Ground stoneIn archaeology, ground stone is a category of stone tool formed by the grinding of a coarse-grained tool stone, either purposely or incidentally. Ground stone tools are usually made of basalt, rhyolite, granite, or other cryptocrystalline and igneous stones whose coarse structure makes them ideal for grinding other materials, including plants and other stones. Organic and inorganic materials are processed on ground stones into edible products.
Lithic reductionIn archaeology, in particular of the Stone Age, lithic reduction is the process of fashioning stones or rocks from their natural state into tools or weapons by removing some parts. It has been intensely studied and many archaeological industries are identified almost entirely by the lithic analysis of the precise style of their tools and the chaîne opératoire of the reduction techniques they used.
Stone AgeĠgantija temples in Gozo, Malta, c. 3600–2500 BC, some of the world's oldest free-standing structuresLocationGlobalThe Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended between 4000 BC and 2000 BC, with the advent of metalworking. Because of its enormous timescale, it encompasses 99% of human history.Tool stoneIn archaeology, a tool stone is a type of stone that is used to manufacture stone tools, or tools that use stone as raw material. Generally speaking, tools that require a sharp edge are made using cryptocrystalline materials that fracture in an easily controlled conchoidal manner.
Hand axeStone toolThe first published picture of a hand axe, drawn by John Frere in the year 1800.Flint hand axe found in Norfolk, EnglandA hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoricstone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history. It is made from stone, usually flint or chert that has been "reduced" and shaped from a larger piece by knapping, or hitting against another stone.
KnappingKnapping ( NAP-ing) is the shaping of flint, chert, obsidian, or other conchoidal fracturing stone through the process of lithic reduction to manufacture stone tools, strikers for flintlock firearms, or to produce flat-faced stones for building or facing walls, and flushwork decoration. The term “knap”(1500s) was originally onomatopoeic and meant “strike with a sharp sound” (with the k- pronounced) and later shifted to mean “to shape or work by sharp strikes”.
PrehistoryPrehistory, sometimes referred to as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by homininsc. 3.3million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared c. 5,200 years ago.Lithic analysisIn archaeology, lithic analysis is the analysis of stone tools and other chipped stone artifacts using basic scientific techniques. At its most basic level, lithic analyses involve an analysis of the artifact's morphology, the measurement of various physical attributes, and examining other visible features (such as noting the presence or absence of cortex, for example).
SpearA spear is a polearm consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as bone, flint, obsidian, copper, bronze, iron, or steel. The most common design for hunting and/or warfare, since modern times has incorporated a metal spearhead shaped like a triangle, diamond, or leaf.
Human historyRecords of Earth's people Part of a series onHuman history ↑ Prehistory (Stone Age) (Pleistocene epoch) Holocene TimelinesNeolithic – Contemporary(11,650 BP – present) Age of the human race Recorded history (Common Era) Earliest records Protohistory Proto-writing Ancient Copper Age Bronze Age Iron Age Axial Age Classical antiquity Late antiquity Africa North America South America Oceania East Asia South Asia Southeast Asia West Asia Europe Postclassical Timeline Africa Americas Oceania East Asia South Asia Southeast Asia West Asia Europe Renaissance Modern Early modern Late modern Contemporary Africa North America South America Oceania East Asia South Asia Southeast Asia West Asia Europe See also Age of Discovery Modernity Postmodernity Futurology Political history ↓ Future vte Human history, or world history, is the record of humankind from prehistory to the present.
Quern-stoneA quern-stone is a stone tool for hand-grinding a wide variety of materials, especially for various types of grains. They are used in pairs. The lower stationary stone of early examples is called a saddle quern, while the upper mobile stone is called a muller, rubber, or handstone. The upper stone was moved in a back-and-forth motion across the saddle quern. Later querns are known as rotary querns.
ArrowheadAn arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectilemass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, or sometimes for special purposes such as signaling. The earliest arrowheads were made of stone and of organic materials; as human civilizations progressed, other alloy materials were used. Arrowheads are important archaeological artifacts; they are a subclass of projectile points.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.