The Acheulean tradition
appears to have replaced the Oldowan tradition, and specimens believed
to belong to this tradition date from 1.5 million years ago, to about 200
000 years ago. It is generally accepted that these tools were used by Homo
erectus. Specimens have been found in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa
and Europe. The name 'Acheulean' comes from St Acheul, in northern France,
where the first tools of this kind were found.
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The hand-axe that was the main feature of the Acheulean tradition has been described as the Swiss Army knife of prehistoric man, because it seems to be a multi-purpose instrument. Hand-axes are suited to slicing, dicing, chopping, rooting and killing animals. It is a teardrop shaped stone, that has flakes chipped away from both sides of it, to produce a lens shaped piece, that is said to be bifacial. The hand-axes could be anything from extremely roughly shaped, to beautifully carved. They are also a variety of sizes, for different purposes. Some of the specimens found seem to be too big for real use, although there is no way that we can assume whether or not these specimens were functional or not. |
There are other types of Acheulean tools as well: cleavers, scrapers and picks. There is also evidence that Homo erectus man used wood to make tools, by sharpening the ends of sticks. We can't, however, say exactly what these tools were used for. There is, however, evidence that co-operative hunting took place - there have been some sites with the remains of as many as 50 elephants.