The creation of tools utilizing the natural
environment is what distinguishes man from
animal. What was once created using stone and
wood has, over the centuries, evolved into
metalworking and modern-day plastics. But it is
the simplest tools, those carved from stone,
which allowed mankind to conquer the natural
environment and to prosper. Holding this flint
axe head in our hand, although it appears rough
and crude, we are holding the nascent breath of
the great civilization of Egypt. From such axe
heads would eventually rise the pyramids. Tools
allowed mankind to altar the natural settings and
to create his own habitats. An axe head like this
one, when tied securely to a wooden shaft, could
be used to chop wood or to carve meat from a
fallen prey. This axe head represents the innate
human drive to altar the environment, to
innovate, and to create something stronger and
more durable. It is in these earliest tools that we
are able to witness the birth of civilization. From
such tools, mankind learned to carve stones and
rocks into new shapes and forms that suited the
needs of the people, slowly evolving from
primitive axe heads into pyramids and temples
- (SP.639)
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