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Stone Age Tools
Examples of stone tools and why the earliest cavemen had no heavy weapons
(2nd edition - June 2007) by A.O. Kime
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'renting' this article, see Rent-a-Article
Caveman tools or geofacts?
We've all seen them... those pictures of the earliest known ‘stone tools’
supposedly produced by cavemen during the
Stone Age, but they are, in a way, disappointing,
since most of those which archaeologists claim to be tools are basically
featureless… taking a great deal of imagination to believe them a ‘tool’.
Most of them look like an everyday rock one might find in a countryside
driveway.
While assuredly some of these stones did actually serve as scrappers, cutters
and hand axes (choppers) during the lower Paleolithic time period... being
over 100,000 years ago during the oldest known period of human existence,
seemingly many are just geofacts. In other words, shaped by natural forces,
not by man… in which case they would be called 'artifacts'.
Still, even if only 5% were truly fashioned by cavemen, it reveals something
about their lifestyle… except it falls short of producing a true picture. In
other words, one shouldn’t formulate entirely their perception of cavemen
based on a few primitive tools. Yet, as if no other aspect of the caveman's
lifestyle existed, the picture archaeologists paint of the early caveman is
one of extreme primitiveness.
Wooden tools and devices ignored
While the picture archaeologists paint may be correct to some extent, the
degree of primitiveness is exaggerated without mentioning cavemen also had
wooden tools and devices. This has been ignored… even though it was a
certainty. After all, wooden tools would be much easier to construct and the
possible varieties would be vastly greater than what is achievable with
stones or bones. Further, one cannot construct a ‘device’ out of stone and
would be highly restricted attempting it with bones.
Of course, there is no evidence cavemen had wooden tools and devices… those
constructed during the Stone Age did not survive the ages, having been long
since consumed by the elements. Nonetheless, wooden tools remains a certainty
because people always choose the easiest method to achieve something. The
probability these wooden tools and devices were occasionally complex also
exists. Perhaps a few had moving parts… if only to consider a trigger or hinge
on a trapdoor a moving part. To their credit, cavemen were the first to conceive
and employ a hinge… and, however simple it may be considered, it's a mechanism
still in use today.
While cavemen are primarily known for being adept at surviving, it should also
be recognized they were prolific inventors as well… after all, resourcefulness
(the wellspring of innovation) walks hand-in-hand with survival. So too,
resourcefulness is the best gauge of intelligence… although a hard reality
academia would reject. Further, it was during the Stone Age when the basis of
all knowledge was established. After all, cavemen were the first to recognize,
indeed employ, most laws of physics. Their contributions are countless… which
range from the discovery of yeast for making bread to the art of celestial
navigation. Cavemen developed a host of horticultural practices as well and
introduced a broad range of medicines.
If not for the contributions of the Stone Age, modern conveniences wouldn't
exist for perhaps another 2,000,000 years. From scratch, we'd have start all
over again. Everything men now know, and all that's been achieved, was built
upon the knowledge amassed during the Stone Age. Cavemen should be noted for
their discoveries, not their primitiveness.
While the craftsmanship the cavemen applied to stone tools is generally believed
to have begun sometime within last 30,000 years, and not much before, this
craftsmanship is similar in many cases to those stone tools attributed to the
Native Americans… be it ‘indians’ (of Asian ancestry) or the lesser known
Caucasian inhabitants such as Kennewick Man.
| common term |
scientific term |
time period (descending) |
| New Stone Age |
Neolithic |
2,500 B.C.– 5,500 B.C. |
| Middle Stone Age |
Mesolithic |
5,500 – 10,000 B.C. |
| Old Stone Age |
upper Paleolithic |
10,000 – 30,000 B.C. |
| |
middle Paleolithic |
30,000 – 100,000 B.C. |
| |
lower Paleolithic |
100,000 - 2,000,000 B.C. |
Examples of Stone Age tools
In the following pictured examples of some finely-crafted stone tools, please
take note that they were found in North America… and were NOT crafted by your
stereotypical cavemen from Europe, Asia or Africa. Even though they were crafted
by native Americans, it gives one an idea the diversity. These, at least, are
more representative of a stone tool… being better examples than those
featureless stones typically attributed to the lower Paleolithic time period of
the Old Stone Age (100,000 B.C. to 2,000,000 B.C.).
