hand ax

American  

[hand aks] / ˈhænd ˌæks /

noun

1. Also hand axe a usually large, general-purpose bifacial Paleolithic stone tool, often oval or pear-shaped in form and characteristic of certain Lower Paleolithic industries.

2. broad hatchet.

---

hand ax Scientific  

/ hănd′ăks′ /

1. A cutting or chopping tool, especially of the Lower Paleolithic Period, typically consisting of a piece of flint or other coarse stone that has been flaked on both sides to produce a sharp edge running all around the perimeter. Hand axes are core tools (produced from a found stone rather than from a processed flake) and have been found in several basic, often pointed shapes, including oval, triangular, and cordate (heart-shaped). The most common Paleolithic tool, they are especially associated with the Acheulian and some Mousterian tool cultures.

---

Etymology

Origin of hand ax

before 1000; Middle English, Old English

Example Sentences

They were one of the first hominids to depart Africa and used tools like stone hand axes, which could have been used to cut down trees and build rafts.

From Salon

A small hand ax he was holding clanged on the ground.

From Seattle Times

A paleontologist with the corps and an Air Force archaeologist found ancient hand axes while on a surveying trip to Niger in 2017.

From Seattle Times

The new toolmakers upgraded to smaller, portable, obsidian blades capable of far more precision than the crude hand axes, Potts and colleagues reported in a series of papers published in 2018.

From Science Magazine

Others go back to living in caves and chasing their breakfasts with stone hand axes.

From Nature