VGC0937-MN

sketchfab

Upper Palaeolithic c.50000 Bc - c.10000 BC. Between approximately 1.7 and 1.5 million years ago, two dramatic changes occurred in the African prehistoric record. Alongwith the evolutionary emergence of a new and larger-brained homo, a technological change also took place. ‘In this new technology we see larger forms of tools […] called handaxes.’ (Schick & Toth, 1993:225-84). Handaxes are bifacially laked tools, often pear-shaped. Usually flaked around the whole circumferences, sharper near the thinner end, and less sharper on the larger end, allowing the handling of the tool. Schick, K., & Toth, N. (1993). Making silent stones speak. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.