Early humans in East Africa used hammerstones to strike stone
cores and produce sharp flakes. They used these stone tools for
a variety of purposes, including extracting meat and bone marrow
from large animals. Flakes were removed from the stone core,
creating a sharp edge. Imagine using it to chop through the
shoulder of an antelope. This early stone age chopper is the
oldest human-made artifact in the Smithsonian's collections.