Old Stone Age Tools and Weapons – The First Steps of Human Invention

Over two million years ago, before farming or fire, humans struck one stone against another and made the first spark of technological progress. This period was referred to as the Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Period. This period began over 2.6 million years ago and lasted until 10,000 BCE, it is referred to as the longest period in human history. The old stone age was a time defined by the core tasks of hunting, gathering and creation of tools that shaped humanity’s survival. Keep reading to learn more about the olden tools and materials that shaped the world around us today!

What Was the Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age)?

The Paleolithic Period (Old Stone Age) originates from the Greek words “paleo” meaning “old” and “lithos” meaning “stone”. This period spanned from 2.6 million years ago to about 10,000 years and is divided into three parts:

1. Lower Paleolithic: Where Homo habilis created the first flaked tools 
2. Middle Paleolithic: Where Neanderthals improved the hunting tools.
3. Upper Paleolithic: Where modern humans (Homo sapiens) developed advanced weapons and blades. 

Some early humans lived a “nomadic lifestyle” which involved people, or groups of people, moving from one place to another, often seasonally, in search of food, water, and grazing lands for their animals. 

What Were Old Stone Age Tools Made Of?

Old Stone Age tools were mainly crafted through the usage of stone, bone, and wood. Early humans used these commonly available Paleolithic materials:

• Flint
• Quartzite
• Obsidian
• Basalt

These stones were shaped into tools through the process called flaking, which is defined as striking one rock against another to chip sharp edges. Later on these tools were retouched for finer shaping and sharper blade, during this time there was no polishing or grinding as it came in the later Neolithic period. 

Types of Old Stone Age Tools and Their Uses

Here is a list of Old Stone Age tools and what their uses were:

1. Hand Axe: These were teardrop shaped tools that were sharpened on both sides and were used for cutting wood, digging out tree roots or breaking animal bones, meat, etc.
2. Chopper: This is a tool created by Homo Habilis, where they struck off flakes from a single stone core. This tool was used to smash or cut soft materials like animal skin.
3. Cleaver: The cleaver was a wide-edged tool used for chopping wood or animal carcasses. It was heavier and more symmetrical than a chopper.
4. Scraper: This tool was made out of flint and was primarily used to clean animal hides and for preparing clothing or shelters. The scraper was also used to carve out bones or wood. 
5. Burins and Points: These were sharp-edged tools for engraving or drilling and later on their use developed in the upper Paleolithic periods for finer crafts and art.

Old Stone Age Weapons for Hunting and Survival

Here is a list of Old Stone Age weapons for hunting and survival:

1. Spear: This was a wooden shaft tipped with stone, bone, or flint, the weapon was used by thrusting and throwing it. Wooden spears are at least a few hundred thousand years old (often cited ~300,000–400,000 years), with ongoing debate about exact dating.

1. Spear-Thrower (Atlatl): This was a lever tool that allowed spears to be thrown farther and faster. This was used by Homo sapiens in the Upper Paleolithic period. 
2. Club: This was made from heavy branches or stones attached to a handle and it was used in close combat or to kill small animals.
3. Bow and Arrow: This tool had arrowheads made from flint, obsidian, or bone and were a game changer as it allowed hunting safely from a distance. The earliest evidence for bow-and-arrow hunting is at least ~72,000–60,000 years old in Africa; and with time developed into a lighter and more precise weapon.

How Early Humans Made the Tools

Do you ever wonder how early humans made their tools? Here is list of how early humans created their tools:

1. Flint knapping: This technique involved striking stone like flint, chert of obsidian with another stone chipping off flakes to create sharp-edged tools such as arrowheads, spear points, knives, and scrapers. 
2. Core and flake technique: This technique involved striking flakes off a larger stone to create sharp-edged tools like scrapers and points or either using the sharp flakes themselves as knives.
3. Hafting: Think of this technique as providing a handle to your blade. Here early humans attached a tool’s working part like an axe head to a handle or strap using materials like wood, bone, sinew, or plant fibers

Most tools weren’t used for a singular activity like hunting, etc. but they were multi-use, for example a single axe could cut roots of a tree, dig a hole for shelter, scrape tree bark and crush animal bones. Early humans made tools with innovation and the civilization that came on later added onto previously discovered techniques. 

Evolution of Tools Through the Old Stone Age

Tools for Art, Clothing, and Shelter

Here is a list of tools created for the purpose of Art, Clothing, and Shelter

• Burins and needles: These were made from bone and were used for sewing hides (tough, raw skin of animals like horses, cattle buffalo, etc.)
• Scrapers: These were created for the processing and creation of leather.
• Flint blades: These were created to carve figurines for toys or religious purposes and they were also used during the period of cave paintings.
• Stone hammers: These were created to shape other tools, break animal bones more easily and to fix things like wooden slabs together for the purpose of shelter. 

Famous Archaeological Sites and Discoveries

Here is a list of famous archaeological sites and discoveries:

• Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania): Here the earliest stone tools by Homo habilis were located
• Boxgrove (England): Contained hand axes over 500,000 years old.
• Blombos Cave (South Africa): Here early symbolic art and tools were located
• Lascaux (France): Here cave paintings and hunting tools were located 

These sites contain the evidence of evolution of humans and how through innovation and creativity we have shaped this world and our experiences. 

How Old Stone Age Tools Changed Human Life

Old Stone Age tools completely changed human life in many ways. Tools meant that survival became a bit easier, as humans could hunt more and have access to more food, rather than depending on the act of gathering. This process of creation and development also led to complex social structures and brain development to take place within the early humans. This was a line of inventions with the control of fire, clothing, shelter and art. Our ancestors marked the beginning of technology and culture and paved a path for us to bring creativity to this world. 

Fun Facts About Old Stone Age Tools and Weapons

• Did you know the oldest stone tools date to 3.3 million years?
• Did you know the Stone Age had different scrapers, hand axes and other stone tools?
• Not all stone age weapons were made of stone but some were made of bone and wood as well
• The arrows at that time were made of wood and had a sharpened, pointed head
• Weapons and tools developed with time as human brains involved as well 

Conclusion 

The Old Stone Age (Paleolithic Period ) was the first era of human invention and early humans created stone, bone, and wood tools for tasks of hunting, cutting, and creating shelter. The evolution of tools began from rough choppers to fine blades and spears and we understand that with every axe and flake carved not just stone, but the path of civilization itself.

External Links

Ancient Craft – 10 Interesting Facts About The Stone Age

History – The Prehistoric Ages: How Humans Lived Before Written Records