1.1 Tools

A tool is something used for a particular purpose or purposes – an implement. For example, Figure 3 shows the oldest human-made object in the British Museum.

Figure 3 A stone tool from the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, approximately 1.8 million years old

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A stone tool from the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, approximately 1.8 million years old. The stone is grey in colour and the surface is uneven and abrasive.

Figure 3 A stone tool from the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, approximately 1.8 million years old

This tool was probably used for chopping and illustrates two key features of tools. They are physically separate objects from the person who uses them, and they extend what that person can do. A chopper is like an extension of your body that lets you do something you couldn’t do without it. You might cut down a tree for example.

Over the prehistoric period, tools evolved and diversified, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 A selection of prehistoric farming tools

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A wide variety of prehistoric farming tools are displayed in a glass case.

Figure 4 A selection of prehistoric farming tools

So far, these tools only extended physical capabilities. At some point people discovered that tools can also extend mental function.