Final answer:
Obsidian tools signify a "newer age" due to advancements in craftsmanship and functional design, reflecting a transition to more complex societies during the Neolithic period.
Step-by-step explanation:
Obsidian tools pointing to a "newer age" are likely referred to as such due to the advanced craftsmanship and the specific tool shapes and uses that they exhibit. Over the course of human history, as Homo sapiens developed more elaborate toolkits, there was a significant shift from the manufacture of earlier, more primitive tools like the Oldowan to the more sophisticated blade tool industry characteristic of the Upper Paleolithic. This progression in tool-making reflects advancements in technology, materials used, and skill, as well as an increased understanding of those tools' applications in the daily lives of human societies, seen in the transition from simple cutting and scraping implements to more efficient and diverse blades.
Importantly, these obsidian tools were a product of their time, reflecting the necessity for more refined tools to meet the challenges of the epoch, such as the transition to agricultural lifestyles, where sedentary living patterns and cooperative work became integral. The archaeological stratigraphy reveals changes not only in tool-making but in social structures and even diet through the analysis of dental decay and skeletal wear patterns. The Neolithic period specifically showcases the transition to stone tools used for grinding and cutting as an indicator of increasingly sophisticated societies.