Stone tools and fire were used more than 1 million years ago. The last common ancestor with chimps is estimated somewhere more than 4 million years ago, so it w

Stone tools and fire were used more than 1 million years ago. The last common ancestor with chimps is estimated somewhere more than 4 million years ago, so it was probably not “something close to a chimp”. I’m not sure from the article or the limited bit I know whether the butchering was the surprising part, or just the presence of hominids in the Phillipines. It sounds a bit more like the latter.