Homo habilis
The Early Stone Age is described by Barham and Mitchell as the time period where the ancient ancestors of "Homo sapiens sapiens" first emerged, branching from the "Australopithecus afarensis", evolving into "Homo habilis" and then "Homo erectus" 2.6 million years ago to 280,000 years ago"." Archaeologists hypothesize that the technological progression over time can be examined in the morphological characteristics of tools that are associated with different eras of habitation. The earliest identified stone tools, made by "Homo habilis" are known as Oldowan tools, and they consist of the basic large pounding stones and small pebble flakes, known as Mode 1 technology. As time progressed and "Homo habilis" evolved into "Homo erectus," so did the technology as more specialized stone tools were being developed, even tools that were used for making other tools, Mode 2 and 3 technologies.