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anvil method

Stone Age technique

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The anvil method was a Stone Age technique for creating stone tools. It involved using a large, stationary rock (the anvil) as a surface against which a piece of stone was swung or struck to chip off large flakes. This method was part of the broader Paleolithic Period's stone tool-making techniques, which also included the hammerstone and soft-hammer methods. The anvil method was used to fashion core tools or to rough out larger tool blanks. This technique was employed by early humans, including Homo erectus and early Homo sapiens, as part of the Acheulean industry, which produced characteristic tools like hand axes and cleavers.12

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