Hand Axe (Tanzania)

This object is not part of the Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection. It was able to spend time at the museum on loan from National Museum of Natural History as part of Tools: Extending Our Reach.

The classic handaxe is a teardrop-shaped stone tool knapped on both sides; for this reason, it is sometimes called a "biface." This example, made of trachyte, a type of volcanic rock obtained east of Olduvai Gorge, is around 1.4 million years old. This tool illustrates the period of technological innovation known as the Acheulean, which followed the Oldowan and would predominate between 1.76 million and 150,000 years ago in Africa, parts of Asia, and Europe. Handaxes probably served multiple functions, including cutting, chopping, and whittling wood; digging for tubers and roots; breaking open animal bones for marrow; and as the cores from which the sharp flakes were struck that were used to butcher the meat from animal carcasses. Earlier Oldowan technology included only small, minimally altered tools, whereas the larger handaxes made by Acheulean tool makers were sharpened all the way around, providing a more effective way of continually knapping sharp flakes while collecting food on the go.

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Tools: Extending Our Reach.