Palaeolithic Cleaver
Object
Flint tool
Production date
328000 bc - 300000 bc
Object number
1991.681
Physical Description
Flint, square, 3 cutting edges.
Object history
This type of stone tool is called a cleaver. They are similar to handaxes, but instead of a pointed tip they have a flat cutting edge. They were probably used as a butchering instrument, in particular breaking bones.
Cleavers are very typical of the technology made by Neanderthals between 301,000 - 328,000 years ago (a warm period called MIS-9), the time from when the Old Stone Age artefacts discovered in Hackney date to.
This cleaver is featured in the article Rawlinson, A., Foulds, F., Shipton, C. et al. Handaxe diversity at the end of the Acheulean: The character and significance of handaxe assemblages from MIS 9 Britain in European context. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 18, 104 (2026).
Cleavers are very typical of the technology made by Neanderthals between 301,000 - 328,000 years ago (a warm period called MIS-9), the time from when the Old Stone Age artefacts discovered in Hackney date to.
This cleaver is featured in the article Rawlinson, A., Foulds, F., Shipton, C. et al. Handaxe diversity at the end of the Acheulean: The character and significance of handaxe assemblages from MIS 9 Britain in European context. Archaeol Anthropol Sci 18, 104 (2026).
Associated Event
Associated Person
Joseph Exhall Greenhill (Archaeologist)
Material
Stone
Dimension
Width: 9cm
Height: 11cm
Depth: 4.5cm
Height: 11cm
Depth: 4.5cm
On display?
No