The Early Stone Age(ESA) began about 2.6 million years ago. The ESA started with what is referred to as the Oldowan industry, rough cobble cores and simple flakes. The flakes are quite sharp and were used for cutting meat and skinning, most likely animals. “Many scientists believe Homo habilis produced them”(Pre-colonial history of Southern Africa | South African History Online, 2019). Thereafter, saw the introduction of Acheulian tools about 1.4 million years ago, which include handaxes, cleavers and core tools. “The hominids that made Acheulian tools can confidently be identified as Homo ergaster (formerly called Homo erectus)”(Pre-colonial history of Southern Africa | South African History Online, 2019). These handaxes tend to be symmetrical along their longitudinal axis, they are mostly shaped like a raindrop, a pointed end and rounded base. Handaxes were likely used to butcher animals, to chop wood and remove tree bark; to throw at prey. Similarly, cleavers were large and oblong like handaxes. We can see these characteristics clearly on the tools found at Sayers Lane, which are now being kept at the Simonstown museum. These handaxes and cleavers are very clearly a lot larger and less worked than the tools made in the later ages. Their main difference was that cleavers had a transverse, wide sharp end, instead of a point. This sharp edge was used to cut and cush food and bone.

The Middle Stone Age(MSA) lasted from 300 ka till about 20 ka, anatomically and behaviorally modern humans started emerging during this period, and had begun hunting effectively. MSA artifacts mainly differ from those in the ESA because of the absence of large bifaces (such as handaxe and cleavers). Goodwin & Van Riet Lowe (1929) said that the MSA is archaeologically characterized by stone points and flakes made on prepared cores. This is called Levallois technology, “Levallois technology is a means of core reduction aimed at the production of predetermined flakes” (Wilkins, J., Pollarolo, L. and Kuman, K., 2010:1280). This process would aid in the creation of the desired tool. Using prepared cores meant that the resulting tool could “be used in a variety of ways, further shaped into a specific form”(Wilkins, J., Pollarolo, L. and Kuman, K., 2010:1280) that would only need minor touch ups. These prepared cores were likely shaped into points, had a similar raindrop shape as handaxes but are much smaller. Points tend to be about 5 cm or about the size of a palm. Points were used in “bow-and-arrow technology developed in sub-Saharan Africa between c. 100–50 kya(Lombard, M., & Haidle, M. N., 2012; 238)”. This helped with long distance hunting. A significant number of points was found at Sayers lane.