hammerstone
noun
ham·mer·stone
ˈha-mər-ˌstōn 
: a prehistoric hammering implement consisting of a rounded stone
Examples of hammerstone in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
From the same archaeological level of the site, researchers found 23 pebbles, mostly used for utilitarian purposes, like hammerstones or axes.
—
Jay Kakade
june 15, New Atlas, 15 June 2025
The surface also showed signs of having been prepared by hammerstones prior to the engraving.
—Samuel Axon and Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 5 June 2023
These tool types, which our distant ancestors began making at least 2.6 million years ago, were basic, including hammerstones for bludgeoning and sharp flakes that were struck off larger cores to provide a sharp cutting edge.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Oct. 2023
The engraved surfaces also appear to have been smoothed with hammerstones and polished with dirt or sand, according to the researchers.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 5 June 2023
In contrast, the earlier Lomekwi 3 toolmakers set the cores on larger rocks and struck them with the hammerstone from above.
—Hillary Waterman, Discover Magazine, 30 Sep. 2015
Some of the more than 5,000 items include a miner’s belt designed for self-rescue, a fossil from a time when the entire gorge was an underwater home to marine life and a Native American hammerstone used to prepare food hundreds of years ago.
—From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2022
Ancient people typically carved petroglyphs into boulders with a stone chisel and a hammerstone.
—Isis Davis-Marks, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Apr. 2021
Among the finds were traces of a fossilized forest 32 meters beneath the waves, including tree roots, terrestrial snail shells, and peat—plus a small flint flake and part of a broken flint hammerstone shaped by hunter-gatherers.
—Andrew Curry, Science | AAAS, 30 Jan. 2020
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Jay Kakade
june 15, New Atlas, 15 June 2025
The surface also showed signs of having been prepared by hammerstones prior to the engraving.
—Samuel Axon and Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, 5 June 2023
These tool types, which our distant ancestors began making at least 2.6 million years ago, were basic, including hammerstones for bludgeoning and sharp flakes that were struck off larger cores to provide a sharp cutting edge.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Oct. 2023
The engraved surfaces also appear to have been smoothed with hammerstones and polished with dirt or sand, according to the researchers.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 5 June 2023
In contrast, the earlier Lomekwi 3 toolmakers set the cores on larger rocks and struck them with the hammerstone from above.
—Hillary Waterman, Discover Magazine, 30 Sep. 2015
Some of the more than 5,000 items include a miner’s belt designed for self-rescue, a fossil from a time when the entire gorge was an underwater home to marine life and a Native American hammerstone used to prepare food hundreds of years ago.
—From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2022
Ancient people typically carved petroglyphs into boulders with a stone chisel and a hammerstone.
—Isis Davis-Marks, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Apr. 2021
Among the finds were traces of a fossilized forest 32 meters beneath the waves, including tree roots, terrestrial snail shells, and peat—plus a small flint flake and part of a broken flint hammerstone shaped by hunter-gatherers.
—Andrew Curry, Science | AAAS, 30 Jan. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Hammerstone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hammerstone. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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