Conny Waters – AncientPages.com – Early people within the Ethiopian highlands chosen particular rocks for tool-making functions way back to 1.5 million years.
Now, a global group of researchers focuses on this essential topic of this early society’s practices.
The character and suitability of stone instruments is investigated and evaluated by way of experimental exams on a protracted bone within the TraCEr laboratory (left) and (high proper). Backside proper: map with the placement of the research objects (Melka Wakena). © Pictures by Eduardo Paixão, map by Tegenu Gossa
This historic apply displays a complicated stage of cognitive means and environmental adaptation amongst these early hominins, indicating their capability for strategic useful resource utilization and technological innovation.
The findings of the group, as revealed within the journal PLOS ONE, supply invaluable insights into the cognitive capabilities and technological experience of our ancestors.
Melka Wakena is a big prehistoric website complicated located within the highlands of Ethiopia. It’s situated alongside the banks of the Wabe River, which additionally serves as a synthetic reservoir. It was there, on the Melka Wakena, scientists have uncovered a various array of instruments.
Experimental setup for the experiments on the rocks: SMARTTESTER® from Inotec AP GmbH, tailored by Walter Gneisinger within the TraCEr laboratory in MONREPOS. Copyright: Eduardo Paixão / Walter Gneisinger, : Paixão et al., 2025, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) © Eduardo Paixão / Walter Gneisinger / Paixão et al., 2025, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0
This discovery offers invaluable insights into the technological capabilities and cultural practices of early human societies on this area.
The query is: why had been sure rocks chosen over others? The reply is discovered within the distinctive properties of those stones. By using cutting-edge strategies, corresponding to robotic experiments and high-resolution imaging strategies, the group was capable of unravel this intriguing query.
The analyses revealed that the individuals of that period intentionally aimed to attain a stability between the performance and sturdiness of their instruments. This strategy highlights their understanding of the significance of making instruments that weren’t solely efficient in use but additionally long-lasting.
“Our analysis reveals that the fabric properties of stones – corresponding to suitability, high quality and sturdiness – had been essential for choice by early hominins,” explains research chief Dr. Eduardo Paixão from the College of Algarve, Portugal. He additionally added that these historic individuals understood their surroundings exactly and made aware selections.
The rocks had been then scanned (A) and examined below a microscope (B) to make the consequences of the impacts seen (B). The influence factors are additionally seen to the bare eye (D). © Eduardo Paixão / TraCEr / Paixão et al., 2025, PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0
Dr. João Marreiros, head of the TraCEr laboratory, moreover explains that “the aware collection of supplies influenced the floor modifications of the instruments. This reveals that the variations in archaeological finds are usually not random.”
In keeping with Prof. Erella Hovers and Dr. Tegenu Gossa, who led the excavations on the website of Melka Wakena, their analysis open up new views for understanding technological improvements in early human historical past.
This analysis is the results of a collaboration between the Interdisciplinary Heart for Archaeology and Evolution Human Behaviour (ICArEHB) of the College of Algarve, the TraCEr laboratory and IMPALA laboratory of LEIZA in Germany and the Hebrew College of Jerusalem.
The researchers used applied sciences developed within the Laboratory for Use-Tracing Analysis and Managed Experiments (TraCEr). This laboratory is a part of the Archaeological Analysis Centre and Museum for Human Behavioral Evolution MONREPOS, a facility of the Leibniz Centre for Archaeology (LEIZA).
Paper
Eduardo Paixão et al, Exploring early Acheulian technological decision-making: A managed experimental strategy to uncooked materials choice for percussive artifacts in Melka Wakena, Ethiopia, PLOS ONE (2025). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0314039
Written by Conny Waters – AncientPages.com Workers Author
