The Art and Craft of Paleo Toolmaking [Slide Show]
Fashioning stone-age tools is no picnic. Emory researchers spend years learning to imitate the technological skills of human ancestors who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago
A flint hand-ax (Acheulean technology) made at Emory sits on a piece of flint, the raw material from which it was made. Different kinds of hammers used in production of the hand-ax are shown: stone hammers of varying size and hardness, and two antler billets (moose and elk), the latter used to strike “soft hammer” thinning flakes from the stone. Credits: Gregory Miller
The Art and Craft of Paleo Toolmaking [Slide Show]
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Finished Product A flint hand-ax (Acheulean technology) made at Emory sits on a piece of flint, the raw material from which it was made. Different kinds of hammers used in production of the hand-ax are shown: stone hammers of varying size and hardness, and two antler billets (moose and elk), the latter used to strike “soft hammer” thinning flakes from the stone. Gregory Miller
Measuring Their Work Makers of experimental tools at Emory use calipers to carefully calculate the dimensions of a flake chipped away from a work in progress, one of up to 11 different linear measurements made. Gregory Miller
Waste Products Flint waste from experimental hand-ax production is classified into different types of fragments for analysis. Gregory Miller
Taking Care Safety gear, gloves and eye protection worn by students, lays beside the flint they are given to make tools. Gregory Miller
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Evolution and the Toolmaker A copy of British anthropologist Kenneth Oakley’s Man the Toolmaker that has inspired debate over the years about the extent to which toolmaking has driven human evolution by challenging “mental and bodily coordination.” Gregory Miller
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