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Bronze Age gouge, Must Farm. Source: AncientCraftUK / YouTube Screenshot.

The Gouge: A Versatile Ancient Tool of the Bronze Age (Video)

Must Farm (a Bronze Age settlement at Must Farm quarry near Peterborough, England) has given British archaeologists a treasure trove of ancient artifacts to explore. This time the spotlight falls on...
The rare Neolithic polishing stone which was discovered in Dorset. Source: Historic England

Rare 5,000-Year-Old Axe Polishing Stone Found in England

A “vanishingly rare” polishing stone called a polissoir has been uncovered by a team of volunteers in the Valley of Stones national nature reserve in Dorset, England. This extraordinary 5,000-year-...
Example of a long-tailed macaque using a stone tool to access food. Source: © Lydia V. Luncz/Science

Is Archaeology Getting it Wrong? ‘Ancient Stone Tools’ Accidentally Made by Modern Monkeys

Archaeologists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology have announced their discovery of stone fragments that closely resemble ancient stone tools made by prehistoric humans. What...
A large axe-grinding stone near Balfron in Scotland is where Neolithic toolmakers sharpened stone axes thousands of years ago. Source: Dr. Murray Cook

Ancient Giant Axe-Grinding Stone Unearthed in Scotland

Archaeologists and volunteers examining a 4,500-year-old Neolithic site near Balfron, beside Stirling in Central Scotland, recently rolled back turf and revealed a giant slab of sandstone. Marked...
Archaeologist Dr. Paloma de la Peña working at one of the lithic tool sites that revealed the ancient communication network across the region for making these tools to near exact specifications. Source: © Dr Paloma de la Peña

65,000-Year-Old ‘Swiss Army Knife’ Tool Reveals Ancient Communication

A team of international scientists has discovered an enlightening fact about early humans who lived in southern Africa between 60,000 and 65,000 years ago. Similarities in their toolmaking technology...
Middle Paleolithic flint cores from the Sontheim Neanderthal hunters camp in southwest German: By reassembling the original flint stone, the research team was able to understand the Neanderthal’s branched production concept.		Source: University of Tübingen

Neanderthal Hunters Had “Great Mental Flexibility” Says Recent Study

Between 52,000 and 45,000 years ago, Neanderthal hunters in the Swabian Alps, in southwestern Germany, possessed “great mental flexibility” concludes the latest study. The study authors go on to say...
Neanderthal Child’s Tooth Found in Palestinian Cave Tells A Tale of Africa

Neanderthal Child’s Tooth Found in Palestinian Cave Tells A Tale of Africa

A team of archaeologists from the Max Planck Institute recently reexamined a set of artifacts recovered from the Shuqba Cave, which included a Neanderthal child’s tooth. It is the first evidence that...
The First Teacher? Study Finds Teaching and Tools Evolved Together

The First Teacher? Study Finds Teaching and Tools Evolved Together

Despite the diverse opinions on the origin of teaching, one thing that remains consistent is the need for effective communication and information dissemination. This is especially evident in academic...
A capuchin monkey in Brazil hoists a stone tool to crack open nuts.    Source: Luca Antonio Marino / CC BY-ND 4.0

Monkeys Smashing Nuts Hint at How Human Toolmaking Evolved

Kristen S. Morrow / The Conversation Human beings used to be defined as “the tool-maker” species. But the uniqueness of this description was challenged in the 1960s when Dr. Jane Goodall discovered...
An Oldowan stone tool core freshly excavated at Ain Boucherit, Algeria.

Stone Tools Found in Algeria Provide Evidence Human Origins Were Spread Throughout Africa

A collection of prehistoric stone tools and butchered animal bones was discovered in 1992 at the Ain Boucherit archaeological site on the north-eastern high Algerian plateau have now been dated to 2...