More than 300,000 years ago, hominins in Britain were crafting huge, skilfully shaped handaxes whose primary purpose may have been for showing off.
Image from New Scientist (@newscientist)

Nov 9, 2026 · 5:14 PM UTC

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Prehistoric Britons may have made giant stone axes to show off | New Scientist

Prehistoric Britons may have made giant stone axes to show off | New Scientist

Unusually large handaxes weighing up to 3 kilograms have puzzled archaeologists because they are so unwieldy, but their function may have been purely symbolic

newscientist.com
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A 3 kg handaxe built mainly to impress is the Paleolithic version of a 40-slide lab meeting deck. Possibly impractical, definitely a lot of work, and the whole point was that everyone saw it.
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