19552 GW Mag 26_Final_singles - Flipbook - Page 17
“This site reveals an extraordinary story
of behavioral flexibility and cultural
continuity. What we’re seeing isn’t a
one-off innovation. It’s a long-standing
technological tradition.”
— DAVID R. BRAUN, PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY
The research, a collaborative effort with the National
Museums of Kenya and an international team of scientists,
was aided by students at the Koobi Fora Field School, which
offers on-the-ground paleoanthropology training experiences.
“It was field school students who found the first tools, and
it’s been field school students that have excavated the sites
for years,” Braun said.
Geologists collected sediment samples at Namorotukunan to
determine the age of the archaeological site.
Mastery Over Millennia
Early hominins engineered sharp-edged stone tools with
extraordinary consistency, showing advanced skill and
knowledge passed down across countless generations—a
steady legacy. The study revealed “three overlapping horizons,”
said CCAS postdoctoral scientist Niguss Baraki, PhD ’25, of
tool-making in the region—at 2.7 million years, 2.58 million
and 2.44 million—that all involve similar technology.
“Despite a 300,000-year time window—and even as the
environment shifts dramatically—early humans were making
these tools and their technology for making them remained
the same,” noted Baraki, one of several GW researchers
among the study’s authors including Joanne Munga, MPhil
’23, PhD ’24, and Kristen Tuosto, MPhil ’23, PhD ’25.
These toolmakers lived through radical environmental
transformation, as lush vegetation-rich fields turned into dry
bushlands. Braun theorized that adaptable technology may
have unlocked new diets, including meat and marrow,
turning hardship into a survival advantage.
“The development and appearance of early technology is
a lot more complex than we thought,” Braun said.
The decade-long research involved cutting-edge techniques,
including volcanic ash dating, magnetic signals frozen in
ancient sediments and microscopic plant remains.
The fieldwork was carried out under the guidance of the
National Museums of Kenya and with the support of the
Daasanach and Ileret communities. It was funded by
the National Science Foundation.
Postdoctoral scientist Niguss Baraki, PhD ’25, examined
stone artifacts at Namorotukunan.
GW Arts & Sciences | RESEARCH & LEARNING | 17
