A couple of million years ago our ancient human ancestors created the world´s first tools when they broke some rocks into sharp pieces so that they could slice apart and butcher animals for food. Our early ancestors needed to come up with effective ways to communicate and teach others how to make and use tools. Cloze (1): JXUwMDBjJXUwMDNjJXUwMDAxJXUwMDFhJXUwMDUzJXUwMDRkJXUwMDA4JXUwMDA0JXUwMDBmJXUw MDFhJXUwMDU0JXUwMDU0JXUwMDFjJXUwMDBkJXUwMDFjJXUwMDU5JXUwMDQ4JXUwMDA5JXUwMDA1 JXUwMDQ0JXUwMDU0JXUwMDFiJXUwMDRmJXUwMDQ0JXUwMDAxJXUwMDEzJXUwMDEzJXUwMDA5JXUw MDAzJXUwMDFmJXUwMDUwJXUwMDQxJXUwMDA1JXUwMDEyJXUwMDE3JXUwMDBmJXUwMDBkJXUwMDA2 JXUwMDAxJXUwMDQ0JXUwMDU2JXUwMDEzJXUwMDE3JXUwMDEwJXUwMDAzJXUwMDBkJXUwMDRjJXUw MDUzJXUwMDE4JXUwMDAyJXUwMDA1JXUwMDAwJXUwMDFmJXUwMDVmJXUwMDBjJXUwMDQ5JXUwMDA3 JXUwMDBkJXUwMDBmJXUwMDE5JXUwMDExJXUwMDBkJXUwMDA3JXUwMDA5JXUwMDQ3JXUwMDRjJXUw MDBkJXUwMDBmJXUwMDA5JXUwMDEyJXUwMDE0JXUwMDA2JXUwMDAy . 

A new study by an international group of researchers suggests that these tools became a force that drove evolution. Cloze (2): JXUwMDBjJXUwMDNjJXUwMDAxJXUwMDFhJXUwMDUzJXUwMDUzJXUwMDA3JXUwMDAxJXUwMDExJXUw MDFkJXUwMDU5JXUwMDUzJXUwMDA2JXUwMDEyJXUwMDAwJXUwMDAyJXUwMDE2JXUwMDA3JXUwMDA3 JXUwMDUzJXUwMDU0JXUwMDFjJXUwMDA5JXUwMDE1JXUwMDU0JXUwMDRkJXUwMDA4JXUwMDExJXUw MDFjJXUwMDA3JXUwMDBiJXUwMDE3JXUwMDUzJXUwMDRmJXUwMDA5 communicating among some of our most ancient ancestors may have been a lot more complex than previously thought. So much so that the earliest concepts of teaching and maybe even the development of some kind of predecessor to modern language took place about 1.8 million years ago. 

"Our findings suggest that stone tools weren´t just a product of human evolution, but actually drove it as well, creating the evolutionary advantage necessary for the development of Cloze (3): JXUwMDM1JXUwMDAyJXUwMDBiJXUwMDAxJXUwMDE3JXUwMDFjJXUwMDRlJXUwMDQ4JXUwMDFkJXUw MDE4JXUwMDBjJXUwMDBmJXUwMDRlJXUwMDQzJXUwMDBjJXUwMDAyJXUwMDAwJXUwMDE4JXUwMDFi JXUwMDA3JXUwMDBhJXUwMDAyJXUwMDE1JXUwMDFkJXUwMDA2JXUwMDAxJXUwMDRlJXUwMDQxJXUw MDBmJXUwMDBhJXUwMDQ0JXUwMDU0JXUwMDExJXUwMDA0JXUwMDAyJXUwMDBiJXUwMDAxJXUwMDA3 JXUwMDA5 " said Thomas Morgan, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. According to Morgan, his team´s research shows that even our earliest predecessors were able to learn how to Cloze (4): JXUwMDNiJXUwMDExJXUwMDE3JXUwMDA0JXUwMDE1JXUwMDExJXUwMDQ1JXUwMDQxJXUwMDBmJXUw MDBhJXUwMDQ0JXUwMDU1JXUwMDA2JXUwMDE2JXUwMDQ1JXUwMDU0JXUwMDFjJXUwMDBkJXUwMDE2 JXUwMDE2JXUwMDQ1JXUwMDQxJXUwMDBmJXUwMDBkJXUwMDBhJXUwMDBjJXUwMDBiJXUwMDFhJXUw MDU0JXUwMDU0JXUwMDFiJXUwMDAwJXUwMDAzJXUwMDFmJXUwMDUzJXUwMDRkJXUwMDAyJXUwMDFk JXUwMDE3JXUwMDQ1JXUwMDQ1JXUwMDAzJXUwMDAwJXUwMDAzJXUwMDA2JXUwMDE3JXUwMDFkJXUw MDFmJXUwMDEzJXUwMDA5JXUwMDE1 of they had a teacher, especially one who had some language skills.

