ArticleNature communications2025
Early Oldowan technology thrived during Pliocene environmental change in the Turkana Basin, Kenya.
Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Peak pressure experienced by the human hand during suspension and vertical climbing.Biology open · 2026Article
- A regional-scale mobility model for the early hominin occupation of the Lower Omo Valley (Ethiopia).Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Parsimony, homology and the continuity of stone tool use in the hominin clade.Cambridge prisms. Extinction · 2026Article
- A continuous record of early human stone tool production.Cambridge prisms. Extinction · 2026Article
- What the eastern African stone tool evidence tells us about Plio-Pleistocene hominin extinctions.Cambridge prisms. Extinction · 2026Article
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30 authors.
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Abstract
Approximately 2.75 million years ago, the Turkana Basin in Kenya experienced environmental changes, including increased aridity and environmental variability. Namorotukunan is a newly discovered archaeological site which provides a window into hominin behavioral adaptations. This site lies within the upper Tulu Bor and lower Burgi members of the Koobi Fora Formation (Marsabit District, Kenya), presently a poorly understood time interval due to large-scale erosional events. Moreover, this locale represents the earliest known evidence of Oldowan technology within the Koobi Fora Formation. Oldowan sites, older than 2.6 million years ago, are rare, and these typically represent insights from narrow windows of time. In contrast, Namorotukunan provides evidence of tool-making behaviors spanning hundreds of thousands of years, offering a unique temporal perspective on technological stability. The site comprises three distinct archaeological horizons spanning approximately 300,000 years (2.75 - 2.44 Ma). Our findings suggest continuity in tool-making practices over time, with evidence of systematic selection of rock types. Geological descriptions and chronological data, provide robust age control and contextualize the archaeological finds. We employ multiple paleoenvironmental proxies, to reconstruct past ecological conditions. Our study highlights the interplay between environmental shifts and technological innovations, shedding light on pivotal factors in the trajectory of human evolution.
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