this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2025
60 points (90.5% liked)

science

21035 readers
395 users here now

A community to post scientific articles, news, and civil discussion.

rule #1: be kind

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/40535172

“What's really interesting about humans and their ancestors is we're a technologically dependent species,” Finestone said. “We rely on tools. We're obligate tool users. We don't do it opportunistically or occasionally the way that a lot of other animals use tools. It's really become ingrained in our way of life, in our survival, and our foraging strategies across all people and all cultures.”

The study of early hominins (our cousins) and the many branches in the path of our evolution is easily my favorite area of science. This topic is evergreen, with new discoveries every year that frequently upend our understanding of the landscape. Dinos and the like are fave number two.

top 14 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 28 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Am I the only one who initially saw the name as flintstone?

[–] Rozz@lemmy.sdf.org 13 points 5 days ago

Also he had to have a job like that with a name like Finestone. A geologist would have been better, nobody's perfect.

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 13 points 5 days ago (3 children)

What's the new discovery I'm too drunk to care about reading articles

[–] MysteriousSophon21@lemmy.world 13 points 5 days ago

Probably refering to those 3.3 million year old stone tools found in Kenya that show tool use way before we thought - pushes tool use back to before Homo genus even existed.

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 6 points 4 days ago

Tools, work processes, and movement of material were found earlier than previously known.

[–] Widdershins@lemmy.world 9 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Fossilized corn dogs were discovered in the Maïschien region of France

[–] PaintedSnail@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

Those are maize dogs if they're from that region of France. They're just corn dogs if they come from anywhere else.

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I'd say they're only corn dogs in the US (or maybe North America) and maize dogs everywhere else, because that's how the terms corn and maize are used.

[–] Dasus@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

Yes, we (I'm speaking for the entire non-US world) also enjoy our popped maize and maizeflakes.

^/s

[–] DarkCloud@lemmy.world 9 points 5 days ago (1 children)

So our plan is to tool our way into destroying the planet... Then try to tool our way out of destroying the planet?

[–] wetbeardhairs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 5 days ago (2 children)

If we hit the climate with a rock, then maybe we can .. cut the climate in two and eat it.

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

"Greetings to all intelligent life in the universe! And to the rest of you out there, the secret is 'bang the rocks together' guys!"

[–] Whostosay@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

If one of you motherfuckers invents the wheel I'll freak out right now

[–] Cypher@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

So they contextualised an activity as intelligent based off of human activities, then found that they deemed humans as intelligent based on the same criteria.

What a shocker.