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Lecture 5

Polished Axe

Human hands have made and used ground stone axes and adzes in all parts of globe, beginning around 30,000 years ago. Whereas the chipped stone axe of the Palaeolithic is the quintessential tool of the hunter and meat eater, the ground stone axe or adze is the Swiss army knife of early cultivators. It can be employed to facilitate almost any task in the management, collection, cultivation and processing of plants – whether cereals, roots, shoots, nuts or fruits. Continue reading →