stone tool

Stone tools are among the earliest artifacts created by humans, marking the beginning of the Stone Age. This era is divided into the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) and the Neolithic (New Stone Age).

Paleolithic tools, dating back to about 10,000 years ago, were primarily made of chipped stone with rough surfaces and serrated edges. Materials like wood, antler, and bone were also used, often shaped with harder stone tools such as burins.

The Neolithic period saw advancements in stoneworking, with ground and polished tools like axes becoming common. This period coincided with the retreat of glaciers, the development of agriculture, and animal domestication, ending with the discovery of metals.

Techniques for making stone tools evolved from simple hammerstone methods to more refined soft-hammer and pressure flaking techniques, allowing for greater control and sharper edges. Flint and obsidian were favored materials due to their properties that allowed for sharp fractures. The earliest known tools, dating back 3.3 million years, were discovered near Kenya's Lake Turkana.2