Fig. 1

Schematic illustration of how the earliest stone tools were made, striking sharp-edged flakes from a lava cobble by direct freehand percussion using a hammerstone. Shown is a sequence of three flake removals; note that the core from which the flakes are struck is rotated each time a flake is removed. Flaking is a controlled action requiring the correct combination of angles on the core, hand–eye coordination to strike a small spot, and use of the required force to remove the flake. Figure redrawn by Christopher Coleman from Schick and Toth (1993)