{"id":14384,"date":"2025-05-18T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=14384"},"modified":"2025-05-10T03:25:06","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T03:25:06","slug":"stone-tool-identification-archaeology-flintknapping-techniques-may-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/stone-tool-identification-archaeology-flintknapping-techniques-may-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Was it a stone tool or just a rock? An archaeologist explains how scientists can tell the\u00a0difference"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Stone tools are deliberately made by the hands of hominins, like these worked on by the author.\n John K. Murray<\/span><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n John K. Murray<\/a>, Arizona State University<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

Have you ever found yourself in a museum\u2019s gallery of human origins, staring at a glass case full of rocks labeled \u201cstone tools,\u201d muttering under your breath, \u201cHow do they know it\u2019s not just any old rock?\u201d<\/p>\n\n

At first glance, it might seem impossible to decipher. But as an experimental archaeologist<\/a> with over a decade of experience studying and manufacturing stone tools, I can say that there are telltale signs that a rock has been modified by humans or our very ancient ancestors, hominins<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

This process, known as flintknapping<\/a>, can be boiled down to mastering force, angles and rock structure. When done properly, flintknapping creates the recognizable features that archaeologists use to identify stone tools.<\/p>\n\n

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