Glossary of Key Terms

Chapter 7: Homo habilis and Cultural Origins

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

D

Direct percussion method
A technique of stone tool manufacture performed by striking the raw material with a hammerstone or by striking raw material against a stone anvil to remove flakes.

H

Homo habilis
Earliest representative of the genus Homo; lived between 2.4 and 1.6 million years ago. Characterized by expansion and reorganization of the brain, compared to Australopithecus.

L

Lower Paleolithic
The first part of the Old Stone Age; its beginning is marked by the appearance 2.6 million years ago of Oldowan tools.

O

Oldowan tool tradition
The earliest identifiable stone tools.

T

Tradition
In archaeology, a distinctive tool kit or technology that lasts a long time at one or more localities.