[Illustration: Fig. 11—Man’s First Tool, the Hammer Stone.]
Away back in the days when all human beings were simple Stone Age
peoples, just beginning the long climb toward civilization, their first
tool was nothing more than a Stone or Pebble, picked up along the
stream, and used as a Hammer Stone or Hand Hammer. They would want to
crack a nut for its kernel, to break a bone for its marrow, or to
frighten away a cave bear or hyena that threatened them; and the Hammer
Stone served their needs. Later, when they learned that by breaking,
pounding and pecking, they could change the shape and form of other
stones, in making tools, the Hammer Stone was once more their servant.
It was used by primitive peoples the world over, including of course the
Mound-builders and the Indians. From the humble Hammer Stone, as a
beginning, we may trace without a break all the inventions and progress
that man has made, from the very earliest times up to the present.
Therefore the Hammer Stone may be rightly called the father of
civilization.
[Illustration: Fig. 12—Grooved Stone Hammer.]
At first, the human arm was the handle of the Stone Hammer. Later,
primitive man discovered that he could “work” stone by pecking and
grinding it with another harder stone. He then supplied his Stone Hammer
with a groove, and lashed it to a wooden handle by means of a rawhide
thong. This handle not only gave him a longer reach, but added more
power to his blow.
Putting a groove on a Stone Hammer was really a very important step in
human development, for it made of the tool an actual piece of personal
property, which the owner would want to carry around with him as he
moved from place to place and which, perhaps, would be handed down from
father to son.
In Ohio, the ancient Indian tribes used the Grooved Hammer quite freely,
and while none have been found in Mounds, it is probable that the
Mound-builders also made use of it.
[Illustration: Fig. 13—Stone Pestles and Mortars.]
For crushing and grinding corn and seeds into meal, primitive peoples
used simple stone implements, several of which are shown above. The type
of Pestle, shown at the upper left, known as the Bell-shaped Pestle, is
found abundantly in Ohio and near-by states. They were used with wooden
Mortars or flat stones, and sometimes with shallow stone mortars, like
that shown at the upper right, and were suitable either for pounding or
grinding.
The lower specimen in the picture, known as a Roller Pestle, was used
like a modern rolling-pin.
Stone Pestles are rarely found in Mounds, but were used mostly by the
primitive Indian tribes.
The stone Pestle and Mortar were man’s first grist-mill, out of which
developed the water-driven grist-mills of pioneer days and, later on,
the great electrically-driven flour mills of today.
[Illustration: Fig. 14—Chisels and Celts, or Ungrooved Axes.]
These, with the Grooved Axe illustrated on the following page, were the
commoner types of implements used for chiseling and chopping. They could
also be used as wedges. With the Celt, when used as a Chisel or
Hand-hatchet, the human arm was the handle. If it served as a Hatchet,
Tomahawk, or Axe, it was lashed to a wooden handle by means of rawhide
thongs.
The Celt was used for a great variety of purposes. In Ohio and near-by
states it is often called a “skinning stone,” and it would have been a
very convenient tool for removing the hides of animals. Some Celts are
very rough in appearance, with only the edges ground to a polish, while
others are smooth and highly polished over their entire surfaces.
The Celt is a very ancient tool, and is found in large numbers on the
surface of the ground in almost every part of the world where men have
lived.
[Illustration: Fig. 15—Grooved Stone Axes.]
It is interesting to compare the modern Steel Axe, Hatchet or other
handled cutting tool, with the simple stone implements of prehistoric
times and to note how, little by little, they have been improved and
perfected. The present-day Axe or hatchet is comparatively light and
thin and the handle is inserted through a hole or into a socket. Stone
tools, no matter how the handle is attached, must be heavier and
thicker, because stone will not stand the strain of hard use as will
steel.
The Ohio Mound-building peoples simply lashed wooden handles to their
ungrooved Axes or Celts, using rawhide thongs. These, when they dried,
held very tightly and made a very useful tool. The ancient Indians also
used this method, and in addition they pecked grooves around their Axes
to supply a firmer fastening for the thong. The above drawings show the
Grooved Axe, and how the handle was secured. This implement served as an
Axe, a Hatchet or a Tomahawk, according to its size.