<P> Human ancestors have been using stone and other tools since long before the emergence of Homo sapiens approximately 200,000 years ago . The earliest methods of stone tool making , known as the Oldowan `` industry '' , date back to at least 2.3 million years ago , with the earliest direct evidence of tool usage found in Ethiopia within the Great Rift Valley , dating back to 2.5 million years ago . This era of stone tool use is called the Paleolithic , or `` Old stone age '' , and spans all of human history up to the development of agriculture approximately 12,000 years ago . </P>
<P> Human ancestors have been using stone and other tools since long before the emergence of Homo sapiens approximately 200,000 years ago . The earliest methods of stone tool making , known as the Oldowan `` industry '' , date back to at least 2.3 million years ago , with the earliest direct evidence of tool usage found in Ethiopia within the Great Rift Valley , dating back to 2.5 million years ago . This era of stone tool use is called the Paleolithic , or `` Old stone age '' , and spans all of human history up to the development of agriculture approximately 12,000 years ago . </P>
when was the first piece of technology invented
when was the first piece of technology invented
approximately 200,000 years ago
approximately 200,000 years ago