Editing Stone tool (section)

===Neolithic industries===<!-- Template:Neolithic Europe links to this section -->
[[Image:Néolithique 0001.jpg|thumb|left|An array of [[Neolithic]] artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools.]]
[[File:Hache 222.1 Global fond.jpg|thumb|left|Polished Neolithic [[jadeitite]] axe from the Museum of Toulouse]]
[[File:HMB Steinaxtmanufaktur Vinelz Jungsteinzeit 2700 BC.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Axe heads found at a 2700 BC Neolithic manufacture site in Switzerland, arranged in the various stages of production from left to right]]

In prehistoric Japan, ground stone tools appear during the [[Japanese Paleolithic]] period, that lasted from around 40,000 BC to 14,000 BC.<ref>"Prehistoric Japan, New perspectives on insular East Asia", Keiji Imamura, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, {{ISBN|0-8248-1853-9}}</ref>  Elsewhere, ground stone tools became important during the [[Neolithic]] period beginning about 10,000 BC. These ground or polished implements are manufactured from larger-grained materials such as [[basalt]], [[jade]] and [[jadeite]], [[Greenstone (archaeology)|greenstone]] and some forms of [[rhyolite]] which are not suitable for flaking. The greenstone industry was important in the [[English Lake District]], and is known as the [[Langdale axe industry]]. Ground stone implements included [[adze]]s, [[celt (tool)|celt]]s, and [[axe]]s, which were manufactured using a labour-intensive, time-consuming method of repeated grinding against an abrasive stone, often using water as a lubricant. Because of their coarse surfaces, some ground stone tools were used for grinding plant foods and were polished not just by intentional shaping, but also by use. [[Mano (stone)|Manos]] are hand stones used in conjunction with [[metate]]s for grinding corn or grain. Polishing increased the intrinsic [[mechanical strength]] of the axe. Polished stone axes were important for the widespread clearance of woods and forest during the Neolithic period, when crop and livestock farming developed on a large scale. They are distributed very widely and were traded over great distances since the best rock types were often very local. They also became venerated objects, and were frequently buried in [[long barrow]]s or [[round barrow]]s with their former owners.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

During the [[Neolithic]] period, large axes were made from flint [[nodule (geology)|nodule]]s by knapping a rough shape, a so-called "rough-out". Such products were traded across a wide area. The rough-outs were then polished to give the surface a fine finish to create the axe head. Polishing increased the strength and durability of the product.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Hong |last2=Xue |first2=Liping |last3=Chen |first3=Ran |last4=Si |first4=Hongwei |last5=Jin |first5=Yao |last6=Tang |first6=Yixue |date=2021-12-01 |title=A functional study of ground stone tools from the Bronze Age site of Dingjiacun in South China: Based on use-wear evidence |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X21004272 |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |volume=40 |pages=103215 |doi=10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103215 |bibcode=2021JArSR..40j3215C |issn=2352-409X|url-access=subscription }}</ref> There were many sources of supply, including [[Grimes Graves]] in Suffolk, [[Cissbury]] in Sussex and [[Spiennes]] near [[Mons, Belgium|Mons]] in Belgium to mention but a few. In [[Great Britain|Britain]], there were numerous small quarries in [[downland]] areas where flint was removed for local use, for example.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

Many other rocks were used to make axes from stones, including the [[Langdale axe industry]] as well as numerous other sites such as [[Penmaenmawr]] and [[Tievebulliagh]] in Co Antrim, [[Ulster]]. In Langdale, there many [[outcrop]]s of the [[greenstone (archaeology)|greenstone]] were exploited, and knapped where the stone was extracted. The sites exhibit piles of waste flakes, as well as rejected rough-outs. Polishing improved the [[mechanical strength]] of the tools, so increasing their life and effectiveness. Many other tools were developed using the same techniques. Such products were traded across the country and abroad.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}