Final answer:
Our ancestors first created tools and weapons from rocks around 2.6 million years ago, marking the beginning of the Stone Age. These were initially simple cutting tools, evolving into more sophisticated weapons and implements used for hunting and gathering, all integral to early human survival and societal development.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Use of Tools and Weapons in Prehistoric Times
The use of rocks as weapons and tools is a significant chapter in human history, marking the advent of the Stone Age. Our ancestors, starting with Homo habilis around 2.6 million years ago, created the first known human-made tools. These crude sharp-edged stones were predominantly used for cutting, scraping, chopping purposes, and importantly, for acquiring food through hunting and butchering animals. This practice evolved into more sophisticated stone tools and weapons production, which became prevalent in subsequent periods like the Oldowan era until about 1.7 million years ago, and later, the Mousterian stone tools era between 250,000 and 50,000 years ago.
In the Neolithic period, the last phase of the Stone Age, humans began practicing agriculture, shifting from hunter-gatherers to food producers. Sophisticated stone tools were employed for grinding grains and seeds, cutting, and chopping. Cooperation was essential to harvest or move large rocks, indicating a shift to community living. The ingenuity of early hominids wasn't restricted to the production of weapons for hunting but also encompassed the development of tools for gathering, which might have included organic implements such as digging sticks or slings for carrying babies, although these have not survived in the fossil record.