What were ancient stone tools used for?
A long term study has been examining how humans and their ancestors used stone tools, particularly for processing plants and preparing plant foods in different parts of the world. Australian seed grinding stones, about 30,000 years old were discovered at Cuddie Springs. Earlier plant grinding stones, over 200,000 years old, were identified from Sudan in north Africa. Traces of use have also been identified on 800,000 year old tools of Homo erectus and other hominid artefacts from Indonesia. Usewear and plant residues on stone tools permit detailed reconstruction of plant species first cultivated in the Papua New Guinea Highlands about 10,000 years ago.
