Fig. 11—Man’s First Tool, the Hammer Stone.
Away back in the days when all human beings were simple Stone Age peoples, just beginning the long climb toward civilization, their first tool was nothing more than a Stone or Pebble, picked up along the stream, and used as a Hammer Stone or Hand Hammer. They would want to crack a nut for its kernel, to break a bone for its marrow, or to frighten away a cave bear or hyena that threatened them; and the Hammer Stone served their needs. Later, when they learned that by breaking, pounding and pecking, they could change the shape and form of other stones, in making tools, the Hammer Stone was once more their servant. It was used by primitive peoples the world over, including of course the Mound-builders and the Indians. From the humble Hammer Stone, as a beginning, we may trace without a break all the inventions and progress that man has made, from the very earliest times up to the present. Therefore the Hammer Stone may be rightly called the father of civilization.
Fig. 12—Grooved Stone Hammer.
At first, the human arm was the handle of the Stone Hammer. Later, primitive man discovered that he could “work” stone by pecking and grinding it with another harder stone. He then supplied his Stone Hammer with a groove, and lashed it to a wooden handle by means of a rawhide thong. This handle not only gave him a longer reach, but added more power to his blow.
Putting a groove on a Stone Hammer was really a very important step in human development, for it made of the tool an actual piece of personal property, which the owner would want to carry around with him as he moved from place to place and which, perhaps, would be handed down from father to son.
In Ohio, the ancient Indian tribes used the Grooved Hammer quite freely, and while none have been found in Mounds, it is probable that the Mound-builders also made use of it.
Fig. 13—Stone Pestles and Mortars.
For crushing and grinding corn and seeds into meal, primitive peoples used simple stone implements, several of which are shown above. The type of Pestle, shown at the upper left, known as the Bell-shaped Pestle, is found abundantly in Ohio and near-by states. They were used with wooden Mortars or flat stones, and sometimes with shallow stone mortars, like that shown at the upper right, and were suitable either for pounding or grinding.