https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/tools/RSS feed for ToolsenThu, 30 Apr 2026 18:45:57 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-man-and-his-dog-accidentally-discovered-a-3400-year-old-ax-head-while-out-for-a-walk-in-one-of-englands-ancient-forests-180988649/Researchers believe the ax dates to between 1400 B.C.E. and 1275 B.C.E. and is a relic of the Bronze Age, when humans started to work with metalThu, 30 Apr 2026 18:45:57 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-man-and-his-dog-accidentally-discovered-a-3400-year-old-ax-head-while-out-for-a-walk-in-one-of-englands-ancient-forests-180988649/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/newly-discovered-stone-tools-made-from-geodes-and-fossils-hint-at-homo-erectus-connection-with-the-cosmos-180988565/Archaeologists in Israel unearthed prehistoric hand axes that Homo erectus crafted from stones including fossils and crystals, perhaps a sign that they wanted to connect with the cosmosMon, 20 Apr 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/newly-discovered-stone-tools-made-from-geodes-and-fossils-hint-at-homo-erectus-connection-with-the-cosmos-180988565/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearthed-a-430000-year-old-stick-after-careful-analysis-they-say-it-could-be-the-oldest-wooden-tool-ever-discovered-180988073/Found in southern Greece, the stick was one of two wooden artifacts that appear to have been shaped intentionally, according to a new studyTue, 27 Jan 2026 20:18:20 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearthed-a-430000-year-old-stick-after-careful-analysis-they-say-it-could-be-the-oldest-wooden-tool-ever-discovered-180988073/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-hammer-created-from-an-elephant-bone-480000-years-ago-is-the-oldest-known-tool-of-its-kind-ever-found-in-europe-180988063/Discovered in southern England in the mid-1990s, the artifact may have been made by Neanderthals or Homo heidelbergensis, according to a new studyMon, 26 Jan 2026 18:47:15 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-hammer-created-from-an-elephant-bone-480000-years-ago-is-the-oldest-known-tool-of-its-kind-ever-found-in-europe-180988063/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-detachable-robotic-hand-can-scurry-around-and-grasp-objects-just-like-thing-from-the-addams-family-180988041/With up to six fingers that can bend in multiple directions, the innovative tool could one day be used to carry out tasks in tight spacesThu, 22 Jan 2026 16:25:40 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-detachable-robotic-hand-can-scurry-around-and-grasp-objects-just-like-thing-from-the-addams-family-180988041/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hundreds-of-ancient-roman-blade-sharpeners-emerge-from-a-riverbank-in-england-revealing-the-ruins-of-a-2000-year-old-whetstone-factory-180988016/Archaeologists think the newly discovered artifacts remained at the production site because they were deemed unusable. Large numbers of completed whetstones may have supplied other parts of the Roman EmpireTue, 20 Jan 2026 20:45:21 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/hundreds-of-ancient-roman-blade-sharpeners-emerge-from-a-riverbank-in-england-revealing-the-ruins-of-a-2000-year-old-whetstone-factory-180988016/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-cow-named-veronika-can-scratch-her-back-with-a-broom-watch-the-video-that-scientists-are-calling-the-first-documented-evidence-of-cattle-using-tools-180988033/The pet cow's tool use challenges long-held assumptions about bovine intelligenceTue, 20 Jan 2026 20:42:41 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-cow-named-veronika-can-scratch-her-back-with-a-broom-watch-the-video-that-scientists-are-calling-the-first-documented-evidence-of-cattle-using-tools-180988033/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-cache-of-aboriginal-stone-tools-buried-in-australia--170-years-ago-180987854/Known as "tulas," the 60 artifacts are only the second discovery of this size to be found in Australia. Researchers think they may have been created for tradeWed, 17 Dec 2025 14:54:34 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-unearth-cache-of-aboriginal-stone-tools-buried-in-australia--170-years-ago-180987854/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-digging-beneath-britains-houses-of-parliament-discover-6000-year-old-flint-artifacts-and-a-2000-year-old-roman-altar-fragment-180987777/During restorations at the Palace of Westminster in London, excavations have revealed a trove of historic objects, the oldest of which date to around 4300 B.C.E.Tue, 02 Dec 2025 19:40:50 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-digging-beneath-britains-houses-of-parliament-discover-6000-year-old-flint-artifacts-and-a-2000-year-old-roman-altar-fragment-180987777/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/watch-a-wolf-cleverly-raid-a-crab-trap-for-a-snack-it-might-be-the-first-evidence-of-a-wild-canid-using-a-tool-180987709/Footage from British Columbia shows just how intelligent wild wolves can be, but scientists are divided as to whether the behavior constitutes tool useWed, 19 Nov 2025 16:53:17 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/watch-a-wolf-cleverly-raid-a-crab-trap-for-a-snack-it-might-be-the-first-evidence-of-a-wild-canid-using-a-tool-180987709/