[Handaxe] Known as the "Swiss Army knife of the Paleolithic Period" (2.5 million to 10,000 B.C.), stone handaxes were the main product of early human technology. This example is from the period of Homo erectus, the first human species to spread outside Africa and a close relative of Homo sapiens.

Prehistoric peoples made handaxes by striking flakes off boulders or chipping away a rock's circumference. Some evidence indicates that they were used to cut meat, animal hides, and plants.

Courtesy of the National Museum of Natural History
Handaxe: Lava rock, possibly made by Homo erectus, Kenya, about 780,000 years old

[Back to:] Return to Ancient Cultures
<
Contacts | FAQ | Press Room | Privacy | Copyright
Top  Top