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Ancient Cutting Tools

Ancient people used several different materials to make cutting tools. Stone dominated for millions of years. As technology advanced enough to allow mining and processing of ore, metal came into use. Metal cutting tools were an advance over stone because metal can take many more shapes. Dates for use of particular materials varied in different parts of the world. Dates given without reference to a specific region generally refer to Egypt and the Near East.

Stone
- Stone was the first material used in large quantities to make cutting tools and its use predominated for millions of years. Ancient tool makers chipped most of their cutting tools out of relatively brittle rocks, such as flint, which broke cleanly along predictable lines. Types of cutting tools made from stone included hand axes, knives and arrowheads. Stone tools worked well, but stone has limited possibilities for differing shapes.
Transition to Metal
- People could not use metal to make tools until they recognized metal ore and found techniques for working with it. Chunks of ore in ceramic kilns probably provided clues for how to properly purify ore and work hot metal. The use of stone and metals overlapped for centuries because metal tools were too expensive for many to produce or buy. While people with wealth and status used metal items, those with fewer resources continued to produce and use stone tools.
Copper and Bronze
- Copper was the first metal in widespread use. Copper use dates to between 6,000 and 5,000 B.C. Copper is soft compared to most other metals, so it was not used for large items. Chisels and small knives are the majority of known copper cutting tools. Bronze is a copper alloy made by mixing copper with another mineral. Bronze was probably first produced by accident from impure copper ore. Consistent use of bronze beganbetween 3,500 and 3,000 B.C. Early bronze was usually copper mixed with arsenic. Better bronze was later made from copper mixed with tin. Good sources of tin are rare so bronze was never an inexpensive metal. Bronze cutting tools included axes and hatchets, knives, arrowheads, lance heads and swords.
Iron
- Iron is one of the most plentiful elements found on earth. Early iron tools were not significantly sharper or more durable than those made of bronze but the ready availability of iron made them much more affordable. Working temperature was the major barrier to iron working, and iron use dates only to about 1,200 B.C., when kilns hot enough to work iron ore came into use. Early iron items were all hammered into shape from heated metal because that process requires a lower temperature than melting and casting iron. Iron cutting tools included swords, knives, chisels, axes, sickles and arrow heads.

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