photo credit: DRB62

Hunting knives and knives in general, have always been a major factor in the survival of humans.

Around 2.6 million years ago, in the Afar region of Ethiopia, the first knives were being made from flint, obsidian and other fine-grained sediments. These crude hunting knives were used primarily for cutting meat and scrapping fatty tissue from hides. They were also used for shaping branches into usable tools such as a digging stick or spear. Although there is limited evidence, it has been suggested that Stone Age knives were used to hollow out larger pieces of wood to be used as water collectors or containers.

How do we know this? By examining the technologies of chimpanzees and modern hunter-gatherers. Combine these with archaeological findings and we can compile a list of possible uses for early stone hunting knives.