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How did Homo erectus make Acheulean hand axes?

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Side-view illustration of a Homo erectus individual, depicted with a robust, upright body covered in hair, walking with one arm bent. A scale bar beside the figure shows measurements in inches and centimeters. — Homo erectus Artist's rendering of *Homo erectus*, which lived from approximately 1,700,000 to 200,000 years ago.

Homo erectus developed the Acheulean industry, a standardized tradition of toolmaking that evolved significantly over time. The production of hand axes involved several distinct techniques:

Early Methods: The earliest hand axes were crude, pointed bifaces created by rapping a stone core against an "anvil" stone to remove chips from both sides, resulting in a sinuous cutting edge.1
Hammerstone Technique: Later, the anvil was replaced by a hammerstone, allowing for the flaking of the entire core surface to produce a thinner, oval-shaped implement with straighter edges.1
Soft Hammer Percussion: In later stages, Homo erectus replaced stone hammers with bone or wood "hammers." This refinement allowed for the removal of smaller, flatter flakes, resulting in a smoother, more symmetrical tool with a sharper, straight edge.12

These tools were not hafted but were held directly in the hand. While initially pointed, the design evolved to include various forms, such as the cleaver, which featured a squared-off cutting edge.12