Early African woodworking and tool use at the transition to modern humans

我们对南非阿曼兹泉（Amanzi Springs）的考古发掘和初步定年显示，该遗址位于51.5万至16.3万年前，涵盖了导致我们物种智人起源的关键时期。阿曼兹以前所未有的分辨率记录了我们的祖先在这一转变中所取得的技术飞跃。在约40万年前，这包括最古老的木工和工具使用的证据，以及> 163，000年前最古老的热处理岩石制造石器。该遗址的有机保护意味着我们可以重建不断变化的环境，与海平面变化和春季活动有关，在我们祖先进化的这一时期，详细程度以前是不可能的

Our archaeological excavations and preliminary dating of Amanzi Springs (South Africa) to between 515,000 and 163,000 years ago shows that the site covers a critical time period that led to the origins of our species, Homo sapiens. Amanzi documents, in never before seen resolution, the technological leaps that our ancestors made during this transition. At ~400,000 years ago this includes the oldest evidence for woodworking and tool use and >163,000 years ago the oldest heat treatment of rock to make stone tools. The organic preservation at the site means that we can reconstruct changing environment, linked to sea level changes and spring activity, for this period in the evolution of our ancestors at a level of detail not previously possible