The most cultural evidences were the discovery of stone tools throughout the Homo lineage. It is believed that all members of the Homo lineage, and more or less only those members, consciously manufactured tools according to a set method or tool cultur e. This is not to say that before Homo habilis no tools were used, for even chimpanzees and other apes today use simple tools such as sticks for digging and catching termites, and rocks for pounding. It is most likely, considering the other similarities t hat exist, that Australopithecines used similar tools as well. The difference then in the tools used by Australopithecines and those used by the Homo line is that the latter modified the sticks and stones to meet a specific need while the former used what was already present.

Raymond Dart, a South African anthropologist, is credited for his discovery of the Taung skull in 1924, the first australopithecine fossil identified. Dart proposed that Australopithecines may have developed an osteodentokeratic, or bone-tooth-horn, cu lture to manufacture their tools and other implements. This would help to explain why few tools are found in association with Australopithecine remains since materials such as bone, tooth and horn are much more perishable then stone and therefore much lik ely to become fossilized.

The use of weapons for hunting allowed them to be the predator instead of the prey. Sharp cutting tools allowed them to take advantage of new niches such as being able to cut up their kill for easier carrying back to their home bases. Tools such as bon e needles and burins eventually allowed for the making of clothing and shelter from animal skins.

Tool cultures did not remain static throughout our evolution. They too evolved, changed and became more complex as we did. As with everything else in our evolutionary history, the change from one tool culture to another was gradual with much overlap ex isting during the period of transition. Blade tools are simply tools made from blades such as projectile points, knives and burins. Chopper tools are also known as pebble tools. They are simple tools associated with early Homo habilis and the Oldowan cult ure. Such simple chopping tools were also used by Homo erectus in parts of Asia. Choppers were unifacial core tools. They were only modified on one side and are manufactured by removing flakes from a rock to shape the core which is used. The best example of flake tools can be found in the Mousterian culture of the Neanderthals.

Bipolar percussion was a simple technique used by Homo erectus. It was a rather crude technique where the tool maker used one stone to continually strike another. This resulted in many chips being removed from both surfaces. Even this early means of ma nufacturing tools require some degree of intelligence and imagination (to find usable raw materials, accuracy of the striking, a notion of tools themselves and how they could be useful).

The Levalloisean technique is an advanced tradition characteristic of the early Homo sapiens. Also known as the prepared core technique, this method allowed the tool maker to produce an instrument with a larger cutting edge in less time and from less r aw material than before.

Such a process is another example of man's increasing abililty to plan and predict. The tool maker was not able to watch the shape of his tool emerge as he modified the rock, instead he had to have a mental picture in his mind of what his finished prod uct would look like and what he needed to do to get there.

Punch flaking required several steps to achieve the final product. First, flakes were removed to create a cylinder or cone with a flat top. This flat top was the striking surface. Holding the core steady, the tool-manufacterer hit near the edge of the striking surface with a hammer or bone tool called a punch. This resulted in a narrow sliver of rock, the blade, being removed from the side. This could be repeated to produce other such tools.

Microscopic analysis of the wear patterns on teeth can provide us with information about diet. Vegetable matter leaves a different wear pattern on teeth than does meat. The teeth of the Homo habilis point to a species who had begun to add meat to their diet, initially acquired through scavenging and, only later, by hunting. Hunting skills require a new kind of intelligence including the capacity for organization and versatility. Both strategies, hunting and scavenging put the individual in direct compe tition with other animal species. By the time of Homo erectus, planning and hunting abilities had advanced to the point where they could organize ambushes and other simple hunting maneuvers. The area of Terra Amata on the Cote d'Azur was probably one site at which this type of activity took place.. Remains indicate that elephant herds were often the victims of such attacks. These groups also rely on a division of labor usually with the men hunting and the women gathering.

The site at Tournal, France provides us with evidence that Homo sapiens neanderthalensis were skilled hunters who specialized in hunting horses, perhaps also by ambush like Homo erectus. Bones at sites such as this were found with only one end burnt, s imilar to what would happen if we today were roasting a drumstick. Therefore we know that these populations used fire to cook their food

Over the course of Earth's history there have been Ice Ages, as they are called, lead to changes in vegetation patterns with forests disappearing and steppes and tundra opening up in their place.

