Early human ancestors like Australopithecus africanus that lived three million years ago were able to use tools, claims a study published in the journal, Science.

Researchers using the latest technology found a marking on a primitive stone tool was dated to around 2.5 million years ago. The finding is prompting scientists to uncover more evidence on how our human ancestors survived.

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There was controversial evidence before about the use of tools by Australopithecus africanus.

"It could be evidence of our greater reliance on tools," said Matthew Skinner of University of Kent.

Brian Richmond, human origins curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, praised the study even if he wasn't part of it. He believes the evidence does show that pre-humans were using their hands to manipulate items.

A high resolution micro CT scanner built at the Max Planck Institute in Germany will head on to museums in Africa to help scan tiny parts of the thumbs of fossils that can't be taken out of their home countries.

Scanned Australopithecus africanus skeletons revealed there are spongy bone tissues intact in the part of the hand that faces the most pressure. When compared to apes, these are the areas used for gripping branches and walking on knuckles.

In addition, the internal structures of the hand bones are different from the apes but are more similar to humans and are meant for gripping tools.

Although there is no final proof the oldest human ancestors used stones are their main tools, what's more important is that earliest ancestors were capable of a human-like grip.

TagsAustralopithecus africanus, human-like, apes, stones, thumb bones, Human evolution, Lucy fossil, human fossil