stone tool use and manufacture Flashcards
(11 cards)
What tool behavior is observed in chimpanzees?
They use hammerstones and twigs for cracking nuts and fishing termites.
How do sea otters use tools?
They use stones to crack open shells on their bellies.
What tool use is seen in some birds like crows and Galápagos finches?
Crows use twigs to extract insects from trees; finches use stiff thorns to probe cacti for insects.
What is the “cone of percussion” in flintknapping?
It’s the conical force propagation pattern through stone when struck, which removes flakes.
What is a flake in stone tool manufacture?
A sharp-edged piece removed from a stone core, often bulbous at the impact point.
What can archaeologists learn from stone flakes and cores?
The sequence of strikes and possibly whether the knapper was left- or right-handed.
What is the time range for Oldowan tools?
2.5 million to 1.6 million years ago.
What are the features of Oldowan tools?
Sharp-edged but crudely made with minimal shaping—likely just enough to be useful.
Which era do Oldowan tools belong to?
The Lower Paleolithic.
What is the Mousterian toolkit?
A more advanced set of tools associated with the Middle Stone Age.
Which hominin species is associated with the Mousterian toolkit?
Primarily Neanderthals.
