The Stone Age and the Tool-Making Process

THE STONE AGE AND THE TOOL-MAKING PROCESS

Our direct physical ancestors had begun to make tools. Tools that have been associated with early man have included pebble stones, flints, bones and shells. Other tools included wood and other organic materials which would have disintegrated with time. Tools were first associated with Homo habilis and these tools have been found to be very primitive stone pebbles which were shaped into sharp points for cutting and generally for working organic materials. How did early man feed? Did Homo habilis hunt with his tools? If so how? Did he have spears? He probably did, since it cannot be assumed that the omnivorous tendency appeared de novo with the human species since a basis for this would have been formed beforehand. Spears were not discovered with Homo habilis probably because these being vegetable matter would have degenerated. More complex tools appeared with the advent of Homo erectus who was much more advanced in his way of life. With Homo erectus we began to have some of the earliest flints and also some of the better worked pebble stone tools.

From him onwards, the tools became more and more complex and they included better worked flints, some bifaceted and very sharp. There were also hand axes and clubs, spears that had shells as points. With the appearance of better spears hunting came into its own with the hunting of large animals such as deer, bison, horses, bears and so on. He was therefore ready; he had stones of various sizes sometimes intricately worked and sharpened for the cutting of meat and for the working of hides and skin. He had spears with very sharp points made of different materials, one of which was shell with which he could efficiently hunt down prey. Bone tools have also been found associated with early man. Generally, the stone age has been divided into three

The old stone age or the Palaeolithic,
The Mesolithic or the middle stone age,
The Neolithic or the new stone age.

During the first age we had the appearance of the most primitive tools but these tools as time went on and as we entered into the succeeding ages became more and more complex. The tools associated with this old stone age which lasted for so long have been, apart from those mentioned above; hand axes and hammers, a variety of bone tools, antler and ivory tools, spear throwers, barbed harpoons and eyed needles, other varieties of stone tools like awls which are small pointed tools used for piercing holes especially in leather and burins which are tools with a chisel point. A harpoon is especially useful for catching whales because it is a barbed spear-like missile with a rope attached. The other two ages will be considered in the next sections.

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