How did Neanderthal tools differ from Modern Human tools?

The Acheulean: Innovations from our Common Ancestors (1 000 000 BP)

The prepared-core technique was invented in Southern Africa by Acheulean knappers some ~ 1 000 000 years ago (The Victoria West: earliest prepared core technology in the Acheulean at Canteen Kopje and implications for the cognitive evolution of early hominids). Their forebears struck arbitrary flakes from cores and then re-shaped them into the desired tool. Mostly, they were using large core tools such as cleavers, picks, and hand axes. This produced lots of waste and debitage and was quite inefficient. By contrast, the individuals who could exploit prepared cores could shoot off multiple flakes that were already pre-shaped. To prepare a core, one needs to makes a tortoise “shell” such that an overshot strike releases a flake at the bottom. The “shell” shape determines the flake shape, making it a very powerful tool for mass-producing lithics. This process is counter-intuitive in practice and hence requires highly sophisticated cognition. Unlike their ancestors who used hard hammers exclusively, these Acheulean knappers started to use antler and wood to supplement the knapping process, allowing for greater control and precision. Around this time the first piece of evidence for controlled fire is present in Wonderwerk cave (Microstratigraphic evidence of in situ fire in the Acheulean strata of Wonderwerk Cave, Northern Cape province, South Africa).