: 30 Jan 2005 , Discovery of SIBERIA , volume 4,
N1
Stone Age Workshop
Since the old times people have encountered intriguing finds, stones of unusual appearance and shape such as retouched pebbles, pointed stone plates, leaf-shaped flints… Russians sometimes called them witch’s fingers, or thunder arrows. The theory of evolution and fossil anthropological finds accounted for the origin of the majority of these objects. They were made by the primitive man
For a long time archaeologists were engaged in studying the external appearance of artifacts that were found; therefore their conclusions concerning those ancient tools were rather speculative and subjective. Eventually, researchers rolled up their sleeves, got down to work and … made a stone axe. This reconstruction of the activity of a primitive man allowed them to understand how tools were produced in the Paleolith. Having compared the traces of abrasion on the surfaces of simulation models with their ancient “prototypes,” archaeologists determined for what purpose and how these tools were used.
The outcome of these archaeological experiments was unexpected. For instance, it turned out that it took our “experienced” contemporary no more than a couple of hours to make a stone axe! On the other hand, the majority of tools that dated back to the early and late Stone Age had hardly any differences in the level of skill and technique of execution. This is something to ponder about…
: 30 Jan 2005 , Discovery of SIBERIA , volume 4,
N1 
