Palaeolithic era in Africa

Australopithecus

	1. Human life originated in Africa. Perhaps the most important initial step for the development of human culture was bipedalism (basis of technology and post-partum learned behaviors), which was taken by Australopithecus anamensis, c. 4 Myr. These anamensis fossils are from Lake Turkana, northern Kenya (National Museum of Kenya).
	2. Lake Turkana, in northern Kenya, is now a desert, but in 4 Myr it was covered by ancient Lake Lonyumum, and in the lush forests surrounding the rivers feeding the lake lived some of mankind's important hominid ancestors, including Australopithecus anamensis.
	3. From the Gona River artifact assemblage, Afar, Ethopia. This core is part of a collection of flakes, flake fragments, and cores which are argon dated to 2.60-2.52 myr bp, which are the world's oldest known tools (Rutgers University).

Homo

1. 2.33 Myr upper jaw of genus Homo (species uncertain) and choppers (bifacial river cobbles) from Hadar, Ethiopia. The tools resemble the more recent Oldowan H. habilis assemblages of Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethopia, the earliest of which are 1.9 Myr. This is the oldest Homo fossil known, and the earliest tools associated with hominid remains. Potasium argon dating method was used to date the associated volcanic ash.