First discovered at Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania,
• Oldowan artifacts have been recovered from several
localities in eastern, central, and southern Africa, the
oldest of which is a site at Gona, Ethiopia.
• Oldowan technology is typified by what are known as
"choppers." Choppers are stone cores with flakes
removed from part of the surface, creating a sharpened
edge that was used for cutting, chopping, and scraping
(image 1985–0235).
• Microscopic surface analysis of the flakes struck from
cores has shown that some of these flakes were also
used as tools for cutting plants and butchering animals.