Facts About Tools From the Stone Age
The Stone Age began about 2.5 million years ago. According to MSN Encarta, this age is defined "by the use of stone as the principal raw material for tools."
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Blade Core
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This tool was the basis for any kind of stone blade. The blades were made by flaking pieces from the core. It was known for its portability and sometimes made of obsidian.
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Antler Harpoon
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The antler harpoon was made to hunt large water animals. Between 20,000 to 10,000 years ago in Europe, the harpoon were used to hunt whales, seals and even swimming land mammals like reindeer.
End Scraper
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According to pbs.org, the end scraper was used to scrape fur off animal hides. It was also used to scrape the underlying fat layer from the hide.
Clovis Point
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This artifact was used in North America to mainly hunt mammoths. It's leaf shaped, with a wide groove on either side, making it easy to fit into certain spear shafts. These spears were extremely effective for hunting large game.
Burin
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This artifact is one of the oldest stone tools, dating back 50,000 years ago. According to pbs.org, they "are characteristic of Upper Paleolithic cultures in both Europe and the Americas." Burin was used to carve things like antler, wood and bone.
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Resources
- Photo Credit "Pictographs on Painted Rock at the Carrizo Plain National Monument, on BLM property near Soda Lake." is Copyrighted by Flickr user: mikebaird (Mike Baird) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
