Recent claims about early tool making and use have proved controversial (1⇓⇓–4). In PNAS, Braun et al. (5) report Oldowan artifacts from Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia. The claimed minimum age of 2.581 Ma for these artifacts would, even if accurate, imply a marginally older beginning for the Oldowan than the ∼2.58 Ma previously established ∼35 km to the west at Gona (6). While the Ledi-Geraru assemblage is a welcome addition to the limited number of early Oldowan occurrences, its bearing on our current understanding of the earliest tools and their makers (6, 7) is contingent on the accuracy of the inferred … ↵1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: yonatan.sahle{at}ifu.uni-tuebingen.de.

URL: https://www.pnas.org/content/116/41/20259

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1911658116

Short Title: Proc Natl Acad Sci USA

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