Professor Amelia Villaseñor and her team uncovered 2.75 million-year-old stone tools in Kenya, showcasing long-term cultural consistency in tool use.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark — Professor Amelia Villaseñor, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Arkansas, was a part of a team that discovered 2.75 million-year-old stone tools in Kenya.

The team’s findings revealed profound consistency in the use of stone tool technology over time.

According to a release, the tools were recovered from three sedimentary layers of the Turkana Basin, which is located at a site on the northeast side of Lake Turkana. The stone tools demonstrate a tradition of continuous use over a course of 300,000 years.

Each of the distinct layers of the Turkana Basin has been dated to about 2.75, 2.60, and 2.44 million years ago.

“These layers each preserve different snapshots of environmental conditions from humid floodplains to arid riverine settings. This is the earliest Oldowan record yet reported from the Koobi Fora Formation and among the oldest worldwide,” the release said.

The study revealed the toolmakers preferred a raw material called chalcedony, a rare and tough, fine-grained stone, which points to deliberate material choice and practiced skill. Cut-marked bones, especially those dated to around 2.58 million years ago, link the flaked stones directly to butchery, marking an early shift toward animal foods.

George Washington University professor David R. Braun led the study and said, “The site reveals an extraordinary story of cultural continuity.”

The release explained that the story is the preservation of stone tools throughout the constant environmental and climate changes over the years.

Professor Villaseñor believes the story may very well be the key to helping us endure future environmental changes.