Stone tools were used by early humans to make their daily activities easier. There are many types of stone tools that archaeologists find when excavating sites. Projectile points are some of the most commonly found at former hunting camps and were used to hunt both large and small game. There are two main types of projectile points: spear points and arrow points. Spear points are typically larger and heavier, while arrow points are smaller and lighter. Projectile points were typically attached to shafts made from organic material, like wood, and are often the only remaining element of these types of tools found. Projectile points can be simple triangles, others are long, thin, and fluted, while some are pointed with distinctive stems or tangs where they attach to the wood arrow shaft. The shape and size depended on the time period in which they were made, the raw materials available at the location where they were made, the animals they were intending to hunt, and the culture of the people who made them.

Prehistoric humans used tools for many activities in their daily lives. Two activities they used tools for were hunting and fishing. The first hunting tools were probably sharpened wooden thrusting spears without any stone points. Because a thrusting spear requires the hunter to get very close to an animal in order to kill it, humans eventually learned to make throwing spears tipped with sharp stone points, atlatl or spear throwers, and bows and arrows that could safely kill large and dangerous prey from a distance. Bows and arrows made hunting more efficient. Arrows are lighter and smaller to carry than spears, require less raw material to make, and can travel faster towards a target. Prehistoric humans were also skilled fishermen; some of the earliest fishhooks were made of bone and were found in Central Africa. They also created serrated or barbed harpoons for use in fishing. Later, people learned how to fish with nets and used stone net sinkers to expand the reach of their nets and increase the amount of fish they would catch. As people migrated and the game they hunted and fished changed over time, so did the structure, shape, and type of tools they made and used.

The first humans in eastern North America were small hunting and gathering societies that lived in the eastern woodlands of the United States and relied exclusively on wild plants and animals for their food. About 4,000 years ago, pottery first appeared in North America, but was not widespread until 3,000 years ago. Pottery was an important part of these societies as they shifted from their nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle to one built around agriculture, specifically corn, or maize. At about the same time that maize became the most important crop plant in eastern North America, a major advance in ceramic technology also occurred. Native American societies in the Southeast and Midwest United States began to add ground clam shell to strengthen or temper their pottery clay. This allowed them to make much larger, stronger, and longer-lived vessels of many different shapes. Pottery is a key element of the archaeological record from approximately 1050 B.C., gradually increasing in both the quality and types of vessels made until European explorers and settlers arrived.

Prehistoric tools were made from many different materials. The most common tools in the archaeological record are those made from rocks and minerals. This is due to their ability to preserve well and not disintegrate over time. Prehistoric humans would seek out stones that would break in predictable ways and could be easily manipulated. These included flint, obsidian, chert, and different versions of quartz. Sometimes prehistoric humans would use fire to heat the raw stone material and make it easier to shape into a tool. As tools became more specialized, the types of materials used to make them expanded. Prehistoric humans began to use bones, antlers, wood, and other organic matter to help them with their daily activities. They would also combine materials to make their tools. For example, they would use wood for shafts of spears or arrows and attach these to stone projectile points using a thread made from animal hide and glue made from plant resin. As humans moved throughout the world, they encountered new types of materials that they could use to create new tools. For example, stone tools made of flint are very common in Western Europe while tools made of obsidian (volcanic glass) are much more common in Eastern Africa.

Many different animals besides humans use tools, but making such diverse and specialized tools is a trait characteristic of our species in particular. These skills separate humans from other primates. Prehistoric tools were made from many different types of materials, including stone, wood, animal bones, and antlers. Eventually modern humans learned how to make tools out of metals like copper and iron. Early tools come in many varieties, including points for spears and arrows, axes, sinkers, atlatls, digging sticks, knives, drills, scrapers, awls, and others. Tools allowed humans to become skilled hunters and fisherman. Prehistoric humans also used stone tools to help them perform daily activities. Tools like axes, scrapers, and awls were used to process animal kills for food preparation and to turn animal hides into clothing. Prehistoric humans also used tools to work wood and plant materials into shelters. By using tools, humans exerted some control over their environment and were able to influence and change it. This allowed them to live in more diverse climates and spread throughout the world.

Humans have always manipulated their environment, whether by acquiring food, making and using tools, or other aspects of daily life. They are constantly interacting with their environment on a daily basis. By using the available materials, humans have created shelter, made tools, created containers and vessels, and produced items of personal and cultural significance. Many of these resources are naturally occurring, such as stones, minerals, animal bones, or organic fibers from plants, while others are made from combining materials. The process of acquiring these materials and the manufacturing process can be traditional practices that are passed down from one generation to another. Because materials are unique to the location of different communities and cultures, by studying the types of materials, as well as animal remains found and the processes used to manipulate them, anthropologists and researchers can learn about the daily activities and lifestyles of the cultures they are studying. In what ways do you interact with your environment on a daily basis?

Prehistoric tools can be useful in helping archaeologists figure out when a site was occupied by humans. Scientists can determine how old tools are by dating the sediments or layers that tools are found in and by comparing the tool's shape, design, and type of material to other tools whose age is known. Some of the first tools were large multi-purpose tools called choppers and handaxes. These were large rocks that prehistoric humans flaked to create sharp edges and were probably used for several purposes. As time went on, tools became more specialized and refined to meet different needs. As people began to hunt different types of game, spear and projectile points that were sharp on both sides replaced choppers. Tools became thinner, lighter and eventually had serrated edges. For example, Clovis points became widespread in North America around 13,000 years ago; they were likely used to butcher mammoths, bison, and other large animals. Later in time, smaller, lighter Folsom points became more common. Over time, projectile points became razor sharp, more triangular in shape, and began to have stems to improve hafting onto a spear or arrow shaft. Later humans made tools from a variety of types of stones, bones, and other organic material.

Archaeologists are always trying to understand how prehistoric humans lived. One way they do this is by recreating past peoples' daily activities using the artifacts left behind in the archaeological record. This type of archaeology is known as experimental archaeology. One activity that archaeologists have replicated is the process of making stone tools or flintknapping. Flintknapping is the process of removing flakes from a stone core in order to shape the core into a tool or make flakes for use as tools themselves. The toolmaker strikes the stone intentionally to get the desired shape, size, and sharpness. The first stone tools were made by hammering, or simply by striking one stone with either another stone or a tool made from antler or bone. Later tools, like arrow points, were made by using a technique known as pressure flaking. In this process, humans applied pressure against the flake rather than striking to remove it. Pressure flaking is much more accurate than hammering. After the general shape of the tool is established, it can be further refined, polished, and sharpened over time. Archaeologists have learned about flintknapping by studying the many examples they have found of flakes and cores that were discarded during the process of making stone tools.

The discipline of archaeology has changed dramatically since the time when average people were searching for strange or exotic objects. Today's archaeologists carefully excavate sites by recording the context and stratigraphic relationship of the objects they recover. Archaeologists are careful to take detailed notes during the entire process. When people continue to live in the same location for a long period of time, they build on the remains of those who lived there before, thus creating layers of remains that can be studied to learn how people lived and how they interacted with other groups. Excavation, however, is only part of the process of archaeology. Today the archaeologist may use techniques of the chemical or physical sciences to study materials used in the past and to determine where they were made and if they were brought into a site from somewhere else. Another approach is that of experimental archaeology where archaeologists attempt to recreate the objects of the past to understand the process by which the objects were made. Examples of experimental archaeology might be making tools (e.g., flintknapping) or by attempting to recreate some special type of pottery.