large animals like hippopotamuses.
Oldowan stone tools made from a variety of raw materials sourced more than 6 miles away from where they were found in southwestern Kenya. E.M Finestone, J.S. Oliver, Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project
Stone artifacts unearthed 2.6 million years ago at the Nyayang site are not primitive tools.
However, the most interesting thing about the Nyayanga finds is where the raw material came from. More than 70% of the tools were made of stones brought from a distance of more than 15 kilometers, while – according to earlier evidence – the stone materials were transported from distant places located about three kilometers. Furthermore, our human relatives deliberately focused on selecting more durable raw materials, such as Bukoban quartzite, Nyanzian rhyolite, vein quartz, and Oyugis granite, than soft rocks available locally.
Researchers found that more than half of the discovered objects came from distant sources. In fact, the hominins at Nyayanga appear to have consistently procured material from over six miles away, and the low degree of processing suggests that these transport activities were deliberate, so they could use them in an almost unprocessed form.
Nyayanga excavation site in July 2025. Tan and reddish-brown sediments are more than 2.6-million-year-old deposits where fossils and Oldowan tools are found. T.W. Plummer, Homa Peninsula Paleoanthropology Project
The capability to transport resources marks a significant milestone in human evolution. As noted by said Rick Potts, the senior author of the study and the National Museum of Natural History’s Peter Buck Chair of Human Origins, this ability demonstrates ancient hominins’ capacity for forward planning and evaluating the necessities for food processing.
It also highlights their skill in mentally mapping their environment and recalling locations rich in high-quality rocks. Potts further explains that the mental maps of the earliest known hominins who consistently crafted stone tools extended well beyond their immediate vicinity, reaching distances of several miles.
“The knowledge and intent to bring stone material to rich food sources was apparently an integral part of toolmaking behavior at the outset of the Oldowan,” Potts added.
The question of who the toolmakers were in ancient times is intriguing. but we don’t know much about them.
At Nyayanga, ancient hominins crafted stones into flakes and cores, yet their exact identity remains uncertain. At the oldest hippo butchery site, researchers found a molar tooth from a hominin belonging to the genus Paranthropus—known for their robust skulls and teeth suited for grinding tough materials. Another Paranthropus tooth was discovered nearby on the same geological layer. The presence of these teeth alongside Oldowan stone tools suggests that Paranthropus may have used such tools similarly to their evolutionary relatives in the genus Homo.
However, this hypothesis is not conclusive, as long as rresearchers have not discovered a hominin fossil actually holding a tool, it’s impossible to definitively attribute specific stone tool assemblages to particular species. For now, research at Nyayanga indicates that several groups of hominins might have been involved in early stone tool production than previously believed.
Additionaly, artifacts at Nyayanga highlight how ancient humans transported raw materials to drive technological advancements over millions of years.
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Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Staff Writer
