lomekwian

Of or pertaining to the period when certain stone artefacts, found at the archaeological site Lomekwi 3 in Kenya, were manufactured and used, apparently by hominins prior to the emergence of genus Homo.

Makers of Lomekwian tools show less of an understanding of stone fracture mechanics and a reduced reliance on a free-hand technique than makers of Oldowan tools, the next oldest stone tool industry.

These Lomekwian tools, such as the one illustrated in Fig. 3.1, were an earth-shattering find. They are hundreds of thousands of years older than the previously oldest stone tools found and they absolutely and unquestionably could not have been made by any human being (if your definition of human restricts itself to members of genus Homo, which did not come about until about half a million years later). Finally, these Lomekwian stone tools are of a different style than all previously known stone tools.

A loosely defined period, approximately 3.3 million years ago, characterised by the manufacture and use of the tools found at Lomekwi 3.