Page 12 - 100 Events That Made History

Handy to have
Things really started rocking about
2.5 million years ago (MYA), when
an ancestral species to humans, the
Australopithecines, became the first to
handcraft tools. They were followed
by Homo habilis (“Handy man”)
who used rocks to sharpen CUTTING Hand
EDGES. These tools seem to have axes were
been used to scrape meat off animal often made
bones, but not for hunting or defense. from flint.
Given the chop

The leaf-shaped hand ax became the
tool of choice for Homo erectus
(“Upright man”) for more than a million
First tools years. First created about 1.75 MYA, this
revolutionary design had evolved from
previous crude tools. The hand ax could
TRANSFORMING the be used for digging, hunting, chopping

lives of early humans wood, or MAKING OTHER TOOLS.

Fire-starter
How it changed
Though its exact origins are
hotly contested, the control of Rocks, hand axes, and
fire lit up the lives of Homo fire all became crucial
erectus, providing warmth, light tools in helping early
at night, and protection against their world.
humans master
animals. It also meant that early
humans could really get the world
COOKING—which scientists
believe improved diet and led
Homo erectus way to start a fire.
to a larger brain.
brains were
roughly two-
thirds the
Using rocks or wood
size of ours.
to create a spark
was the easiest

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