It´s possible that more advanced tool technology could have been devised over the hundreds of thousands of years the original tools were in use. However, Cloze (5): JXUwMDJiJXUwMDFhJXUwMDA3JXUwMDBkJXUwMDA2JXUwMDQ1JXUwMDU0JXUwMDFjJXUwMDBkJXUw MDE2JXUwMDE2JXUwMDQ1JXUwMDQxJXUwMDBmJXUwMDBkJXUwMDBhJXUwMDBjJXUwMDBiJXUwMDFh JXUwMDU0JXUwMDUwJXUwMDE1JXUwMDBhJXUwMDFmJXUwMDFjJXUwMDA5 were still so busy coming up with language and teaching methods, Morgan and his group believes that they were unable to share any possible newer technology with others.

To arrive at their findings, the researchers recruited students and taught them Cloze (6): JXUwMDMwJXUwMDA3JXUwMDE4JXUwMDU3JXUwMDU0JXUwMDFiJXUwMDRmJXUwMDRkJXUwMDBjJXUw MDBhJXUwMDBlJXUwMDQ1JXUwMDU0JXUwMDFjJXUwMDBkJXUwMDQ1JXUwMDQxJXUwMDBmJXUwMDBk JXUwMDBhJXUwMDBjJXUwMDBiJXUwMDFhJXUwMDU0JXUwMDU0JXUwMDFiJXUwMDAwJXUwMDAzJXUw MDFm . One group of participants had to teach themselves, and only got to look at previously fashioned tools without the benefit of guidance. Cloze (7): JXUwMDE5JXUwMDJmJXUwMDAxJXUwMDFiJXUwMDFjJXUwMDBkJXUwMDE3JXUwMDUyJXUwMDQ3JXUw MDE1JXUwMDFkJXUwMDFhJXUwMDA1JXUwMDUwJXUwMDU3JXUwMDE2JXUwMDEyJXUwMDUzJXUwMDQx JXUwMDBkJXUwMDAwJXUwMDAzJXUwMDE4JXUwMDEyJXUwMDAxJXUwMDQ0JXUwMDU0JXUwMDFiJXUw MDRmJXUwMDU3JXUwMDE2JXUwMDE1JXUwMDE3JXUwMDBiJXUwMDQ4JXUwMDUzJXUwMDFjJXUwMDAy JXUwMDA4JXUwMDBhJXUwMDAxJXUwMDBiJXUwMDQ1JXUwMDRkJXUwMDBjJXUwMDBhJXUwMDBlJXUw MDQ1JXUwMDU0JXUwMDFjJXUwMDBkJXUwMDQ1JXUwMDU0JXUwMDFiJXUwMDAwJXUwMDAzJXUwMDFm , and interact with them. In the remaining groups, teachers instructed students hot to make the tools, using gestures for one group and verbal language for the others. Once all the participants had been "taught" how to make the tools, Cloze (8): JXUwMDJjJXUwMDFjJXUwMDBkJXUwMDFjJXUwMDU5JXUwMDU3JXUwMDEyJXUwMDE3JXUwMDE3JXUw MDQ1JXUwMDU0JXUwMDExJXUwMDE2JXUwMDA3JXUwMDExJXUwMDAx to see how skillfull they were at making them. 

The study found that participants who had to figure things out for themselves or just watched someone create the tools Cloze (9): JXUwMDJmJXUwMDEyJXUwMDE3JXUwMDE3JXUwMDBiJXUwMGRhJXUwMGMwJXUwMDU0JXUwMDQxJXUw MDAzJXUwMDBlJXUwMDA5JXUwMDQ1JXUwMDU0JXUwMDFiJXUwMDRmJXUwMDQxJXUwMDAyJXUwMDEy JXUwMDA0JXUwMDFjJXUwMDFiJXUwMDE3JXUwMDQ1JXUwMDU0JXUwMDFjJXUwMDBkJXUwMDQ1JXUw MDUzJXUwMDE4JXUwMDAyJXUwMDA1JXUwMDAwJXUwMDFm needed to make the tools as easily as others who were explicity taught.

Human evolution is not just a story of our ancestors evolving in response to environmental conditions, says Morgan. Our genes and our culture evolved in response to each other in one single process, sometimes known as Cloze (10): JXUwMDNmJXUwMDAyJXUwMDBiJXUwMDBiJXUwMDQ1JXUwMDQzJXUwMDE2JXUwMDE5JXUwMDE4JXUw MDAxJXUwMDA3JXUwMDE3JXUwMDQ1JXUwMDQzJXUwMDBjJXUwMDQyJXUwMDQ4JXUwMDEzJXUwMDE5 JXUwMDAzJXUwMDE5JXUwMDAxJXUwMDFkJXUwMDA2JXUwMDAx .