--- title: Oldest Known Stone Tools Discovered in Kenya description: They're dated to about 3.3 million years ago, 700,000 years older than the previous record for stone tools. canonical: https://time.com/3891265/stone-tools-research-kenya/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-20T20:26:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T07:30:07.865Z article:section: Science og:title: Oldest Known Stone Tools Discovered in Kenya og:description: The tools are about 3.3 million years old og:url: https://time.com/3891265/stone-tools-research-kenya/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0157acf629ccb5d3/698851010b72e33fe96e419e/stone-tool-discovery.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: This undated photo made available May 20, 2015 by the Mission Prehistorique au Kenya - West Turkana Archaeological Project shows the excavation of a stone tool found in the West Turkana area of Kenya. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Oldest Known Stone Tools Discovered in Kenya twitter:description: The tools are about 3.3 million years old twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0157acf629ccb5d3/698851010b72e33fe96e419e/stone-tool-discovery.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Oldest Known Stone Tools Discovered in Kenya > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=63ed49c8-416a-42f6-9855-b4db134206cf&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Weekdays | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Weekly | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Twice a week | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | Source: TIME, August 2026. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=63ed49c8-416a-42f6-9855-b4db134206cf&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=63ed49c8-416a-42f6-9855-b4db134206cf&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (health, weekdays), Worth Your Time (culture, weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, twice weekly), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=63ed49c8-416a-42f6-9855-b4db134206cf&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 20, 2015 8:26 PM UTC  This undated photo made available May 20, 2015 by the Mission Prehistorique au Kenya - West Turkana Archaeological Project shows the excavation of a stone tool found in the West Turkana area of Kenya. This undated photo made available May 20, 2015 by the Mission Prehistorique au Kenya - West Turkana Archaeological Project shows the excavation of a stone tool found in the West Turkana area of Kenya. MPK-WTAP/AP by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 20, 2015 8:26 PM UTC Researchers who stumbled upon stone tools in Kenya in 2011 [revealed in a new paper](http://www.nature.com/articles/nature14464.epdf) that they are now considered the oldest ones ever found. The discovery in West Turkana—after researchers apparently took a wrong turn—was chronicled in the journal _Nature_ by co-authors Jason Lewis and Sonia Harmand of Stone Brook University. The paper explains that the tools are about 3.3 million years old, or 700,000 years older than ones that researchers had previously discovered, making them some half-a-million years older before the known emergence of modern humans. “It just rewrites the book on a lot of things that we thought were true,” Chris Lepre, a geologist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Rutgers University who dated the tools, [told the Guardian](http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/may/20/stone-tool-discovery-pushes-back-dawn-of-culture-by-700000-years). Alison Brooks, an anthropology professor at George Washington University who examined some of the tools, [told the Associated Press](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FSCI%5FANCIENT%5FTOOLS?SITE=FLPET&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT), “It really absolutely moves the beginnings of human technology back into a much more distant past, and a much different kind of ancestor than we’ve been thinking of.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3891265/stone-tools-research-kenya/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3891265/stone-tools-research-kenya/"},"headline":"Oldest Known Stone Tools Discovered in Kenya","datePublished":"2015-05-20T20:26:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:30:07.865Z","description":"The tools are about 3.3 million years old","url":"https://time.com/3891265/stone-tools-research-kenya/","keywords":["Archaeology","Discovery"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0157acf629ccb5d3/698851010b72e33fe96e419e/stone-tool-discovery.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0157acf629ccb5d3/698851010b72e33fe96e419e/stone-tool-discovery.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"This undated photo made available May 20, 2015 by the Mission Prehistorique au Kenya - West Turkana Archaeological Project shows the excavation of a stone tool found in the West Turkana area of Kenya.","caption":"This undated photo made available May 20, 2015 by the Mission Prehistorique au Kenya - West Turkana Archaeological Project shows the excavation of a stone tool found in the West Turkana area of Kenya.","creditText":"MPK-WTAP/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/archaeology/","name":"Archaeology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3891265/stone-tools-research-kenya/","name":"Oldest Known Stone Tools Discovered in Kenya"}}]}] ```