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The Neolithic (New Stone Age) period in Europe dated to between about 6,000 and 3,000 BC. The era is characterised by the development of specialised tools for different tasks. This is a progression from the multi-purpose core tools of the Palaeolithic, through the blade-based technology of the Mesolithic. Axes were a hafted, multi-purpose tool, often polished with great care and used to clear ground and to fell trees, while scrapers and other small tools were used for skinning caracasses, scraping pelts and animal bone, etc. One of the main refinements was the grinding or polishing of flint and bone tools to provide better and more durable cutting edges. During this period there was also the beginning of pottery making and in the latest years, some primitive use of copper. The Neolithic also saw the first tamed wild animals; the invention of the wheel; weaving of cloth and, perhaps the greatest social change of all, the start of the cultivation of crops – resulting in the need for permanent settlements. The finest quality of all flint artefacts from this area originate from Denmark. Towards the end of this era, flint knives are made in Denmark that have actually been copied from the early cast bronze examples; even copying the casting seems seen on the metal ones.
