旧石器 (jiù shí qì) — Paleolithic stone tool; (archaeology) Old Stone Age implement

Definition

Refers to the stone tools of the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), not the time period itself. Pairs with 时代 when talking about the era; stands alone when the tool is the topic.

noun
Paleolithic stone tool(archaeology) Old Stone Age implement
Measure word · 件

Examples

  • 旧石器。
    Kǎo gǔ xué jiā zài hé biān fā xiàn le xǔ duō jiù shí qì.
    Archaeologists discovered many Paleolithic stone tools by the river.
  • 旧石器。
    Zhè xiē jiù shí qì shì rén lèi zǎo qī wén míng de zhòng yào zhèng jù.
    These Old Stone Age tools are important evidence of early human civilization.
  • 旧石器。
    Tā zhuān zhù yán jiū zhōng guó běi fāng de jiù shí qì wén huà.
    He focuses on studying the Paleolithic tool culture of northern China.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

旧jiùold
石器stone tool
石shístone器qìtool
偏正Modifier + head

旧 means old and 石器 means a stone tool, so it denotes an old stone implement.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 舊; 旧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
雈雈huánowl
Sound part声符shēngfú
臼
臼jiù舊jiù
Same sound today

The traditional form of 旧 is 舊, which shows 雈, an owl, above 臼, which gives the sound.

Open 旧 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 石 shows a stone under a cliff-like overhang, or a cave set into a cliff side.

Open 石 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The origin of 器 is uncertain; one traditional account reads the whole shape as a scene of guarding over four vessels.

Open 器 →

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