BH250-27d
Title
BH250-27d
Subject
Hand Axe Made from Baraboo Quartzite, Baraboo Quartzite Tool
Description
Quartzite and Human Use Across Cultures and the Fossil Record:
Quartzite, a hard and durable metamorphic rock, has been widely used by human societies for grinding, milling, and tool-making due to its abrasiveness, wear resistance, and geological abundance. To learn more about the mineralogy of this sample, referrer to BH250-27.
Quartzite in Eritrea: Milling Grains:
In Eritrea and the Horn of Africa, quartzite was traditionally used to make grinding stones and mullers (መጥሓን, maṭǝḥān) for processing staple grains such as sorghum, barley, millet, and teff. Grain was ground into flour for foods like injera using hand-held stones on flat quartzite slabs. Its hardness (~Mohs 7), rough texture, and local abundance in Proterozoic terranes made it ideal. Archaeological finds from sites like Adulis and Matara confirm quartzite’s long-standing role in food production.
Quartzite Use Among Native American Groups:
In the Baraboo region of Wisconsin, Native American groups extensively used Baraboo Quartzite, a dense and durable local material, for stone tools. Sample BH250-27d is an example of such quartzite tool use.
Quartzite Tools and Hominin Fossils:
Quartzite was one of the most important raw materials used by early hominins to make stone tools. These tools are often found alongside hominin fossils, offering critical insights into early human behavior, technology, and evolution.
Quartzite as a Toolstone:
Due to its hardness, durability, and widespread availability, quartzite was a favored material for making sharp flakes, scrapers, and handaxes. Early human ancestors associated with the Oldowan (2.6 million years ago) and Acheulean (1.76 million years ago) industries frequently used quartzite at African archaeological sites. Notable examples include Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) and the Turkana Basin (Koobi Fora and Nachukwi) in Kenya. Even older tools such as the Lomekwi (Nachukwi, Turkana) ) assemblage dated to 3.3 million years ago highlight quartzite’s deep role in human technological history. Additional early quartzite tools have been discovered at Hadar, Middle Awash, Melka Kunture and Omo in Ethiopia.
Significance in Human Evolution:
Their durability of quartzite ensures they survive well in the archaeological record, often outlasting bones and other organic materials. The selection, transport, and use of quartzite and other materials such as obsidian also offer important insights into early hominin landscape use, mobility, and resource preferences.
Summary:
Quartzite was a vital component of early human toolkits and is closely linked to hominin fossil sites across East Africa. These durable artifacts are key to understanding early technological behavior and remain central to the interpretation of the human evolutionary record.
Note:
Here you will find photos of stone tools, including BH250-27d from Baraboo, Wisconsin; a grinding stone; an outcrop of a source rock used for tool-making; a seat where the toolmaker(s) once sat and carved tools; scattered debitage; and a photo of me and Nancy Willike sitting on the same rock stool during a 2015 alumni trip to the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The photos also includes a tool from the Olduvai Museum in Tanzania, hand axes made from basalt (~1.6 Ma) from Lomekwi, Turkana, and recent tools from Tigray, Ethiopia.
Quartzite, a hard and durable metamorphic rock, has been widely used by human societies for grinding, milling, and tool-making due to its abrasiveness, wear resistance, and geological abundance. To learn more about the mineralogy of this sample, referrer to BH250-27.
Quartzite in Eritrea: Milling Grains:
In Eritrea and the Horn of Africa, quartzite was traditionally used to make grinding stones and mullers (መጥሓን, maṭǝḥān) for processing staple grains such as sorghum, barley, millet, and teff. Grain was ground into flour for foods like injera using hand-held stones on flat quartzite slabs. Its hardness (~Mohs 7), rough texture, and local abundance in Proterozoic terranes made it ideal. Archaeological finds from sites like Adulis and Matara confirm quartzite’s long-standing role in food production.
Quartzite Use Among Native American Groups:
In the Baraboo region of Wisconsin, Native American groups extensively used Baraboo Quartzite, a dense and durable local material, for stone tools. Sample BH250-27d is an example of such quartzite tool use.
Quartzite Tools and Hominin Fossils:
Quartzite was one of the most important raw materials used by early hominins to make stone tools. These tools are often found alongside hominin fossils, offering critical insights into early human behavior, technology, and evolution.
Quartzite as a Toolstone:
Due to its hardness, durability, and widespread availability, quartzite was a favored material for making sharp flakes, scrapers, and handaxes. Early human ancestors associated with the Oldowan (2.6 million years ago) and Acheulean (1.76 million years ago) industries frequently used quartzite at African archaeological sites. Notable examples include Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) and the Turkana Basin (Koobi Fora and Nachukwi) in Kenya. Even older tools such as the Lomekwi (Nachukwi, Turkana) ) assemblage dated to 3.3 million years ago highlight quartzite’s deep role in human technological history. Additional early quartzite tools have been discovered at Hadar, Middle Awash, Melka Kunture and Omo in Ethiopia.
Significance in Human Evolution:
Their durability of quartzite ensures they survive well in the archaeological record, often outlasting bones and other organic materials. The selection, transport, and use of quartzite and other materials such as obsidian also offer important insights into early hominin landscape use, mobility, and resource preferences.
Summary:
Quartzite was a vital component of early human toolkits and is closely linked to hominin fossil sites across East Africa. These durable artifacts are key to understanding early technological behavior and remain central to the interpretation of the human evolutionary record.
Note:
Here you will find photos of stone tools, including BH250-27d from Baraboo, Wisconsin; a grinding stone; an outcrop of a source rock used for tool-making; a seat where the toolmaker(s) once sat and carved tools; scattered debitage; and a photo of me and Nancy Willike sitting on the same rock stool during a 2015 alumni trip to the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The photos also includes a tool from the Olduvai Museum in Tanzania, hand axes made from basalt (~1.6 Ma) from Lomekwi, Turkana, and recent tools from Tigray, Ethiopia.
Coverage
Location: Baraboo, Wisconsin, USA
GPS Coordinates: 43.419219, -89.89547
GPS Coordinates: 43.419219, -89.89547
Creator
Bereket Haileab
Source
From the rock collection of Bereket Haileab. Sample BH250-27d. Housed at Carleton College in Minnesota.
Contributor
Bereket Haileab
Format
Hand sample
Relation
Collection
Citation
Bereket Haileab, “BH250-27d,” BH250 Mineralogy Teaching Collection, accessed April 25, 2026, https://bereket-haileab.geology.sites.carleton.edu/items/show/322.