The following table attempts to list the oldest-known Paleolithic and Paleo-Indian sites where hominin tools have been found. It includes sites where compelling evidence of hominin tool use has been found, even if no actual tools have been found.
Stone tools preserve more readily than tools of many other materials, making them more abundant than tools made from other materials. In some cases, it may be possible that these stone tools were once accompanied by, or even preceded by non-stone tools that have been lost to time.
Similarly, hard materials like bone or shell are more likely than softer materials to leave discernible cut marks on bone. Bamboo has been shown to leave cut marks on bone that are harder to see than cut marks by stone, so the earliest evidence of tool use that is likely to be found is often cut marks made on bone by stone or shell tools. Therefore, it should not be assumed that the items on this list represent the earliest uses of tools in each area, but rather the earliest uses of tools that have been found.
Because this list focuses on only the earliest evidence of tools, and due to bias towards evidence of stone tools because of its increased likelihood of preservation, this page necessarily omits mention of many significant ancient tools made from non-stone materials because those cases are not among the earliest found within their geographic area. See Timeline of historic inventions for other noteworthy tools and inventions.
This list excludes tools and tool use attributed to non-hominin species. This list is non-exhaustive and only lists the 6 or fewer top candidates for oldest tool site within each significant geographic area.
Geographic areas covered Africa East Africa North Africa Southern Africa West Africa Americas North America South America Asia East Asia Island Southeast Asia - Islands between Sunda Shelf and Sahul, not connected to either one during the Last Glacial Maximum South Asia Sunda Shelf West Asia Europe Eastern Europe Western Europe Sahul - Australia and New Guinea Indian Ocean
For much of the 20th century, a "Clovis first" idea dominated American archeology. Many sites with dates too old to be compatible with "Clovis first" were published, but these were mostly dismissed under the hegemony of "Clovis first." Meanwhile, some indigenous archeologists insisted throughout the "Clovis first" era that the peopling of the Americas was much older than Clovis. Recent publications with very strong evidence for pre-Clovis sites seem to have ended the hegemony of "Clovis first."
List of tools
NameDate(Ma)LocationGeographicareaSpeciesTypeNotesDikika3.39Hadar, EthiopiaEast AfricaA. afarensis (presumed)Cut marks on boneControversialLomekwi 33.3West Turkana, KenyaEast AfricaStone toolsMode 0 or Pre-Mode 1 stone tools are named after this site - see Stone toolNyayanga3.0–2.6Nyayanga, KenyaEast AfricaParanthropus (associated)Hominin remains, stone toolsSome, e.g. Kathy Shick, have suggested that the user of the tools may have been early Homo butchering Paranthropus as food. Earliest known Oldowan toolsMasol2.9–2.7Chandigarh, IndiaSouth AsiaCut marks on boneControversialBokol Dora 1 (BD 1)2.6Ledi-Geraru, EthiopiaEast AfricaStone toolsGona2.6EthiopiaEast Africa Stone toolsBouri Hatayae layer2.5EthiopiaEast AfricaCut marks and percussion marks on boneLonggupo2.48Longgupo, southwest ChinaEast AsiaStone tools and dental fragmentsControversial. Russell L. Ciochon has retracted the attribution to Homo and casts doubt on the dates of the tools: "Although I no longer consider the Longgupo jaw to be human, the two stone tools still stand as described. They must have been more recent additions to the site." Ciochon provides no direct evidence for his conclusion that the tools were "more recent additions." See Wushan ManAïn Boucherit2.4AlgeriaNorth AfricaStone toolsXihoudu2.4Shanxi Province, ChinaEast AsiaStone toolsControversial裴文中．