Scientist recreates 6,000-year-old Stone Age drill
Andrey Petrenko demonstrates the use of his recreated Neolithic drill in a repair task.
Krasnoyarsk scientist Andrey Petrenko has recreated by hand a drill that our ancestors used six thousand years ago. According to the archaeologist, he made the Stone Age tool using materials available at the time. The device is not decorative — it can be easily used for work (see video).
A Stone Age drill made with authentic materials and techniques used 6,000 years ago.
Besides the Neolithic drill, Andrey Petrenko«s collection includes plenty of ancient weapons: exact copies of those used several thousand years ago. He has been passionate about reconstruction for several decades: his collection includes bows, spear-throwers, knives, chisels, and much more.
For example, from jade found on the Angara River, he made a collection of ancient axes. All the samples are functional. The Krasnoyarsk resident always tests them in action.
A stone axe and reference books used in the reconstruction process.
“It chops well, but there are specifics. It is very sensitive to vibration; once I was cutting a thin birch stump with one, it was wobbling and the blade broke. Of course, stone is inferior to iron, but you can chop with it quite well. It«s beautiful, clean, without problems,” Andrey Petrenko told NGS24.RU.
The archaeologist constructs tools and weapons with millennia of history for practical purposes, to confirm or refute scientific theories related to a particular era. Dozens of items made by his hands are now in Siberian archaeology museums.