Much of hominid evolution took place during these great Ice Ages. The colder climate, changing vegetation, and resulting migration of the animals had a great impact on the way in which our ancestors evolved. The ability to find food in increasingly hos tile and barren areas, and the need to discover new ways to keep warm, required a great deal of intellectual adaptivity. Adaptations for dealing with the extreme cold were fire, shelter, clothing and furs became important elements of these cultures. Each population developed its own distinct ways of doing things and then shared these innovations with neighboring groups who could also adapt them to meet their special needs.

Anthropologists rely on the remains of past societies to help them understand the culture and its people. Dating methods, such as radiocarbon dating, are also used to determine if an object "fits" with a site. Choukoutien, China, a seasonal Homo erectu s living sites, is located near fresh water and overlooks the animal rich plains below. The remains of hearths, stone tools, and charred animal remains have been found at this location. One hearth contained ashes that continue on for a depth of twenty-th ree feet, evidence that this site was repeatedly used.

Torralba and Ambrona, Spain, Both of these sites contain a unusual number of extremely large elephant bones. The arrangement that the bones take, and the markings on the bones indicate that these animals were hunted by Homo erectus close to 400,000 yea rs ago. Lazaret, France, a cave site on the Cote d'Azur, has been dated back 130,000 years and was seasonally inhabited by a group who were in an evolutionary stage between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. enough for approximately 12 people .

All of these sites show us that Homo erectus set up camps or semi-permanent sites for the development of culture. Hominids now had a place to return to at night, they were able to stay in contact with the same people, and they now had a chance to devel op their own customs, language and social structures. They were able to organize hunting strategies and understood the migratory patterns of animals well enough to use that knowledge to their advantage. The remains of hearths indicate that Homo erectus ha d learned to use fire and did so quite regularly. Such a discovery, accompanied by the use of man-made shelters, allowed Homo erectus to survive in the bitterly cold nights of Ice Age

The consistent and purposeful use of fire probably began with Homo erectus and was definitely an important part of hominid survival by 400,000 years ago. Early man must have found several advantages in the controlled use of fire. Fire provided warmth.. Therefore, early man could use this discovery as a means of keeping the animals away, especially at night while they were sleeping.

Homo erectus used fire for cooking Cooked food is softer and would have been easier for young children and the elderly to chew. The very powerful jaws of the Australopithecines were now no longer needed and the result was an evolution of our face and c ranial structure.

Actually finding the artifact amid all that dirt, or as anthropologists and geologists might say, amid all that history, is only the first step in discovering what the artifact represents and what it was possibly used for. When two artifacts belonging to different types are found at nearby sites it is evidence that we have found the boundary, either temporal or spatial, between two traditions..

There are thousands of pottery fragments, stone tools, bone tools, figurines, cave paintings, and vessels that have been found at a countless number of sites. Neanderthal sites provide the first evidence for the use of color. While paintings do not app ear until Homo sapiens sapiens, these powder based pigments may have been used to decorate the body for religious ceremonies. This seems to be the case as chemical analysis revealed the presence of these powders in several Neanderthal graves sites.

Lascaux, France-In this cave in the Dordogne region of France close to 600 painted figures depicting such things as horses and giant oxen have been found. Like many anthropological finds the discovery of these artifacts was accidental.

Religion appears to be a behavior characteristic of the human species. In order to have religion, one must be capapble of abstract thought and reasoning. Without such abilities, the probability of life after death or an omnipotent deity or deities coul d not even be imagined.

The oldest grave sites have been dated at 80,000 years old and have been associated with archiac Homo sapiens or Neanderthals. Obviously these burials do not indicate the beginning of religion but instead are representative of a more advance d religious culture very similar to many of the practices people have today. Almost all of these individuals have been found buried with something, whether it be tools, flowers, or jewelry.