Oldest known human tools reportedly found in Kenya

Oldest known human tools reportedly found in Kenya

LONDON (May 5, 1999 9:18 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - The oldest known human tools, half-a-million years older than those previously believed to be the most ancient, have been found in nothern Kenya, the periodical Nature reported Thursday.

It said French scientists had put the age of the stone tools at 2.34 million years, at a time when man's ancestors were not thought to have the mental and physical ability to fashion them.

The tools, probably used to cut up meat, were found with bones of fish, reptiles and mammals, as well as quantities of egg shells, indicating that the inhabitants of the region had a varied diet.

Large quantities of stone splinters were also found, enabling the researchers to see how the tools were made by striking them with other carefully chosen stones.

The remains were found west of Lake Turkana, across the lake from Koobi Fora, where tools previously thought to be the oldest were found.