World's Oldest Axe

A tiny flake dating from 44 to 49,000 years ago is the remnant of the earliest known axe with a handle, archeologists have claimed.

18:43 13 May 2016

A fingernail-sized sliver of basalt found in Australia is the world’s oldest axe, archeologists have claimed. The tiny stone, which is ground smooth at one end, is about 49,000 years old.

 

Although much older “hand axes” were found earlier across Africa and Australia, they are very different tools. Axe blades made from harder stone are common in discrete locations around the globe including Australia, northern Asia and the Americas. 

Archeologists believe that they were usually attached to a handle to form a too much like a hatchet, which are often associated with the development of agriculture. Latest findings suggest an adaptation to a new environment by the very first Australians.

 

"We know that they didn't have axes where they came from," said Prof Sue O'Connor from the Australian National University.

"There's no axes in the islands to our north. They arrived in Australia and innovated axes."

 

"Nowhere else in the world do you get axes at this date," Prof O'Connor said.

 

"Australian stone artefacts have often been characterised as simple. But clearly that's not the case when you have these hafted axes earlier in Australia than elsewhere in the world."