Stone tool facts for kids
Stone tools are tools made of stone. They are the reason the stone age was given its name. They were the first tools used by mankind, and were used by all human species, such as Homo habilis and Homo erectus. Recently it was learned that stone tools were used before the genus Homo evolved. These oldest tools come from the shores of Lake Turkana in Kenya, and date to 3.3 million years ago. They are 700,000 years older than any tools found before.
Volcanic ash and minerals around the tools allow them to be dated. The tools look like those described as Oldowan. They might have been made by members of species such as Australopithecus afarensis or Kenyanthropus platyops. The research team has proposed the term "Lomekwian" for these tools, and say they mark the start of archaeology. The palaeoenvironment was wooded.
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Images for kids
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A selection of prehistoric stone tools.
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A typical Oldowan simple chopping-tool. This example is from the Duero Valley, Valladolid.
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A tool made by the Levallois technique. This example is from La Parrilla (Valladolid, Spain).
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Polished Neolithic jadeitite axe from the Museum of Toulouse
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Axe heads found at a 2700 BC Neolithic manufacture site in Switzerland, arranged in the various stages of production from left to right.Click to see individual images.
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A typical Acheulean handaxe; this example is from the Douro valley, Zamora, Spain. The small chips on the edge are from reworking.
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An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools.