So, how old are those pictured below? Probably most are older than 500 years
and a few perhaps as old as 10,000 years. Since the last part of the Stone Age
officially ended only 4,500 years ago (Neolithic period… or New Stone Age), then
some of these are truly Stone Age artifacts… no matter who made them.
Yet, these tools are also tantalizingly close to having been constructed during
the Old Stone Age. For example, if any of these pictured below were crafted more
than 12,000 years ago, then we’d be talking about the upper Paleolithic period
of the Old Stone Age (10,000 – 30,000 B.C.)
However, in a sense, due to the fact stone tools were still being crafted in
America as little as 200-300 years ago, then the Stone Age still lingered
despite the given scientific timeframes.
<------------------------------------------------------- 12"
---------------------------------------------------------------->
Top left: This is a penetrating tool (6¾") primarily which could
serve many purposes including digging and that of a weapon. The grooves in
the stones are for securing it to a wooden handle held tightly together
with rawhide strips. The handles would have been 12-18 inches long although
for some purposes, perhaps longer.
Top right: This tool is an axe (7½") and, as such, could serve most any
purpose an axe might serve which would include its use as a weapon. (Note the
evidential wear on the lower part of the leading edge… indicating that if a
handle existed in this picture, it would be pointing downward)
Bottom: This stone tool is a hammer and could serve most any purpose a hammer
might serve… from pummeling grain to driving stakes or for delivering the
coup de grace (deathblow) to the skull of animal either entrapped or gravely
wounded (disabled) by hunters.
Towards the very end of the stone toolmaking era were the following types:
<--------------------------------------------------------- 22"
---------------------------------------------------------------->
This picture displays a mixed collection of stone weapons crafted by various
prehistoric peoples who once roamed across America. Some of these arrowheads,
the latest in stone tool development, could be attributed to the Folsom people
(circa 8,000 B.C.) and perhaps the spear-points to the earlier Clovis (circa
9,500 B.C.). As to the origins of the large 6" axe, it is uncertain but
would have little value as an all purpose axe since it only has one small
notch… in contrast to the deeper grooves in those pictured further above.
Not built for heavy work, and displaying virtually no wear like the others,
this axe was likely intended to be only a weapon.
Why the early cavemen had no stone weapons
A haunting question lingers… why weren’t the earliest stone tools at least
equal in workmanship to those attributed to later humans? Since it assuredly
wasn’t a matter of intelligence, the following might explain it.
Perhaps the earliest cavemen were more-so vegetarians than carnivorous
(meat-eaters)… as their simple skinning and hand-digging tools seem to
indicate since they possessed no heavy-duty killing tools. To the extent
they were reliant on meat, and/or to fulfill their need for animal hides
for clothing and shelter, instead of openly confronting animals with the
intent to slay them (thereby needing a heavy weapon), they may have resorted
to trapping them or utilized various snaring devices constructed of wood.
This may have often sufficed given a plentitude of game, but not-so
particularly if game became scarce which would require the act of hunting.
However, we might also consider the killing of an animal exclusively for its
hide may have only rarely occurred. It is only reasonable to assume that to the
extent possible the hides of dead animals slain by predators were commonly
harvested.
So, in this analysis, having tossed aside ‘lack of intelligence’ for being an
ill-conceived and unproven explanation, the missing heavy-duty killing tools can
easily be explained... either they didn’t eat meat or were trappers/fishermen
instead. In other words, they weren't hunters in the sense of stalking their
prey. Or, to put this in the context of ‘hunter/gatherer’, at this point in
time they were more-so just ‘gatherers’.
