Collaborative research: early emergence of tool use

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Project Grant award under the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (CFDA 47.075) program provides $133,404 to fund a collaborative research project focused on investigating the early emergence of tool use in the human lineage. The funding supports research at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History to expand the geological, paleontological, archaeological and hominin records at a site dating between approximately 3 and 2.6 million years ago. The research team will undertake excavations, paleoenvironmental analysis, geochronology refinement, and surveys to develop a more comprehensive understanding of early hominin behavior and the origins of stone tool technology. This research holds global significance for elucidating the timing, context, and evolutionary trajectory of the earliest tool use, which represented a critical adaptive breakthrough for humanity. The award contributes to the education and training of graduate students, undergraduates, and interns, aligning with the NSF's objectives to advance scientific knowledge and promote STEM learning.

Abstract

The goal of this collaborative project is to understand the significance of tool technology in the human lineage. Humans are dependent on technology for their survival. IT is not clear when during the evolutionary history of humanity this reliance on technology developed. The emergence of the earliest tool industry appeared nearly three million years ago and marked a significant milestone in human evolution. The ability to make and use stone tools may have represented an adaptive breakthrough, enabling early toolmakers to exploit a wider range of foods resources and expand into diverse environments. However, many aspects surrounding the origin of lithic technology remain unknown, including the taxonomic identity of early toolmakers, what tools were used for, and how far back in time the technology extends. Moreover, the limited number of relevant sites makes IT difficult to assess the degree of technological, behavioral and ecological variability in the early archaeological record. Understanding the context, timing, and evolutionary trajectory of early tool use holds global significance. The project contributes to the education and training of graduate and undergraduate students and interns. This project focuses on a site that dates between approximately 3 and 2.6 million years ago. IT presents a unique opportunity to investigate the origins of tool technology. The research expands and refines the geological, paleontological, archaeological and hominin records at the site. The research team works to constrain the estimated age, expand the sample of fossils and stone tools, and undertakes additional analyses to shed light on hominin behavior and paleoecology. The project involves excavating additional sites over a broader area, gathering data for paleoecological analysis and paleoenvironmental reconstruction, refining geochronology and stratigraphy and surveying neighboring localities. The findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of early hominin behavior at the dawn of stone tool technology. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.