The study found evidence of Victoria West-like techniques, where flaking patterns on the core ensured the production of standardised, usable flakes. This is an early example, predating similar finds in South Africa.

Cleavers-on-flake at Simbiro were made from large flakes with minimal reshaping, indicating that flakes were often predetermined during core reduction. 🪨➡️🔪

Simbiro Gully offers rare insights with many cleavers-on-flakes and a huge basalt core (360 mm long, 16 kg!). This core shows complex flaking strategies, far more advanced than typical early Acheulean examples.

How did early humans develop large flake technology in the Acheulean period? A new study from Simbiro Gully (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia) sheds light on toolmaking >1.2 million years ago. Let’s break it down! 🔨🪨
(Méndez-Quintas & Mussi, 2025)