中国猿人究竟是否最原始的"人"——答吴汝康、贾兰坡二先生和其他同志[J]．新建设, 1962, (4): 28－41.张森水．关于西侯度的问题[J].人类学学报，1998，17（2）：81－93.卫奇.《西侯度》石制品之浅见[J].人类学学报．2000，19(2)：85－96.陈哲英．关 《西侯度》存在的问题[J].龙骨坡史前文化志，2000, 2（2）：82－86.Renzidong (Renzi Cave)2.4–2.0Renzidong, southeast ChinaEast AsiaStone toolsControversialShangchen2.1Shaanxi, ChinaEast AsiaStone tools and much later hominin remains (H. erectus)ControversialDrimolen Main Quarry (DMQ)2South AfricaSouthern AfricaH. erectus,P. robustus (associated)Hominin remains, stone tools, bone toolsMelka Kunture1.95EthiopiaEast AfricaStone toolsPossibly earliest known Acheulean tools, or "proto-Acheulean" or late Oldowan tools.Riwat1.9Riwat, PakistanSouth AsiaStone toolsControversial - the tools were found in a "secondary context"Aïn al Fil1.8El Kowm, SyriaWest AsiaStone toolsDmanisi1.8Dmanisi, GeorgiaWest AsiaH. erectus (associated)Hominin remains, stone tools, butcherySwartkrans1.8South AfricaSouthern AfricaHomo, P. robustus (associated)Hominin remains, bone toolsSterkfontein StW 531.8–1.5South AfricaSouthern AfricaCut marks on hominin boneControversialWest Turkana1.76KenyaEast AfricaStone toolsEarliest known Acheulean toolsSangiran1.6–1.5Java, IndonesiaSunda ShelfH. erectus (associated)Hominin remains, shell tool cut marks on boneSocotra Island2.5–1.4Socotra IslandIndian OceanH. erectus (presumed)Stone toolsOldowan stone tools. May very well be earliest evidence of seafaring. Kozarnika, Dimovo Municipality1.4-1.6BulgariaEastern EuropeH. erectus (associated)Stone tools, hominin remains, cut marks on bonePirro Nord1.3-1.6ItalyWestern EuropeStone toolsSterkfontein Member 51.1-1.6South AfricaSouthern AfricaStone tools, Homo and Paranthropus remainsBarranco León1.2-1.4SpainWestern EuropeStone tools, animal bones, bone flakesBois de Riquet US 21.2FranceWestern EuropeStone toolsWolo Sege, So'a Basin1Flores, IndonesiaIsland Southeast AsiaH. floresiensis (presumed)Stone toolsHappisburgh0.9–0.7Great BritainWestern EuropeStone toolsKalinga site0.7Luzon, PhilippinesIsland Southeast AsiaH. luzonensis (presumed)Stone tools, cut marks on boneSee NesorhinusMata Menge, So'a Basin0.7Flores, IndonesiaIsland Southeast AsiaH. floresiensis (presumed)Stone toolsOunjougou0.5–0.15MaliWest AfricaStone toolsTalepu0.2SulawesiIsland Southeast AsiaStone toolsCerutti Mastodon site0.13CaliforniaNorth AmericaCobbles, percussion marks on bonesControversialWarratyi Rockshelter0.049South AustraliaSahulH. sapiens (presumed)Stone and bone tools, numerous animal remainsCarpenter's Gap Shelter 10.049–0.044Western AustraliaSahulH. sapiens (presumed)Ground stone axe flakePedra Furada0.048–0.023BrazilSouth AmericaH. sapiens (presumed)Stone toolsControversialTopper site0.05–0.016South Carolina, USANorth AmericaH. sapiens (presumed)Stone toolsControversialHartley Mammoth Site0.037New MexicoNorth AmericaButchered bonesControversialArroyo del Viscaino0.03UruguaySouth AmericaCut marks on boneControversialChiquihuite cave0.03MexicoNorth AmericaH. sapiens (presumed)Stone tools, animal bones, charcoalControversialSanta Elina Shelter0.027BrazilSouth AmericaStone tools, animal bonesControversialCactus Hill0.018Virginia, USANorth AmericaH. sapiens (presumed)Stone toolsControversialRimrock Draw Rockshelter0.018–0.017Oregon, USANorth AmericaH. sapiens (presumed)Stone tools, animal bonesMonte Verde I0.018–0.014ChileSouth AmericaH. sapiens (presumed)Stone tools, bone fragments, charcoalArroyo Seco 20.014ArgentinaSouth AmericaH. sapiens (presumed)Stone tools, cut marks on bone
See also Hominini List of human evolution fossils Stone Age Stone tool Timeline of historic inventions Tool use by non-humans
References