Tool Making

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Human Uniqueness Compared to "Great Apes": 
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Humans are elaborate tool makers. All peoples fashion pounders, containers, cutters, levers, string (tying materials), and weapons. The drill is very widespread if not universal. Humans make permanent tools and make tools to make tools. The tools are often, if not always, made in stylized patterns that allow the tools of one people or group or individual to be readily distinguished from others. Tool making is of very great antiquity, present in almost all sites where there are archaeological remains of humans and present alongside the remains of earlier hominins. Evidence for the use of tools (cut marks on bones) dates to 2,500k BP. Dyed fiber for string dates to 30k BP. Tool making occurs in other species, including nonhuman primates, but usually on an as-needed basis and without stylization.

Timing

Timing of appearance of the difference in the Hominin Lineage as a defined date or a lineage separation event. The point in time associated with lineage separation events may change in the future as the scientific community agrees upon better time estimates. Lineage separation events are defined in 2017 as:

  • the Last Common Ancestor (LCA) of humans and old world monkeys was 25,000 - 30,000 thousand (25 - 30 million) years ago
  • the Last Common Ancestor (LCA) of humans and chimpanzees was 6,000 - 8,000 thousand (6 - 8 million) years ago
  • the emergence of the genus Homo was 2,000 thousand (2 million) years ago
  • the Last Common Ancestor (LCA) of humans and neanderthals was 500 thousand years ago
  • the common ancestor of modern humans was 100 - 300 thousand years ago

Probable Appearance: 
2,500 thousand years ago
Definite Appearance: 
2,000 thousand years ago

References

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