Stone cores, flakes, and anvils excavated at the Lomekwi 3 site near Lake Turkana in Kenya are about 3.3 million years old, roughly 700,000 years older than the earliest Oldowan tools. The discovery, published in Nature in 2015 by Sonia Harmand and colleagues, predates the earliest known fossils of the genus Homo.
The question, scope, and sources behind this Registry record.
Stone cores, flakes, and anvils excavated at the Lomekwi 3 site near Lake Turkana in Kenya are about 3.3 million years old, roughly 700,000 years older than the earliest Oldowan tools. The discovery, published in Nature in 2015 by Sonia Harmand and colleagues, predates the earliest known fossils of the genus Homo.
The age of the oldest known stone artifacts showing deliberate knapping by hominins, as determined by dating of the enclosing sediments.
Change a parameter to stress-test whether a proposed result is still inside the published specification. This is an audit aid, not a proof checker.
This record has no editable parameters. Read the formal question and assumptions before challenging it.
Current frontiers derived from accepted Claims.
An observed or demonstrated result; no opposing bound is implied.
The frontier is not sacred
Most progress starts with a disagreement that survives contact with evidence. If you can push the known lower bound up or pull the upper bound down, show us the work.
≥ when you have shown that at least this value is achievable.≤ when you have shown that anything above this value is impossible.No vibes. State the value, define the scope, and link the paper, proof, code, or reproduction that lets another person check it. Editors review every challenge before the public record changes.
Challenge this recordAssertions tied to evidence, attribution, and review.
The frontier as it changed over time.
Only accepted Claims matching the current specification contribute to the displayed bounds. Strict inequalities remain open; contradictory Claims require editorial review.
1 accepted Claim, with 1 linked evidence records.
Permanent ID limitsregistry.com/limits/LR-OLDEST-KNOWN-STONE-TOOLS
No active verified bounties are linked to this Limit.
View verified bounty tracker ↗No accepted machine-checked reproductions are recorded for this Limit.
Limits Registry. LR-OLDEST-KNOWN-STONE-TOOLS. Oldest known stone tools. 2026.