The ability to create tools for various activities distinguishes humans from animals and is fundamental to human development and evolution. Even the earliest humans who migrated to present-day Bulgarian territories from Africa through the Middle East over 1.5 million years ago used simple flint tools (a stone type ideal for flaking). Over time, they developed their skills in working with flint, wood, and animal bones to create more sophisticated weapons for hunting and securing their food. They first invented the spear, followed by the bow and arrow. They also crafted bone awls for piercing animal hides and making clothing.

The rise of agriculture and the need for permanent dwellings during the Neolithic period led to the development of new tools. People invented stone axes and adzes for cutting down and working with trees, sickles with flint teeth for harvesting wheat and barley, and millstones (querns) for grinding grain, among many others. They became true masters in processing the materials nature provided – stone, flint, wood, animal bones, and antlers.

Around 5,000 BCE, humans discovered – likely by accident – that intense heat could melt certain rocks and minerals (initially copper ores), allowing them to easily reshape the material as needed. Thanks to this breakthrough, they began to craft copper tools and weapons (needles, awls, axes, battle axes, and spears) as well as gold ornaments. Today, we recognize this innovation as the beginning of metallurgy and the start of the next age: the Chalcolithic or Copper Age (literally Copper-Stone Age, from Greek).

The Bronze Age began with the next important discovery: mixing copper with other materials created stronger, more durable tools. Bronze was one of the first artificial materials created by humans. It is a metal alloy that combines copper and tin and is easier to manipulate than pure copper. People made various tools from this new material: axes, chisels, and sickles, with arrows and spear points appearing near the end of the Bronze Age. They also created entirely new items like daggers, swords, and double axes, along with occasional vessels and jewelry. The Thracians were experts in bronze working. They mastered many techniques that included extracting ore, processing it into ingots, and then melting and alloying it with tin. They cast objects in special stone molds and refined them through forging, polishing, and decoration.