how and when stone tools were made
Answers
Answer:
Explanation:
Stone tools were made by taking a piece of stone and knocking off flakes, a process known as "knapping." When the flakes were used, the tools produced are referred to as "flake tools." When the core itself was used, it is referred to as a "core tool." (Naturally, smaller flakes could be removed from larger ones.
Explanation:
Flakes and Cores Stone tools were made by taking a piece of stone and knocking off flakes, a process known as "knapping." When the flakes were used, the tools produced are referred to as "flake tools." When the core itself was used, it is referred to as a "core tool." (Naturally, smaller flakes could be removed from larger ones, so not all flakes came off of cores. Or alternatively, big flakes should be thought of as the cores for little ones struck from them. Don't worry about it.) Both cores and flakes were used all through the stone age, but there was increasing emphasis on flake tools as time passed and techniques for controlled flaking improved. Percussion and Pressure Earliest stone tools, and those in which the stone knapper had least control over how the stone would break, were made by percussion flaking, that is, whacking a stone with something —usually another stone, appropriately called a "hammer stone." Whacking with something slightly softer than stone —such as antler— allowed somewhat greater control in some cases. Even for the best percussion knappers, however, it was difficult to hit the target stone with perfect precision. Greater precision could be achieved by placing a piece of antler or other hard material precisely where you wanted pressure applied, and then whacking on that. This mediation allowed you to have precise targeting of force, and still have all the momentum of a falling hammer stone going into the movement. This is called indirect percussion flaking. Still greater precision was achieved through pressure flaking (pressing against a stone until a flake pops off). Typically pressure flaking was used to remove very small chips (even extremely small ones), and was used, for example, to straighten and montar loja virtual sharpen the edge of a blade. When pressure flaking was done with such materials as wood, bone, or antler, it was possible for skilled stone knappers to achieve truly excellent control over just how a stone would flake. These methods were normally combined, using percussion flaking to produce roughly the shape desired, followed by pressure flaking to finish the job. Materials Tools varied depending upon the stone available and its characteristics. Not all stone is equal. Obviously sandstone is far too soft to take an edge. Marble is also too soft. Granite is inconsistent in its hardness and won't hold a sharp edge, and so on. For most of the world's foraging societies, the preferred stone for most tools was whatever would take the sharpest edge, typically chert, flint or, where available, obsidian, which can be worked much like broken glass. (For other stones, see the section on ground stone, below.) (More About Obsidian, More About Flint) Although obsidian flakes are capable of breaking with a startlingly sharp edge —sharper than steel— they do not retain the edge as steel does, so stone tools in actual use require constant sharpening, just as stringed instruments require constant tuning and dogs need constant feeding. They were sharpened by knocking off additional tiny chips along the edge, taking care to do it in such a way as to keep the edge reasonably straight. Naturally this technology became more refined over time. While earliest stone tools were little more than broken pebbles, the latest ones were sometimes miracles of controlled micro-chipping, culminating in the fantastically shaped "eccentric flints" of some societies (notably Egypt and Mexico), which had lost all cutting function and were designed to show the stone knapper's skill and the owner's wealth.