While there was obviously no need for heavy stone weapons during the early days
(lower Paleolithic), since there is no evidence suggesting it, perhaps
over time that reality changed in the following order:
1) In the beginning, and for millennia thereafter, there was a stigma attached
to the eating of flesh (being spiritually repulsive… just as cannibalism is
today). In a general sense, they looked upon animals as God’s creatures rather
than the next meal… similarly to how modern humans regard their household pets.
In short, the evidence suggests the earliest humans were passive and thus...
spiritual. On the same token however, they naturally did what was necessary to
survive... which may have often conflicted with their basic nature.
Interestingly, cavemen were the first to tangle with a moral 'dilemma'.
Note: Paradoxically, the American Indians viewed animals as both God's
creatures (in the spiritual sense) AND the next meal... believing (in essence)
that the Great Spirit provided animals as a food source. Whether this belief
existed in the Old Stone age, or whether it later evolved into a 'feel good'
justification for the killing of animals, is unknown. However, since justifying
is inherently human, it was likely not the original belief. If not, then man
managed to neutralize this dilemma.
2) Eventually, cavemen evolved culturally from being vegetarians (essentially)
to being carnivorous as well. The eating of animal flesh gradually became more
socially acceptable… despite the otherwise unyielding conformist mind-set
typical of clans and tribes*. The impetus for change was due to the growing
human population and the need for alternative food sources... although the
long-repressed craving for a 'balanced diet' surely factored in. For some time
however, aside from trapping and snaring animals, hunting remained more-so a
matter of wits and limited to smaller game (as evidenced by their stone tools).
Importantly however, it was more-so a matter of choice, not capabilities.
Nonetheless, it was the beginnings of a great transition period of historic
proportions, a time when cavemen were becoming aggressive… not only towards
animals but to each other as well.
* As a result of our ancient roots, the pressure to conform is still deeply
felt… being the vestiges of ‘proper mannerisms’ developed by yesteryear’s
close-knit clans and tribes. Yet, conforming was necessary... because, for ages,
uniformity was an integral part of survival. It was a tactic. We should therefore
be able to relate to the ‘natural’ societal resistance to any such drastic
change and why it took so long.
3) As a result of the growing demand for food, which now included meat, the
scarcity of game became more commonplace which then necessitated the hunting of
larger animals. Although, to a great extent, it was also a matter of the
differences in taste. Larger animals provided man a more diverse menu. This was
in contrast to previous times when openly confronting large animals was undoubtedly
considered a risky business and otherwise unnecessary as long as trapping sufficed.
As their skills progressed, and in conjunction with weapon refinements, for
efficiency the largest animals soon became the caveman’s target of choice.
Note: Mammoth, bison and elk hunters were probably held in high esteem… as if
being Stone Age ‘supermen’. In comparison, such hunters were likely looked upon
as being courageous heroes... the equivalent of someone gutsy like Ferdinand Magellan,
a gladiator or an astronaut.
4) As a result of the growing population, disputes were inevitable and with the
growing ability to kill more easily and thus efficiently, simple stone axes soon
became battle axes. Instead of having just a few spears on hand for hunting,
wars demanded they be produced in mass.
As to exactly when this cultural change began to occur, it directly corresponds
to the oldest of these ‘more advanced’ stone tools. Since much of this dating has
already been done, then it generally began about 30,000 years ago… or towards the
end of the middle Paleolithic time period (30,000 – 100,000 B.C.). However, it has
been the consensus of archaeologists that it merely indicates a time when our
ancient ancestors finally became smart enough to produce such finely-crafted
tools… except this notion is shallow-minded, ill-conceived, unsubstantiated and
wrong. It was simply a cultural turning point.
So, effectually, mankind evolved from the passiveness of the vegetarian to the
aggressive nature of the carnivore. It is the most notable aspect of 'human
evolution'... and mankind’s acquired taste for meat further evolved into his taste
for blood (wars). After all, psychologically from one to the other would be a natural
transition. Further, as to intellect, only warriors would tax their God-given
limits… meaning peace-loving peoples are always ‘less advanced’.
A.O. Kime
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