Neanderthals were expert stone tool knappers, and we have much to learn by studying their stone tools. First, by identifying where the stone came from on the landscape, we can obtain valuable information about some of the places that they visited, thereby having some idea about how far they moved. Second, each stone tool preserves a precise record of exactly how it was made; by studying enough of them, we can reconstruct their general technological patterns (how they went about preparing a core for knapping), and compare these patterns with sites from similar time periods in adjoining regions. This allows us to make inferences about the types of contact that groups of Neanderthals may have had with other groups.

Many different types of stone tools and chips are found every day during the excavations.

Neanderthals shaped stone tools into many different types of scrapers, knives, and points. 1