1,900,000 bce

Anthropology

A new species of Homo arises in Africa. Some anthropologists call this species Homo ergaster ("work man"), while others feel that it is the earliest manifestation of Homo erectus ("erect man"). See also 2,000,000 bce Anthropology; 1,000,000 bce Anthropology.

Some archaeological sites in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania from around this time until about 1,600,000 bp are thought by some to be living floors -- that is, home bases or campsites; at these sites, tools and hominid remains seem to be concentrated; other paleoanthropologists believe that such concentrations are caused by agencies such as river currents washing tools from various sites to a single location, and not from use as home bases. See also 400,000 bce Construction.

Changes in physiology of fossils from this time suggest that humans' ancestors in East Africa have discovered how to use fire to cook tubers, an improved food source over soft fruits, according to Richard Wrangham of Harvard. See also 24,000 bce Food & agriculture.

The oldest known stone tool industry is characterized by remains that start about this time at the Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania, accounting for the name Oldowan; the choppers and scrapers are simple chips of stone and are sometimes called pebble tools; some Oldowan-type industries date from an earlier time, especially in Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Malawi. See also 1,500,000 bce Tools.