The quartzite amygdala (a hand axe so called by archaeologists because of its almond shape) is one of the earliest tools produced by the genus “Homo” and the most important in the history of its evolution. 

The making of these tools for nearly a million years represents the earliest example of the transmission of learned behavior, a technology, from generation to generation. Thus, genetic transmission of characters was flanked by cultural transmission. This enabled new processes of adaptation and developed previously impossible evolutionary possibilities that were broader and not constrained to the potential of body structure and genotypic arrangement. For the first time in its history, humans produced a finished product intentionally designed to achieve a durable and multifunctional stone tool. Amygdala production is initially associated with the evolution of Homo erectus, but will remain in use until the archaic forms of Homo sapiens. This “industry” therefore accompanied the genus Homo in its adaptive radiation beyond the borders of Africa, which led it to colonize all geographic areas and environments of the old continent.

 

This find has special significance because it was found in a paleoanthropological research campaign conducted by Professor Donald Johanson of Berkeley University in 1989.