History of the Scalpel: The Original Surgical Instrument

It is widely accepted that crude blades made from stone were among the first tools to be developed & used by mankind. So it comes as no surprise that the first surgical instrument would be a variation of the blade, that fundamental tool which found ubiquitous use in so many of man's earliest activities such as hunting, preparing food, making art, crafting other tools and of course our earliest attempts at medicine & surgery.