Lomekwian stone flakes
Lascas de Lomekwi (industria lomekwiense)
- Date
- c. 3.3 Ma · confidence medium
- Place
- Lomekwi 3, western shore of Lake Turkana, Kenya
- Credited to
- Kenyanthropus platyops or Australopithecus afarensis (pre-Homo hominins)
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Large cores, flakes and anvils knapped by percussion on an anvil, 700,000 years before the genus Homo. They show that intentional stone knapping predates our genus.
Authorship uncertain: no associated human remains. Some authors question the stratigraphic integrity of the site. The cut marks at Dikika (3.4 Ma) would support an even earlier use of cutting edges.
What it led to
- Systematic use of cutting edges to access meat, marrow and tough plant matter
- Cognitive selection of raw materials and planning of blows
- Technological basis from which the Oldowan industry derives
Made possible
- Oldowan industry (Mode 1 choppers and flakes)c. 2.6 Ma
- Oldowan industry (Mode 1 choppers and flakes)