initially axes were tools of stone called hand axes, used without handles (hafts), and had knapped (chipped) cutting edges of flint or other stone. stone axes made with "ground" cutting edges were first developed sometime in the late pleistocene in australia, where ground-edge axe fragments from sites in arnhem land date back at least 44,000 years; ground-edge axes were later invented independently in japan some time around 38,000 bp, and are known from several upper palaeolithic sites on the islands of honshu and kyushu. in europe, however, the innovation of ground edges occurred much later, in the neolithic period ending 4,000 to 2,000 bc. the first true hafted axes are known from the mesolithic period (c. 6000 bc). few wooden hafts have been found from this period, but it seems that the axe was normally hafted by wedging. birch-tar and rawhide lashings were used to fix the blade.