[ELI5] How do archaeologists know that what they found was an actual 1.3 million year old axe and not just a weird shaped rock?

Question

Prompted by this article [https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/28/archaeologists-in-morocco-announce-major-stone-age-find](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/28/archaeologists-in-morocco-announce-major-stone-age-find)

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

There is the science as explained above, but there is also the art. An archaeologist or palaeontologist walking with you will spot stuff lying around that you would never recognise in a million years. Birders, game guides and so on have an eye trained for detail we ordinary mortals do not pick up on.