Emma M Finestone
Biographic Data
| ID | 202847 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Emma M Finestone |
| GIVEN NAMES | Emma M |
| FAMILY NAME | Finestone |
| SIGNATURE | FINESTONE E M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9035-6139 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 35 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2018 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Early Stone Tool Technology in Hominin Evolution
The appearance of the first stone artifacts in the archaeological record marked a significant behavioral shift in hominin evolution. Historically, early tools were attributed exclusively to toolmakers belonging to the genus Homo . However, subsequent discoveries have pushed back the origin of stone tools to precede the appearance of early Homo in the fossil record. The chronology and distribution of early archaeological sites suggest that cumulat…
What can lithics tell us about hominin technology's ‘primordial soup’? An origin of stone knapping via the emulation of Mother Nature
The use of stone hammers to produce sharp stone flakes—knapping—is thought to represent a significant stage in hominin technological evolution because it facilitated the exploitation of novel resources, including meat obtained from medium‐to‐large‐sized vertebrates. The invention of knapping may have occurred via an additive (i.e., cumulative) process that combined several innovative stages. Here, we propose that one of these stages was the homin…
Qualitative and Quantitative Use-Wear Analysis of Percussive Stone Tools from Nyayanga (Homa Peninsula, Kenya)
This study presents a comprehensive examination of the function of 26 percussive stone tools (PSTs) from Nyayanga, an Oldowan site located on the Homa Peninsula in southwestern Kenya. These artifacts, dating between 3.032 to 2.581 million years ago, were found together with hominin remains and animal fossils with stone tool butchery damage. To determine the function of the PSTs, we adopted a multiscale approach that combines qualitative use-wear …
The First Million Years of Technology: The Lomekwian and the Early Oldowan
During the course of human evolution, lithic technology became a critical element of hominin foraging ecology and a contributor to feedback loops selecting for increasingly sophisticated tool use, cognition, and language. Here we review the first million years of technology, from 3.3 million years ago (Ma) to 2.3 Ma. This time interval includes the two oldest archaeological industries (the Lomekwian and the early Oldowan) known exclusively from A…
New Oldowan locality Sare-Abururu (ca. 1.7 Ma) provides evidence of diverse hominin behaviors on the Homa Peninsula, Kenya
The Homa Peninsula, in southwestern Kenya, continues to yield insights into Oldowan hominin landscape behaviors. The Late Pliocene locality of Nyayanga (∼3-2.6 Ma) preserves some of the oldest Oldowan tools. At the Early Pleistocene locality of Kanjera South (∼2 Ma) toolmakers procured a diversity of raw materials from over 10 km away and strategically reduced them in a grassland-dominated ecosystem. Here, we report findings from Sare-Abururu, a …
Expanded geographic distribution and dietary strategies of the earliest Oldowan hominins and Paranthropus
The oldest Oldowan tool sites, from around 2.6 million years ago, have previously been confined to Ethiopia’s Afar Triangle. We describe sites at Nyayanga, Kenya, dated to 3.032 to 2.581 million years ago and expand this distribution by over 1300 kilometers. Furthermore, we found two hippopotamid butchery sites associated with mosaic vegetation and a C 4 grazer–dominated fauna. Tool flaking proficiency was comparable with that of younger Oldowan …
Ecological perspectives on technological diversity at Kanjera South
Building ED-XRF datasets for sourcing rhyolite and quartzite artifacts: A case study on the Homa Peninsula, Kenya
Archeological Sites from 2.6–2.0 Ma: Toward a Deeper Understanding of the Early Oldowan
Great ape walking kinematics: Implications for hominoid evolution
OBJECTIVES: Great apes provide a point of reference for understanding the evolution of locomotion in hominoids and early hominins. We assessed (1) the extent to which great apes use diagonal sequence, diagonal couplet gaits, like other primates, (2) the extent to which gait and posture vary across great apes, and (3) the role of body mass and limb proportions on ape quadrupedal kinematics. METHODS: High-speed digital video of zoo-housed bonobos (…
Great ape walking kinematics: Implications for hominoid evolution
OBJECTIVES: Great apes provide a point of reference for understanding the evolution of locomotion in hominoids and early hominins. We assessed (1) the extent to which great apes use diagonal sequence, diagonal couplet gaits, like other primates, (2) the extent to which gait and posture vary across great apes, and (3) the role of body mass and limb proportions on ape quadrupedal kinematics. METHODS: High-speed digital video of zoo-housed bonobos (…
Ecological perspectives on technological diversity at Kanjera South
New Oldowan locality Sare-Abururu (ca. 1.7 Ma) provides evidence of diverse hominin behaviors on the Homa Peninsula, Kenya
