hand ax
noun
1
: a short-handled ax intended for use with one hand
2
: a prehistoric stone tool having one end pointed for cutting and the other end rounded for holding in the hand
Examples of hand ax in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Researchers have previously discovered prehistoric tools in the valley, including another giant hand ax, but never as part of a large-scale excavation.
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Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 July 2023
Our early ancestors apparently knapped the same style of handheld, multipurpose hand ax for 1.6 million years, with only minor tweaks to the template.
—Heather Pringle, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2016
Archaeological scientist Ellery Frahm holds an obsidian hand ax unearthed in Armenia.
—Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 12 Apr. 2019
The Neanderthal tools found at the site include a hand ax and small flint tools known as scrapers.
—Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 21 Dec. 2021
While making a hand ax basically involves improving an existing rock’s shape, making blades and points means the toolmaker must have begun by first visualizing the ideal shape of such a tool, then reworking the rock to serve that purpose.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Oct. 2020
Olduvai Gorge is the only other bone hand ax dated to more than one million years ago.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 July 2020
The last hand ax at the site dates to 499,000 years ago, before the gap.
—Ann Gibbons, Science | AAAS, 15 Mar. 2018
The authors found that for roughly 700,000 years, from 1.2 million to 499,000 years ago, the hominids who populated this basin relied almost entirely on one simple, all-purpose stone tool known as a hand ax.
—Deborah Netburn, latimes.com, 15 Mar. 2018
Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 July 2023
Our early ancestors apparently knapped the same style of handheld, multipurpose hand ax for 1.6 million years, with only minor tweaks to the template.
—Heather Pringle, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2016
Archaeological scientist Ellery Frahm holds an obsidian hand ax unearthed in Armenia.
—Gemma Tarlach, Discover Magazine, 12 Apr. 2019
The Neanderthal tools found at the site include a hand ax and small flint tools known as scrapers.
—Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 21 Dec. 2021
While making a hand ax basically involves improving an existing rock’s shape, making blades and points means the toolmaker must have begun by first visualizing the ideal shape of such a tool, then reworking the rock to serve that purpose.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Oct. 2020
Olduvai Gorge is the only other bone hand ax dated to more than one million years ago.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 July 2020
The last hand ax at the site dates to 499,000 years ago, before the gap.
—Ann Gibbons, Science | AAAS, 15 Mar. 2018
The authors found that for roughly 700,000 years, from 1.2 million to 499,000 years ago, the hominids who populated this basin relied almost entirely on one simple, all-purpose stone tool known as a hand ax.
—Deborah Netburn, latimes.com, 15 Mar. 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hand ax.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hand ax.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hand%20ax. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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