Tools and weapons have been made from stone, wood, and bone since the beginning of mankind. Wood and bone do not preserve in the archaeological record, but modern experimental archaeology proves that they are easier to manipulate to create tools. Stone tools alone have endured the test of time, with evidence dating to as far back as 2.6 million years ago. Though stone tools are mainly associated with the prehistoric period, they continue to be used today. A Flintknapper is defined as “One who forms stone implements by controlling the fracture of the material. An artificer. A stoneworker using material exhibiting a conchoidal fracture” (Crabtree 65).
As we move forward in the 21st century, it is easy to forget our seemingly simply origins. However, flintknapping is a difficult skill to master, it requires much hard work and careful planning.
Lithic technology is comprised of two factors, method and technique. Like a business, a method is in our mind. If prehistoric man had haphazardly bashed rocks with other rocks, I believe we would still be scavengers from larger carnivores. To make a stone tool, a flintknapper must first decide what type of tool they want (such as a handaxe, or a pick), what material they will use, and based upon these decisions, devise a preconceived systematic plan of action based on rules, mechanics, order and procedure. (good) This is our prehistoric business plan. Without it, it is nearly impossible to implement a stone tool. In the 21st century, business plans are important to create a driving force in a team, which contributes to success.
The technique is the execution of your method, using suitable fabricators. Raw rock used to make stone tools must fracture in a predictable manner and be homogeneous. From this raw rock, one can take off flakes by percussion or pressure.
The earliest stone industry dates from 1.8 to 1.2 million years ago, where the same tool consistently was made with very little variation. This is the chopper, shaped by hitting one stone against another to create a sharpened edge, used for cutting or sawing. It is theorized that stone tools allowed for the expansion and complexity of the human brain by increasing our hunting capabilities. Like a good idea or innovation in the modern day workplace, the manufacture of stone tools spread. Though it is very crude, it shows how simple changes can make monumental differences in terms of our abilities.
The Acheulian period dates from as early as 1.4 million years ago, and marks the transition to a more technologically advanced tool industry. By advancing the original technique, our ancestors standardized the tool-making tradition by limiting the type of rocks they used. They started to make different types of tools, like burins and borers, and handaxes. As time progressed, instead of using the closest rock source, they transported rocks from farther distances because of their better qualities. This would require trade and co-operation with other groups for access to these rocks. In the corporate world it is easy to see that it is necessary to branch out, to use technology and outside sources to maximize success. Careful managers create ties to those that offer the best solutions.
During the Olduwan and earlier Acheulian, only the core of the rock was used for tools. While this was workable, it was wasteful of the flakes that fall off to be left on the ground, only to be discovered millions of years later. Thus in the later Acheulian, we see an economical shift towards using flake technologies, which exploited the flakes. Not only did this conserve materials, it led to an explosion of possibilities of new tool designs. With today’s environmental concerns, conservation is a key issue for leaders and managers. Not only do we want to help the earth, but we want to make our businesses more effective, like the specialized stone tools that emerged in the later periods. Eighteen different types of stone tools have been discovered from the Acheulian Industry – evidence that our ancestors were developing technologies to adapt to local conditions. In a period of changing environmental conditions, adaptability was essential. Similarly, the modern corporate environment is a dynamic system. To survive within this system, managers and employees must find ways to adapt.
In this period, new methods to remove flakes were discovered. Instead of only using stone against stone (hard-hammer percussion), early man started to use punches. The punch is either semi-pointed or a blunt rod-like object made of bone, antler or stone. For this technique, the worker can take off flakes with more precision and control by placing the bunch at a constant angle in a specific place and then hitting the punch with something else. In this alternative, the abstraction of an earlier idea permitted flintknappers to create stone tools previous impossible due to lack of precision. Abstraction and creativity in the workplace lead to new possibilities and areas for expansion.
New technologies also emerged after the Acheulian. Thus, one can see how flintknapping advanced over time, building on the foundations of older techniques. It was an open enterprise, which allowed for experimentation. We can see how the basic skills of our ancestors - sharing ideas and collaboration – are very applicable in today’s world to allow for the production of better products and services.
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