Made from quartz, this chopper-shaped tool was discovered near the Kashafurdo River in Kolasan Razabi province in northeastern Iran and dates back to the lower Paleolithic period. Evidence of peeling and removal of some flakes can be seen at one end.
Flakes peeled from quartz usually have sharp edges and are extremely efficient at cutting various materials. The chopper was found alongside more than 80 other stone tools during a geological survey conducted between 1974 and 1975 near the villages of Abraban, Chahak and Baghugg in eastern Mashhad.
According to Claude Thibault, the gravel layer in which the tools were discovered lies on a thick layer of sand, indicating the presence of a vast, shallow lake in areas that were gradually depleted 700,000 to 800,000 years ago. Kashafurd is one of Iran’s oldest human settlements, dating back probably over 700,000 years.
This tool, along with several other artifacts in Kashafluid, is exhibited in Showcase 1 of the lower and mid-Paleolithic gallery of Iran Bastan Museum (Iran National Museum). Apart from the Kashafrud Showcase, the other three displays in this gallery are dedicated to the artifacts of the low stone tools with stone tools, bones and animal teeth of this era.
These artifacts have been discovered on sites such as Gakia in Kermansha, Dabundrasi Cave in Gilan, Siwato in Mahabad, Radiz in Sistanbaruchestan, and several other sites from over a million years to 2000 years ago. Early humans (Homo erectus and sometimes Heidelbergensis) used these tools to break bones, cut skin and meat, organize wood, and create other tools. Fossil specimens of this era in the Darband-Rashi Cave belong to the extinct species of bears in the cave, deer and wild goat teeth.
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