Researched
Stone Tools
Knapped stones as knives and scrapers: the first deliberately made tools opened up meat, marrow and plant foods.
Open in the interactive tree →The oldest known stone tools come from Lomekwi (Kenya, ~3.3 million years, published 2015), before the genus Homo. The Oldowan toolkit (~2.6 million years) is widespread. Over hundreds of thousands of years, hand axes became ever finer blades, spear points and scrapers.
Unlocks
- Hunting Spears~300,000 years ago
- Clothing & the Sewing Needle~120,000-40,000 years ago
- Bow and Arrow~60,000 years ago
- Healing plants and trepanation~48,000 BC–5000 BC
- Farming (Neolithic Revolution)~9500 BC
- Wheel~3500 BC
- Sailing Ship~3200 BC
More in Foundations of Civilization · Prehistory
- Mastering Fire~1.8 million-400,000 years ago
- Hunting Spears~300,000 years ago
- Spoken Languageat least ~135,000 years ago?
- Clothing & the Sewing Needle~120,000-40,000 years ago
- Burial & Religion~100,000 years ago
- Art & Symbols~73,000 years ago
- Bow and Arrow~60,000 years ago
- Cordage & Weaving~30,000 years ago