AUS Aboriginal hand axe

josh stout · 19th October 2013, 12:59 AM

I am fascenated by hand axes. The one you show is strikingly similar to Acheulian forms dating to 2 millian years ago or so, made by Homo erectus. Yet yours may be little more than a century old to about 40 thousand years. The older ones tend to be larger, but the general shape is the same, particularly the sharp edge all the way around. There is a bit of a mystery as to what they were for, and why the design is so persistant. Even older tools, whose design also persisted, had a round edge for grasping, oposite the sharp one.
Most archeologists/anthropologists would not try and link the Austrialian versions with the much older African/Asian/Europian versions, but the similarity is clear. In my opinion they were all perpose knives that could be used as a throwing star.

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19th October 2013, 12:59 AM	#4
josh stout Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 407	I am fascenated by hand axes. The one you show is strikingly similar to Acheulian forms dating to 2 millian years ago or so, made by Homo erectus. Yet yours may be little more than a century old to about 40 thousand years. The older ones tend to be larger, but the general shape is the same, particularly the sharp edge all the way around. There is a bit of a mystery as to what they were for, and why the design is so persistant. Even older tools, whose design also persisted, had a round edge for grasping, oposite the sharp one. Most archeologists/anthropologists would not try and link the Austrialian versions with the much older African/Asian/Europian versions, but the similarity is clear. In my opinion they were all perpose knives that could be used as a throwing star.