„Swiss Army Knife“ of the Stone Age

In the course of the Stone Age, man further developed his technical skills and invented increasingly elaborate stone tools. Hand axes represent an early stage of this development - they are among the most ancient stone tools of human history. The form of the hand axe lends itself to cutting, digging and scraping – a “Swiss Army Knife” of the Stone Age, so to speak. One of the northernmost finds is the hand axe on display here from Maschen in the district of Harburg; it is also the oldest stone tool in this exhibition.