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A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history. [1] 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.
This was struck from the lateral edge of the hand-axe close to the intended cutting area, resulting in the removal of a flake running along (parallel to) the blade of the axe to create a neat and very sharp working edge. This distinctive tranchet flake can be identified amongst flint-knapping debris at Acheulean sites. [citation needed]
A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indian peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and European settlers later introduced heads of iron and steel.
Modern axes are specialised by use, size and form. Hafted axes with short handles designed for use with one hand are often called "hand axes" but the term "hand axe" refers to axes without handles as well. Hatchets tend to be small hafted axes often with a hammer on the back side (the poll). As an easy-to-make tool, the axe has frequently been ...
The Greeks and Romans, at least from the Hellenistic period onward, used Neolithic stone axeheads for the apotropaic protection of buildings. [6] A 1985 survey of the use of prehistoric axes in Romano-British contexts found forty examples, of which twenty-nine were associated with buildings including villas, military structures such as barracks, temples, and kilns.
Acheulean hand axes from Kent. The types shown are (clockwise from top) cordate, ficron and ovate. It was the longest-used tool of human history. The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to prehistoric technology. Prehistoric technology – technology that predates recorded history. History is the study of the past ...
The abundant hand axes are characteristic of the Acheulean period, made by hominins between about 600,000 and 900,000 years ago [7] along what was then the shore of a now dried-up lake. Fossils of various animals have also been found, including those of extinct species of hippo, elephant, zebra, giraffe, and baboon, likely to have been ...
The hand axe is a fine example from about 350,000 years ago, in the Lower Paleolithic period, but its main significance lies in the role it and the circumstances of its excavation played in the emerging understanding of early human history.