When We First Made Tools

About this film

The creation of stone tools by early hominins marks a significant milestone in human evolution and technological development. This documentary examines archaeological findings, including 3.3-million-year-old tools from Lomekwi 3 in Kenya, and explores the implications of tool-making on cognitive and social evolution. Insights from experts such as Fabrizio De Rossi and Julio Lacerda highlight the importance of these artifacts in understanding the behaviors and capabilities of our ancestors. The film is produced for PBS Digital Studios, emphasizing the role of technology in shaping human history.

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Tool

A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task, and proto-typically refers to solid hand-operated non-biological objects with a single broad purpose that lack multiple functions, unlike machines or computers. Although human beings are proportionally most active in using and making tools in the animal kingdom, as use of stone tools dates back hundreds of millennia, and also in using tools to make other tools, many animals have demonstrated tool use in both instances.

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Archaeology

Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. It is usually considered an independent academic discipline, but may also be classified as part of anthropology, history or geography. The discipline involves surveying, excavation, and eventually analysis of data collected, to learn more about the past. In broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research.

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Evolution

Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as genetic drift and natural selection act on genetic variation, resulting in certain characteristics becoming more or less common within a population over successive generations. The process of evolution has given rise to biodiversity at every level of biological organisation.

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Historical figure

A historical figure is a significant person in history, who may have made important cultural, social, political, scientific or technological impacts on humanity. They are often widely known for their achievements, whether favourably or unfavourably.

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Dinosaur

Dinosaurs are a diverse group of warmblooded reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They existed through most of the Mesozoic era, first appearing early in the Triassic period. They became the dominant terrestrial vertebrates after the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event 201.3 mya and their dominance continued throughout the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossil record shows that birds are feathered dinosaurs, having evolved from earlier theropods during the Late Jurassic epoch, and are the only dinosaur lineage known to have survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event approximately 66 mya. Dinosaurs can therefore be divided into avian dinosaurs—birds—and the extinct non-avian dinosaurs, which are all dinosaurs other than birds.

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Dinos

In the typology of ancient Greek pottery, the dinos is a mixing bowl or cauldron. Dinos means 'drinking cup', but in modern typology is used for the same shape as a lebes, that is, a bowl with a spherical body, often accompanied by a wheel-turned stand. It has no handles and no feet. Literary references to such vessels are known from the Iliad, and examples have been found from between the seventh and fifth centuries BCE. Ancient artists who painted dinoi include the Dinos Painter, the Gorgon Painter, the Berlin Painter, Exekias and Sophilos.

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