A flint handaxe from the Palaeolithic period presenting a dark brown stone. Relatively large in size, the original stone was skilfully modelled into a bifacial, teardrop-shaped handaxe, moulded to fit the grip of the hand. To the top is a projecting point for use. Such shape was achieved using a hammerstone to strike flakes, progressively smaller in size, from around the edges. Handaxes were multi-purposed and were produced from striking a natural piece of flint with either a stone, bone or antler. A major milestone in human evolution and spanning over the past 2.6 million years, stone tools cover the vast majority of the history of the technological developments achieved by the genus Homo. They present the earliest form of material culture, offering important evidence about the life of our ancestors. Measurements (circa): L 10.3cm x W 6.1cm Provenance: Property of a Surrey, UK, gentleman; from collections formed since before 1970.