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Was it a stone tool or just a rock? An archaeologist explains how scientists can tell the difference

  • Written by John K. Murray, Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology, Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University
imageStone tools are deliberately made by the hands of hominins, like these worked on by the author.John K. Murray

Have you ever found yourself in a museum’s gallery of human origins, staring at a glass case full of rocks labeled “stone tools,” muttering under your breath, “How do they know it’s not just any old rock?”...

Read more: Was it a stone tool or just a rock? An archaeologist explains how scientists can tell the difference

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