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Handaxes are iconic stone tools used by early humans in the Lower Palaeolithic. They are the hallmarks of a pervasive culture called the Acheulean. The creation of these was shaped by their intended use and available raw materials, as well as the skill, experience and inherited knowledge of their makers. The various shapes of handaxes can tell us about traditions of manufacture and cultural differences between groups of early Neanderthals who lived in Britain and elsewhere in Europe between c. 600,000 and 250,000 years ago. Our project will discover to what extent these groups used handaxes to signal their individual and collective identities.

Through 3D recording of handaxes from key sites, this project will build a new database of Acheulean handaxe shapes, highlighting how similarities and differences in handaxe form can create a new framework for understanding the British Lower Palaeolithic period.