The Homa Peninsula, in southwestern Kenya, continues to yield insights into Oldowan hominin landscape behaviors. The Late Pliocene locality of Nyayanga (∼3-2.6 Ma) preserves some of the oldest Oldowan tools. At the Early Pleistocene locality of Kanjera South (∼2 Ma) toolmakers procured a diversity of raw materials from over 10 km away and strategically reduced them in a grassland-dominated ecosystem. Here, we report findings from Sare-Abururu, a …
Qualitative and Quantitative Use-Wear Analysis of Percussive Stone Tools from Nyayanga (Homa Peninsula, Kenya)
This study presents a comprehensive examination of the function of 26 percussive stone tools (PSTs) from Nyayanga, an Oldowan site located on the Homa Peninsula in southwestern Kenya. These artifacts, dating between 3.032 to 2.581 million years ago, were found together with hominin remains and animal fossils with stone tool butchery damage. To determine the function of the PSTs, we adopted a multiscale approach that combines qualitative use-wear …
Archeological Sites from 2.6–2.0 Ma: Toward a Deeper Understanding of the Early Oldowan
Great ape walking kinematics: Implications for hominoid evolution
OBJECTIVES: Great apes provide a point of reference for understanding the evolution of locomotion in hominoids and early hominins. We assessed (1) the extent to which great apes use diagonal sequence, diagonal couplet gaits, like other primates, (2) the extent to which gait and posture vary across great apes, and (3) the role of body mass and limb proportions on ape quadrupedal kinematics. METHODS: High-speed digital video of zoo-housed bonobos (…
Building ED-XRF datasets for sourcing rhyolite and quartzite artifacts: A case study on the Homa Peninsula, Kenya
Ecological perspectives on technological diversity at Kanjera South
Expanded geographic distribution and dietary strategies of the earliest Oldowan hominins and Paranthropus
The oldest Oldowan tool sites, from around 2.6 million years ago, have previously been confined to Ethiopia’s Afar Triangle. We describe sites at Nyayanga, Kenya, dated to 3.032 to 2.581 million years ago and expand this distribution by over 1300 kilometers. Furthermore, we found two hippopotamid butchery sites associated with mosaic vegetation and a C 4 grazer–dominated fauna. Tool flaking proficiency was comparable with that of younger Oldowan …
New Oldowan locality Sare-Abururu (ca. 1.7 Ma) provides evidence of diverse hominin behaviors on the Homa Peninsula, Kenya
The Homa Peninsula, in southwestern Kenya, continues to yield insights into Oldowan hominin landscape behaviors. The Late Pliocene locality of Nyayanga (∼3-2.6 Ma) preserves some of the oldest Oldowan tools. At the Early Pleistocene locality of Kanjera South (∼2 Ma) toolmakers procured a diversity of raw materials from over 10 km away and strategically reduced them in a grassland-dominated ecosystem. Here, we report findings from Sare-Abururu, a …
Early Stone Tool Technology in Hominin Evolution
The appearance of the first stone artifacts in the archaeological record marked a significant behavioral shift in hominin evolution. Historically, early tools were attributed exclusively to toolmakers belonging to the genus Homo . However, subsequent discoveries have pushed back the origin of stone tools to precede the appearance of early Homo in the fossil record. The chronology and distribution of early archaeological sites suggest that cumulat…
What can lithics tell us about hominin technology's ‘primordial soup’? An origin of stone knapping via the emulation of Mother Nature
The use of stone hammers to produce sharp stone flakes—knapping—is thought to represent a significant stage in hominin technological evolution because it facilitated the exploitation of novel resources, including meat obtained from medium‐to‐large‐sized vertebrates. The invention of knapping may have occurred via an additive (i.e., cumulative) process that combined several innovative stages. Here, we propose that one of these stages was the homin…
Qualitative and Quantitative Use-Wear Analysis of Percussive Stone Tools from Nyayanga (Homa Peninsula, Kenya)
This study presents a comprehensive examination of the function of 26 percussive stone tools (PSTs) from Nyayanga, an Oldowan site located on the Homa Peninsula in southwestern Kenya. These artifacts, dating between 3.032 to 2.581 million years ago, were found together with hominin remains and animal fossils with stone tool butchery damage. To determine the function of the PSTs, we adopted a multiscale approach that combines qualitative use-wear …
The First Million Years of Technology: The Lomekwian and the Early Oldowan
During the course of human evolution, lithic technology became a critical element of hominin foraging ecology and a contributor to feedback loops selecting for increasingly sophisticated tool use, cognition, and language. Here we review the first million years of technology, from 3.3 million years ago (Ma) to 2.3 Ma. This time interval includes the two oldest archaeological industries (the Lomekwian and the early Oldowan) known exclusively from A…
Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (8 works) · Archaeology (7 works) · Geography (7 works) · Biology (5 works) · Geology (5 works) · Paleontology (5 works) · Ecology (4 works) · Geology (4 works) · Paleontology (4 works) · Primate Behavior and Ecology (4 works)