core tool

American  

noun

Archaeology.

1. a stone tool with a cutting edge, as a hand ax, chopper, or scraper, formed by chipping away flakes from a core.

---

core tool Scientific  

1. A stone tool consisting of a core that is flaked (struck with another rock or similar material) to produce a cutting edge or edges. Core tools date at least to the beginning of the Oldowan tool industry and are the earliest stone tools known to have been deliberately fashioned by humans. Core tools include choppers, cleavers, and hand axes.

2. Compare flake tool

---

Example Sentences

A core tool was an information web that, under emergency laws, that was able to synchronize “big data” drawn from customs information, closed-circuit TV networks, credit card transactions, public transport usage and smartphone location tracking.

From Washington Times

"What's wrong with learning to communicate in Patios, which comes as part and parcel of reggae-dancehall as a core tool of communication? If you love reggae-dancehall you ought to learn Patios," the 34-year-old musician told me.

From BBC

“It means from a US perspective, it’s really undermining this core tool that we have for protecting democratic values and protecting those who are seeking their freedoms overseas.”

From The Guardian

VMware’s core tool splits up one physical computer server into multiple smaller “virtual” machines to ensure that all of a company’s computers are put to full use.

From Reuters

One recent study from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace found that "offensive cyber operations have become a core tool of Iranian statecraft," sponsored by the government intelligence apparatus.

From Los Angeles Times