East Africa: You’ve heard of “Lucy,” an extinct hominin species that lived in what is today the Hadar region of Ethiopia 3.2 to 3.18 million years ago. Well, newly found bone evidence suggests that “Lucy” and others of her species may have used tool. If true, this would push back the date for early human ancestors using tools some 800,000 years! Cut marks on the bones suggest that tools were used to remove the flesh and also to get at the marrow in the bones.

England: Remains of the country’s oldest house have just been found in Yorkshire, the northeast region of the country. The remaining postholes—there appear to be 18—offer evidence that it was circular, about 11 ½ feet in diameter, and dates back approximately 11,000 years! Finds of burnt flint suggest there was a small hearth within.