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Stone tools?
Or just rocks?
How do you tell?
Watch closely for clues...
John Shea: Paleoanthropologist.
Using a hammerstone to hit the edge of the rock at just
the right angle...
removes a sharp flake and leaves a scar.
Removing several flakes leaves a distinct pattern of
overlapping scars.
Do you see how this basic stone tool differs from a
rock?
The sharp flakes are very useful for cutting.
Stone choppers and hammerstones have many uses
including smashing bones to get at marrow.
Do you see how more advanced stone tools were made using
the same technique?
Stone tools like these are usually found together in
the places where our ancestors made and used
them.