Handaxes were made in the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic over large areas of Africa, Asia and Europe, including Britain. They were made by removing flakes from two opposite faces on a nodule of flint or other stone, creating a symmetrical, sharp-edged tool. The initial flaking would have been undertaken with a round pebble or hammerstone to make the rough shape of the handaxe. The tool would then have been more delicately flaked using a ‘soft’ hammer of antler or bone for the final shaping.

Handaxes differ enormously in size and shape, varying from 5 cm to 30 cm in length, and from pointed to oval in form. The feature that they have in common is the sharp cutting edge. At Boxgrove in Sussex, the handaxes are so well preserved that they have retained the microscopic damage and polish from their use. Study of these traces suggests that they were used mainly for butchering animal carcasses. This would have involved a range of tasks including slitting and removing the hide, filleting the meat, and cutting the sinews and tendons for disjointing.

Handaxes seem to have been a highly successful tool, as they were used in Britain from over 500,000 years ago until the end of the Middle Palaeolithic, about 40,000 years ago.